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July 27, 2012 9:39 AM

Bell ringing ceremony goes hilariously wrong

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London 2012: Summer Olympics

(CBS News) Britain's Sport and Cultural Secretary Jeremy Hunt was left red-faced when his bell broke during an interview at a pre-Olympics bell-ringing ceremony, after saying the Games could not completely go off without a hitch.

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The incident was caught on tape by Reuters. Just prior to the incident, Hunt was asked, "After four years, the Games are finally upon us, how confident are you things will go off without a hitch?"

Hunt said, "Well I can't say there won't be hitches because this really is one of the biggest things you can do, 26 major sports international sports tournaments all at the same time, around 100 heads of states coming in. There are huge amounts to get right. There are always one or two teething problems. But I'm very confident that we're ready...."

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After finishing his statement, Hunt was asked to ring the bell. So he gave the bell an enthusiastic shake and the bell whipped off its wooden handle, and hit a person off-camera.

Hunt checked if the person was OK, then said, "My goodness me! Terrible moment there. Health and safety! There we are, disaster averted, thank you! "

Watch video of the incident in the video above.


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