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Have you got what it takes to be a London 2012 Games Maker?

Jean Tomlin, LOCOG HR Director

Have you got what it takes to be a London 2012 Games Maker?

Jean Tomlin, LOCOG HR Director,
27 Jul 2010
You can feel the energy everywhere you go in the London 2012 offices today. Not only are we marking just two years to go until the Games, but it is also the launch of our official Games-time volunteer programme.

Today we start our search for our London 2012 Games Makers, and I am so excited to launch our campaign to the UK and the world. I’m not alone in my excitement, of course. Hundreds of thousands of people have registered their interest in volunteering at the Games.

Today, our volunteering ambassadors – dance act Diversity, Olympic champion Sally Gunnell and CBeebies presenter Cerrie Burnell – will be on hand alongside pre-Games volunteers, our Trailblazers, to promote the opportunity.

From this morning, applications are open for specialist volunteers and other interest groups that we have been working closely with, including many disability organisations.

We're then giving the general public six weeks to really consider whether or not they truly understand what it means to be a Games-time volunteer.

It's hard work. It's sacrificing at least 10 days of your free time. It's not very glamorous, and there won't be any free tickets or back stage passes.

But you will go down in history as being a part of putting on the greatest show on Earth! 

So join the team and I in reading all of the newspaper articles and watching the news, navigating around our new Games Maker website and asking yourself if you've got what it takes to be a Games Maker!

Have you got what it takes to be a Games Maker?

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3 Comments on this post
27 July 2010, ritaleaman said:

At Sydney2000, i was blown away by the volunteers and vowed if the Olympics ever came to the UK, I would sign up. They have and I did. I'm so excited and hope very much to be accepted as a Games Maker.

Last week I had the usual negative London cab driver, who started to have a go about London2012. Once I got going, he shut up!

Rita in Scarborough

06 August 2010, willingandable said:

I live outside of London. I would be willing to give up 13 days of my time in the cause of volunteering to help assure a successful 2012. So why does LOCOG discriminate against those willing to volunteer from outside London, by not only leaving it to them to arrange their travel and accommodation, but by leaving them to pay for it too!

It is bad enough that as usual, London gets everything in this country, as though the remainder of the country is of no relevance, and Birmingham, the so-called second city, which is geographically central and therefore more accessible to all, is over-looked once again. If you are truly interested in providing inclusive opportunities to those willing to give up their time for 2012, the least you can do is at least cover the costs those living outside London will face. Or are you only looking for wealthy volunteers?

09 August 2010, London 2012 Games Maker team said:

Hi there willingandable,

First, thank you for your interest in volunteering at London 2012 - the Games couldn't happen without passionate, enthusiastic and dedicated Games Makers.

Unfortunately, while we’d love to put everyone up and pay for all their travel costs, with up to 70,000 volunteers, this simply isn’t possible.

We will, however, provide volunteers with an official Games Maker uniform, free meals during their shifts and free travel on public transport to and from their shifts. For volunteers staying in London this will include travel within London zones 1–6 and between London and Eton Dorney, Lee Valley White Water Centre and Hadleigh Farm, Essex.

We’ll also provide free transport to volunteers with roles in other Games-time locations: Weymouth and Portland, Manchester, Coventry, Cardiff, Newcastle and Glasgow.

If you really would like to become a Games Maker but cannot cover the costs of staying in London during the Games, perhaps you might consider volunteering in Coventry, one of the co-Host Cities for the Football competition.

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