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How to avoid the orange sticker of shame

How to steer clear of a "stickergate" incident this summer, everywhere from the Olympics to the jubilee

Ascot claimed it had been well-intentioned. But issuing race-goers who failed to meet the new dress code with a very public orange sticker of shame was never going to be a PR triumph. Organisers thought that it would prevent attendees from being bothered again and again by officials, telling them for the umpteenth time that their look didn't cut it. But what if other cultural fixtures started to embrace this humiliating practice? Could "stickergate" spread? Here's our guide to some of the summer's key events and what may or may not cause you to get orange-stickered by the wardrobe police.

The Olympics

Navigating E20 chic won't be easy. A show of national support is good, though head-to-toe Wenlock motifs would place you firmly in orange sticker territory. One Stella McCartney-designed Olympic top should suffice.

Euro 2012

After-work football-viewing chic is a low point on any fashion calendar. An England shirt with a square-toes office lace-up would attract a rash of orange stickers in the pub. Even a fan in facepaint is preferable. Far better to wear something slightly sporty but not at all logoed from Cos, like a boxy sweatshirt.

Stone Roses reunion gigs

What is less likely to be stickered? A 40-year-old man in a bad leather jacket, bootcut jeans and the babysitter's goodwill, or one who attempts to recreate the Spike Island look – 22in flares and fishing hat – wholesale? On balance, I'd say the latter.

Tate Modern's Damien Hirst exhibition

It's a blockbuster. No point in pretending that attendance qualifies you as an art critic. Pale, Brian Sewell-style slacks are thus a pretentious sticker magnet. Soho jeans and late-90s Savile Row tailoring suggests Damien-Hirst wannabe, but shouldn't fall foul of the sticker police. Meanwhile Jonathan Saunders polka dot pyjamas (or appropriations of) should be the alpha fashion woman's approach to visiting Hirst.

The Queen's jubilee

You would think that channelling HM herself is asking for a stickering. But, happy news, pastels are a big look this summer, so feel free to indulge at your local street party with no fear of sartorial humiliation.

London Olympics coverage could cut length of news bulletins, warns BBC

Corporation could miss annual peak-time news quota due to heavy commitment to the Games and Euro 2012

The BBC has warned its London Olympics coverage could see it forced to cut back the length of some editions of BBC1's 6pm and 10pm news bulletins in the summer.

Live coverage of the London Games will be broadcast on BBC1 and BBC3, with comprehensive coverage on the corporation's flagship channel due to run from 6am to midnight – close to 18 hours of daily coverage throughout the two-week event.

As a result BBC executives have had to warn the BBC Trust that its heavy commitment to the London Olympics, as well as broadcasting the Euro 2012 football championship, may mean that it could miss hitting its annual quota of hours of its flagship peak-time news programming.

The BBC Trust, which published the minutes of a meeting on 17 November on Thursday, said it needed to inform media regulator Ofcom of the "possibility and circumstances in which BBC1's peak-time news quota might not be met in 2012, due to its coverage of the London Olympics and Euro 2012".

BBC1's flagship 10pm news is most likely to be hit by either football matches or Olympic events over-running, although BBC1 also airs a news bulletin at 6pm.

The BBC Trust said despite the importance of the Olympic Games to the nation, and to a lesser extent Euro 2012, that "network and regional news should continue to have top priority in scheduling decisions on BBC1".

"The channel should do all it [can] to meet the quota without harming audience interests," said the BBC Trust.

A spokeswoman for BBC News said: "Clearly there are major sporting events happening in 2012 which could lead to scheduling changes but our commitment to bringing our audiences all the latest news and current affairs in peak time remains as strong as ever."

According to a BBC report on the performance of its services, BBC1 has a commitment to deliver 275 hours of news during peak time, defined as running from 6pm to 10.30pm, in the year to 31 March 2011. BBC1 over-delivered its quota of peak-time news managing 278 hours for the period.

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Lukas Podolski reluctant to gamble Germany place with move to Arsenal

• Köln striker desperate to play at Euro 2012
• Gunners would need to double offer to at least €20m

Lukas Podolski has ruled out a January transfer to Arsenal. Kon Schramm, the representative of the Köln striker, told the Guardian that a move in the Bundesliga winter break is "all but impossible", citing the player's reluctance to endanger his chances of featuring for Germany in the European Championship in Poland and Ukraine this year. "Köln has priority right now; we have time [for everything else] in the summer," said Schramm.

Despite the Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger's protestations to the contrary, there has been contact with the Polish-born forward in recent weeks. But Podolski, who has scored 14 goals in 16 league games this season, is wary of trading his automatic starting place for a new beginning in the Premier League at this stage of the campaign, especially in the light of Robin van Persie's outstanding form.

The left-footed Podolski has 95 caps and has been a mainstay for the German national team since 2004, but he is faced with increasing competition from emerging talent such as Mario Götze (Dortmund) and Marco Reus (Borussia Mönchengladbach).

While Gervinho's absence for the Africa Cup of Nations would provide the 26-year-old Podolski with an opportunity to play wide left for Arsenal, in the same role he has successfully filled for Joachim Löw's team in recent years, the player is much happier as a centre-forward. He is also very settled at his hometown club. On Monday, he revealed to Bild he was putting off planned nasal surgery so as not to miss five days of training.

A possible deal is further complicated by Köln's stance. The 10th-placed club are €31m (£25.8m) in debt but will not accept Arsenal's mooted offer of £10m due to the player's importance for the team and his contractual situation. A third of Podolski's transfer rights are held by the club sponsor SolarWorld, which partly financed his €10m return from Bayern Munich in 2009. Köln would thus only receive £6.6m, too meagre a return for the political and sporting fallout of selling their prize asset half-way through the season.

It would take an offer closer to €20m to make the economic case for his departure more compelling, according to a club source. But Köln will be forced to accept lower offers in the summer if Podolski refuses to extend his existing contract beyond 2013.

2012 football predictions – video

The Guardian's football pundits take a look at what may be in store for fans in 2012

The arts in 2012: television

Richard Vine picks his highlights of the year ahead

New Girl

If the words "pixie", "kooky" and "Zooey Deschanel" are a turn-off, then this is not for you. If you're a fan, however, this is a breezy riff on the apartment-sharing sitcom that should sit well on a Friday night. Post-breakup Zooey splits the rent with three guys who don't know what to make of her singing, crying and Dirty Dancing marathons. From 6 January, Channel 4.

Birdsong

Abi "The Hour" Morgan adapts Sebastian Faulks's first world war romance. Eddie Redmayne and Clémence Poésy star as the young lovers. January, BBC2.

Homeland

Claire Danes plays an unreliable CIA agent who doesn't quite believe the official story when marine Damian Lewis turns up after years being held captive by al-Qaida. Is he a hero – or has he been turned? February, More4.

Euro 2012; the Olympics

If you're not a sports fan, you may want to take a long break this summer as the BBC and ITV outside-broadcast units go into overdrive. Euro 2012 kicks off in June; a few weeks later, London's Olympic village opens its doors to the BBC, with the Paralympics continuing until 9 September. On the BBC squad: Sue Barker, Gary Lineker and Clare Balding; ITV have Adrian Chiles and Clive Tyldesley. Euro 2012: 8 June – 1 July; Olympics: 27 July – 12 August.

Richard II, Henry IV (Parts I and II) and Henry V

Three big-budget Shakespeares: Rupert Goold directs Ben Whishaw as Richard II; Richard Eyre directs Jeremy Irons as Henry IV; and Thea Sharrock follows with Tom Hiddleston as Henry V. Courtly intrigue from Simon Russell Beale and Rory Kinnear. BBC, summer.

Bad Sugar

Being pitched as "Grey Gardens, the sitcom", this spoof about a mining village is a Britcom all-star dream team: Julia Davis, Olivia Colman, Sharon Horgan and Peter Serafinowicz star, with a script from Peep Show's Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong. Will it be the show that Lizzie and Sarah (the most baffling case of a pilot that wasn't picked up) could have been? In production, C4.