London celebrated 100 days until the Olympics with guards, flowers and rain (PHOTOS)

April showers didn't diminish the excitement in London on Wednesday during celebrations marking 100 days before the 2012 Summer Olympics.

In the picture above (taken earlier this week), 260 Guardsmen from the Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots and Welsh Guards stood in the center of the Horse Guard Parade to mark the occasion.

The official countdown clock in Trafalgar Square received some visitors even as cold rains whipped through London.

The rainy conditions were good for the 20,000 flowers that made up these Olympic rings at Kew Gardens in west London. These will be maintained throughout the games and will be visible on many flightpaths into Heathrow airport.

Nearby, Lord Sebastian Coe planted an oak tree grown from an acorn from a tree planted in the British town of Much Wenlock in 1890 to honor the founder of the modern Olympics, Pierre de Coubertin.

Coe unveiled the official motto of the 2012 Games at the event: "Inspire a generation."