The London 2012 Blog

Sourcing sustainable food on the Park

Ros Seal — Tue, 9 Feb 2010 12:00:00 +0000

With over 7,000 people working on the Olympic Park, the prospect of feeding them is a mammoth task in its own right. Millions of cooked breakfasts, hearty lunches and who knows how many cups of the traditional builder's tea will be served between now and 2012.

The Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 has set ambitious standards to make the London 2012 Games the most sustainable ever. With so many mouths to feed these standards are being supported on the Olympic Park with caterers of all shapes and sizes working towards common goals around sourcing sustainable food.

Canteen menu showing fruit in season used to make muffins.

Photos of the week: Desmond Tutu, James Cracknell and the Olympic Park

Uzma, Communications Intern — Fri, 5 Feb 2010 12:00:00 +0000

This week London 2012 welcomed Archbishop Desmond Tutu to the Olympic Park. He made us laugh and feel inspired, but most of all he made us feel proud about how multicultural London is and how this will help us host the best Games ever! See more photos of Desmond Tutu visiting.

Congratulations to Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson and Tony Hall

Seb, LOCOG Chair — Fri, 5 Feb 2010 12:00:00 +0000

I was delighted to learn that Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson and Tony Hall will be joining me in the House of Lords. Both have been appointed as Crossbench (non-party political) peers.

Dame Tanni is one of Britain's greatest Paralympians, winning 11 Paralympic gold medals and setting more than 20 world records. She is Vice-Chair of the London 2012 Sports Advisory Group and a UNICEF International Inspiration ambassador.

Tony has been Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House since 2001, and was asked to set up and chair the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad Board last July. He is passionate about widening access to the Royal Opera House and its work, and to develop partnerships with performing arts centres around the world.

Both Dame Tanni and Tony will bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the House. I'm sure that everyone will join me in wishing them well in their new roles.

Who better to inspire us about diversity than Desmond Tutu?!

Kaycee, Young Mayor of Newham — Thu, 4 Feb 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Today's been just brilliant! This morning I was lucky enough to lead a group of local young people to meet Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu at the View Tube near Stratford.

Speaking to him was so inspirational. He's really energetic and funny, but also really down to earth.

I talked to him about the diversity of people in Newham and how the Olympics will put us all on show and create opportunities for years to come.

London 2012 is making a real difference in Northern Ireland

Seb, LOCOG Chair — Wed, 3 Feb 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Before heading out to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games there was time for one more visit as part of my Nations and Regions programme with a trip to Northern Ireland.

For me personally, this is a very special place as it is where my journey with London 2012 began. Back in 2004 and newly appointed as the Chair of the bid team it was the first visit I made as I started out championing support across the UK for our bid to host the Games. Now we are just two and a half years away from the Opening Ceremony and it was a pleasure to return again to see first-hand how London 2012 is already making a real difference to local communities and to thank those who are making it happen.

Has the Cultural Olympiad been 'dropped'?

Tony Hall, Chair, Cultural Olympiad Board — Wed, 3 Feb 2010 12:00:00 +0000

No. The Cultural Olympiad has not been 'dropped', as Simon Jenkins suggested in the Evening Standard; it will continue to gather momentum towards 2012.

Take a small step to make a whole lot of difference to your health

James Cracknell — Wed, 3 Feb 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Smallsteps4life launched yesterday by the Food Standards Agency - an initiative inspired by the 2012 Games to get people doing a little something different in their lives to make a whole lot of difference to their health and well-being.

Addressing climate change on the Olympic Park

Dan, Head of Sustainable Development & Regeneration — Mon, 1 Feb 2010 12:00:00 +0000

At the Olympic Park we know that concrete is one material that significantly adds to carbon emissions during construction.

Because of this, we want to reduce carbon emissions as part of our approach to addressing climate change. Therefore, we are using concrete mixes that produce around 40% less carbon than the UK industry average. This has helped the Park and the Olympic Village reduce carbon emissions by nearly 80,000 tonnes of carbon so far.

Photos of the week: Velodrome steel structure and Eton Dorney bridge

Uzma, Communications Intern — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:00:00 +0000

This week here at London 2012 we have been celebrating the completion of the steel structure of the Velodrome.

The steel outer ring looks a bit like a rollercoaster, don't you think?

During the Games the Velodrome will host Olympic and Paralympic Track Cycling events.

View more photos of the Velodrome

Take a virtual tour of the Velodrome.

Eton Dorney, the venue for Rowing events during the Games, gets brightened up with a new bridge which has now been lifted into place.

John Armitt, Chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), travelled to Wales this week to visit some of the firms that have won contracts to work on the 2012 Games, including a firm that produced decking boards for the new Sailing facilities at Weymouth and Portland.

Change in our local communities

Kaycee, Young Mayor of Newham — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Last week I led Newham's Youth Council on a tour of the Olympic Park. It was really exciting to see the changes in Stratford and buildings springing up all over the park. Even from a distance outside you can see the Stadium and Aquatics Centre really taking shape. Up close they're even more impressive!