Reuters sports photography book and exhibition

PICTURES OF THE YEAR 2004 - Belarus' Yuliya Nesterenko runs on her way to winning gold in the women's 100 meters final at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games August 21, 2004. Nesterenko won the race with a time of 10.93 seconds.

LONDON - Reuters has launched a free outdoor exhibition featuring 200 images from its new sports photography book, Sport in the 21st Century, outside City Hall in London.

Some 250 editors, journalists, and figures in the sports industry joined Reuters staff for the launch.

Chairman Niall FitzGerald spoke at the event about Reuters position at the forefront of multimedia sports news and the challenges to press freedom in covering sport.

The show, open to all, takes place on the banks of the Thames against a dramatic backdrop of London landmarks including Tower Bridge, the Tower of London and the City skyline.

It will be open day and night until 25 January.

The exhibition features three themed sections that explore action photography, sports personalities and the diversity of local sports around the world -- all captured by Reuters and Action Images photographers.

There are sports-inspired graphics on the ground, a ticker delivering live sports news and demonstrations and interactive events taking place at the weekends.

Copies of the book are now available from Amazon.co.uk and local retailers in France, Italy, UK and US. The Spanish edition will be released in shops shortly. The German edition will be released in early 2008 but is available for business orders now.

The book is published by Thames and Hudson. The price in Britain is 24.95 pounds.