AFTER THE RIOTS, A REWARD
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The royal barge Gloriana carries the Olympic flame in a cauldron on board, as it leaves Hampton Court Palace in London along the river Thames, on its way into central London on the final day of the Torch Relay, Friday, July 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)
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FILE - This July 25, 2012, file mobile phone photo provided by James Crossan shows a mistakenly displayed South Korean flag on a jumbo screen instead of North Korea's before a women's soccer match, which prompted the North Koreans to refuse to take the field for nearly an hour in Glasgow, Scotland. "We will apologize to the team and the National Olympic Committee and steps will be taken to ensure this does not happen again," organizers said. The Olympic-sized political gaffes and cultural goofs already registered before the London games officially open Friday have proven one thing in the globalized planet of the early 21st century: Even with the best of intentions, organizing an offense-free Olympics is nearly impossible. (AP Photo/James Crossan, File)
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In this photo provided by LOCOG, Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan carries the Olympic flame on the torch relay leg between The City of London and the borough of Southwark in London, Thursday, July 25, 2012. (AP Photo/LOCOG, Yui Mok)
He was the online organizer who urged Londoners to grab their brooms and take to the streets after the August 2011 riots that saw stores looted and cars torched in the capital's worst unrest in decades.
Now activist Dan Thompson is among 17 people who were handed free tickets for Friday's Olympic opening ceremony by British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Thompson used social networks to mobilize volunteers to sweep up debris in communities across London after nights of violent disorder.
Cameron has also offered tickets to youth workers and graduates of Britain's National Citizen Service, a program which sees young people carry out community work.
—David Stringer - Twitter http://twitter.com/david_stringer
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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
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