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The Olympic kippah for Jewish volunteers

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Volunteers at the London 2012 Olympic Games will be offered the chance to wear an "Olympic kippah" as part of their uniform.

The specially-designed yarmulke will form part of the official attire for Jewish members of the 70,000-strong volunteering team.

The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) has held discussions with representatives of the Jewish community to discuss provisions, including kosher food, which will be needed for Jewish competitors and visitors to the capital.

Alex Goldberg, of the Jewish Committee for the London Games (JCLG), said: "We are steering LOCOG towards the model used by the British Army, which is quite advanced in yarmulke wear. There are examples of matching yarmulkes to uniforms.

"We have not got there yet, but the Olympic yarmulke may well be a crocheted one, in the same colour as the uniform."

An Olympic snood may also be produced, in the hope that religious women volunteers will come forward to offer their services at the Games.

"Strictly Orthodox people may want to volunteer and they should have the chance to have appropriate uniforms," said Mr Goldberg. The JCLG is stepping up its preparations for the Olympics and discussions with LOCOG on a range of issues affecting the Jewish community are said to be progressing well.

JCLG was consulted on the creation of the Games' mascots, Wenlock and Mandeville, which were launched last month.

In their first online adventure, Mandeville discovers the history of the Paralympics, which were founded by Sir Ludwig Guttman, a German Jewish doctor who settled in London after fleeing Nazi persecution.

Jewish Olympians from previous Games will also be recruited to help promote London 2012 to the community.

One ambassador is likely to be the Holocaust survivor Ben Helfgott, who represented Britain at the 1956 Games in Melbourne, and again four years later in Rome.

He captained the weightlifting team on both occasions.

Others approached for the roles include Susie Halter, who swam for the Hungarian team in the last London Games in 1948, and Allan Jay, who competed in fencing for Britain at five Olympics, winning two gold medals in Rome in 1960.

JCLG also hopes at least one ambassador will come from abroad. Boaz Kramer, an Israeli wheelchair tennis player who won the silver medal in the Paralympics doubles competition in Beijing in 2008, is likely to offer his services.

Mr Goldberg said: "Boaz wants to meet the British Jewish community and go into schools. He is a great role model.

"There are a number of countries who have realistic Jewish medal hopes for 2012.

"We already have Jewish sporting heroes here in London. We need to make the Olympics relevant to our community and to show that we can overcome some of the stereotypes in the community about our involvement in sport."

Jewish schoolchildren are likely to play a prominent role in the welcoming ceremony for the Israeli team, he said.

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