Rugby Borough Council on Thursday 28th June 2012 unveiled a floral model of the famous Olympic rings - by special permission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The Olympic rings are a highly prized mark of the Olympic games, owned by the IOC, and may not normally be used other than at Olympic venues.
But Rugby Borough Council, which has a proud history of producing high-quality floral displays and is a regular 'in bloom' prizewinner, thought that an Olympic year and a visit of the Olympic Torch relay on Monday deserved a special display of its own, and applied for permission to use the rings.
Chris Worman, Rugby Borough Council Parks Manager, said:
"The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) were very interested in our previous designs and had a good look at our plans for the Olympic rings. They were clearly impressed with our proposals and promised to do what they could to help us get permission from the IOC."
Cllr Dr Mark Williams, Rugby Borough Council portfolio holder for Sustainable Environment, said:
"We were delighted when LOCOG came back to us and said that we had permission to go ahead with our plans. We're very grateful for the help that they gave us."
The three-dimensional installation that features the Olympic rings will be installed in a central location, opposite the town's statue to William Webb Ellis, founder of the game of Rugby football. It is outside Rugby School, where Baron Pierre de Coubertin was inspired to found the modern Olympics at the end of the nineteenth century.
The Olympic Torch relay will pass the rings on its way out of the town on the morning of 2 July 2012.
This year's floral displays in the borough of Rugby also feature a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II in her Diamond Jubilee year, and the official London 2012 logo. The 'rings' installation uses carpet bedding plants such as Echeveria, Alternanthera and Sempervivum.
