Visit London has unveiled its first ever global advertising campaign ahead of the official Olympics handover between Beijing and London on 24 August.

The See the World, Visit London campaign, which sees an investment of £4m, will mark the capital’s status as official Olympic host city. It features a map of London imposed onto planet Earth with the River Thames featuring prominently.

The campaign will run in the local and national press as well as on the capital’s underground network. Internationally, it will run online and outdoors in countries including North and South America, Europe, Australasia, China, India and Russia.

The campaign features a film that will run online globally and across live screens in London. The screens have been set up to broadcast the Olympic handover live.

Visit London chief executive James Bidwell said: “The campaign celebrates our city in a unique way, capturing our truly global status and underpinning the importance of London as the number one international tourist destination.”

Mayor of London Boris Johnson said it was the “largest ever campaign launched by Visit London and it really captures the excitement and anticipation of the Olympic handover to our capital”.

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By Gemma Sharkey

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