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Olympic rings arrive in Birmingham

The latest set of giant Olympic rings to celebrate the Olympic Games will be unveiled at Birmingham Airport, the first British airport to be decorated with the iconic symbol.

The rings will sit either side of the airport's new control tower and will be visible to passengers on approaching planes and also car drivers on the busy Birmingham to Coventry road.

Birmingham will host the Jamaican and United States track and field teams prior to the Games. Coventry's Ricoh Arena will kick off the action at the Olympics with the first match in the soccer tournament which begins before the opening ceremony.

American former Olympic 400 metre champion Edwin Moses was in Birmingham to unveil the rings.

"Seeing the Games celebrated in such an iconic way will be a great inspiration to the athletes training in the region," Moses said in a statement from the London organising committee.

Other sets of Olympic rings have been placed at St Pancras railway station, Kew Gardens and at the entrance to the Channel Tunnel. Another set will float down the River Thames on a barge during the Games which start in July.