london posts

London has definitely not been a stranger to sporting achievement this summer, and this weekend AOLers in the London office made sure the success continued.

A team of AOL soccer heroes came together last Sunday, September 9^th, to play in a charity five-a-side tournament to raise money for Centrepoint, an award-winning nonprofit organization, based in Central London, that works tirelessly to support homeless youth. Since its creation in 1969, the charity has helped more than 75,000 young people realize their potential and, through collaboration and influencing government policy, Centrepoint continues to move towards its goal of ending youth homelessness.

The annual event attracted 32 teams that battled it out under a scorching sun to become the ultimate champions. London's AOL dream team, won their group stage matches to make it through to the final eight and the all-important knockout stage, where they were sadly beaten by Centrepoint's own team 4-2 in a thrilling match.

However, the day was a resounding success, with more than £10,000 raised for the charity in their biggest tournament to date.

See how AOL gives back to the community and learn about our commitment to Corporate Citizenship by clicking here.

AOL Team London kicks off for charity aol.it/RM9Sv9

- AOL PR (@AOLPR) September 13, 2012

Ahead of the London mayoral elections next week, The Huffington Post UK teamed up with LinkedIn to conduct an opinion poll asking London based professionals to voice their opinions on the widely debated topic of supporting business in the capital. Out of almost 1,000 London voters, 35% felt that job creation was the most important factor in supporting London businesses.

The poll findings come as it's revealed that Britain is back in recession, with recent figures showing that London has the second highest unemployment rate of any British region. Those aged 18-29 were the most vocal on the subject of job creation, with this age group making up the majority of those keen for it to be the new Mayor's top priority and reflecting the high levels of youth unemployment blighting the capital.

The poll also revealed that improvements to transport links and entrepreneurial support were of equal importance to voters, with each receiving 19% of the votes respectively. A further 14% of voters felt that crime and security should be the next mayor's priority, whilst the remaining 12% believed infrastructure should be the focus of our next mayor's efforts.

Learn more about the poll click here.

Today I'm delighted to announce the launch of HuffPost Sport, the latest channel on our ever-expanding site.

With London gearing up for The Olympics, and Euro 2012 only a few months away, it couldn't be a better time for us to add Sport into the mix of topics we cover.

While our latest recruit, reporter Samuel Luckhurst, will be updating the site with all the latest sporting news, thesection's whole raison d'être will be those who play, love and follow sport, inviting debate, comment and opinion from the UK's most passionate fans, whether it's the premiership or Six Nations that gets your heart beating faster.

Being British, we fully expect there to be plenty of footie written about in our blogs, however, we're also aiming to be a destination for niche sports, where everyone from synchronized swimmers to curling champions can debate the merits of their favorite pastime with other dedicated fans.

In keeping with this wide range of sports, we have a real mix of voices from different walks of life blogging for us today, including Lord Coe on the Olympics, Gary Kemp from Spandau Ballet on cycling, WWE's Zack Ryder on wrestling and Kevin Cahill, founder of Sport Relief, alongside Will Carling and Andy Murray.

MyDaily's contributing editor, Mary Katrantzou, debuted her much anticipated fashion show for Autumn/Winter 2012 this morning as part of London Fashion Week.

Those lucky enough to have a ticket to the show received a Mary Katrantzou designed goody bag, which amongst other things, included the MyDaily Little Black Book, a pivotal asset hosting all the important fashion contacts a girl needs.

Mary was showcasing pieces from her Autumn/Winter 2012 collection, which was based around the beauty in mundane everyday things – think your office keyboard, spoons, clothes hangers and chess pieces!

You can read MyDaily's review of the collection and look through a gallery of her new designs here, and check out the latest London Fashion Week coverage all week on MyDaily.

MyDaily has another MyDaily Presents event planned with Mary Katrantzou in the next few months- stay tuned for more details!

.@MyDailyUK's @MaryKatrantzou Wows @LondonFashionWk aol.it/xiFWD9

- AOL PR (@AOLPR) February 21, 2012

On Tuesday December 6th, some of the best known names in UK media took to the HuffPost soapbox to make themselves heard. The soapbox stood in prime position in Europe's largest shopping center, Westfield near the 2012 Olympic Park in East London, and the crowds gathered to listen to big names discuss hot topics. Amongst those who spoke were Mitch Winehouse, father of Amy Winehouse, who took to the box to discuss turning grief into positive action. Nick Leeson, who famously took down Barings Bank in the 1990s, spoke about encouraging the public to take control of their finances. Nancy Dell'Olio, who starred in this year's series of Strictly Come Dancing (the UK's Dancing with the Stars!) also took to the box to talk about women's battle with aging.

The event was covered extensively in the UK press, with coverage hitting The Telegraphand Contact Music. To learn more about the event click here.

The soapbox event celebrates The Huffington Post UK's role as a platform for blogging and sharing opinion. The site hosts blogs from a number of regular and guest contributors who take to the site to express their views on everything from politics to entertainment and technology.

Celebs Rant in the Name of @HuffPostUK aol.it/tEjeLO

- AOLPR (@AOLPR) December7, 2011