The massive shopping mall adjacent to Olympic Park isn't the only spot for consumerism.
Within the park, there are a handful of stores featuring all kinds of "London 2012" and Olympic gear, some of which was available at the main stadium during the opening ceremonies Friday night.
T-shirts of all shapes and sizes cost about 25 pounds ($38), whereas novelties like banks and stuffed toys go for 6 to 12 pounds ($9-18). Most items feature the Olympic rings, the London 2012 logo or London Olympics mascots Wenlock and Mandeville. There is an offering of higher-end items, including signed photographs and commemorative coins and pins.
Visa, only, though if you are using a credit card (it's a global sponsor). Pounds are welcome.
The Royal Mail also has its fair share of Olympics material, including commemorative stamps, postcards and coins. On Friday, many people sought postmarks featuring the date of the opening ceremonies and the mail service organized to provided a special ink postmark for that very reason.
The demand didn't seem as high as the Beijing Olympics, when the opening of the games provided a unique date: 08-08-08.
See another photo of Wenlock — various Wenlocks, actually — here: http://pic.twitter.com/wASEY5lg
— Lou Ferrara — Twitter http://twitter.com/louferrarald
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EDITOR'S NOTE — "Eyes on London" shows you the Olympics through the eyes of Associated Press journalists across the 2012 Olympic city and around the world. Follow them on Twitter where available with the handles listed after each item, and get even more AP updates from the Games here: http://twitter.com/AP_Sports
