THINGS YOU MUST NOT MISS!

1 Theolympic Flame arrives in the UK on May 18, and from May 19 till July 27, it will travel around the country, carried by 8,000 inspirational Torchbearers. If you are here in the time preceding the Games, do line up on your nearest street ttooggeether with your neighbours and applaud its journey.

2 Hop on thelondoneye for a hair-raising 6 minute rotation as it is being sped up to five times the normal speed to accommodate many more visitors.

3 Rent a helicopter from one of the citys many helicopter rental companies for a helicopter ride (or a private jet if you have well-heeled friends!) for a birds eye view of theolympics Stadium and the various arenas.

4 Shoppers will delight at theolympics Shop (both the online version and the Team Great Britain shops strategically placed in every shopping area) and the sleek Great Britain team kit designed by Stella McCartney.

5 For the non-athletic, the cute afternoon tea-sets honouring the national pastime of drinking tea, as well aasstthheeccuddly Wenlock and Mandeville dolls will be equally appealing.

6 Check out the Iconic Spectaculars, the installations using large-scale versions of theolympic Rings and Paralympic ssyymmbboolliinnpprroommiinent locations across the city. The first of these was unveiled at St. Pancras station.

7 Paul CumminssEnglish Flower Gardeninstallation at the Houses of Parliament is a series of 15,000 individually ssccuullpptteeddcceerramic blooms celebrating the quintessential British love of flowers, and will be a welcome relief for those who want a breather from the Games and their paraphernalia.

8 The British MuseumsMine to Medalsexhibition narrates the story of the medals for thelondon 2012olympic and Paralympic Games, right from the mining of the metal to the creation of the designs to production by the Royal Mint. The medals are displayed at the exhibition.

9 For die-hard Shakespeare fans, as part of the World Shakespeare Festival, the Globe Theatre onlondons South Bank boasts a showing of 37 plays in 37 languages ffrroomm April to June 2012—languages include Urdu, Hindi, Bangla and even Gujarati!

10 Culture vultures will be giddy with excitement at the london 2012 Festival, touted to be the hottest art/ culture/fashion/food festival in the UK.opening on June 21 aannddrruunnnniinngg until September 9, the last day of the Paralympic Games, it will bring together nearly 1,000 performances and events from all over the world for adults and children. BBCs Hackney Weekend in June will have Jay-Z,david Guetta,lana del Rey, Tinie Tempah and Florence and The Machine headlining the event.