We have seen new venues, upgraded existing sports facilities and been part of some of the Games' test events. On Tuesday we toured the athletes' Village, where the final landscaping and finishing touches are being done to the apartment blocks that will house the 10,500 athletes at Games time. As the athletes' home-from-home it includes all facilities they will need to deliver peak performance, from medical and sports facilities to supermarkets, newsagents and a temporary dining hall that seats 5,000. Like the athletes' Village in London, this area will become a whole new suburb after the Games that will need schools, retail and sports facilities to service the thousands of residents that will live here. The level of detail going into the accommodation, the services and facilities and the landscaping of the whole area are impressive.
We have also seen first hand the testing of some of the venues – the Beach Volleyball and the 80,000 tonnes of sand that has been delivered to the venue, the Shooting, where they actually test the thickness of the clothing worn by athletes to ensure it does not become a 'prop', and we watched the national club volleyball competition which was selected as the test event in the two Volleyball venues. Spectators, media, athletes and technical officials will be arriving at the synchronised swimming, basketball, fencing, race walking and marathon events later in the week.
This will be us in four years time and it was fascinating to watch how the BOCOG team tested everything from the sports presentation, complete with giant screens, music and commentary to spectator services, the media facilities, including a press conference at the end of matches and, of course, the charming, enthusiastic and helpful volunteers all of whom had begun their venue based training a month ago.
There is a focussed, enthusiastic and dedicated team at the Beijing Organising Committee ensuring that the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be spectacular. The size of the venues and the level of detailed planning are impressive. You cannot help but get caught up in the enthusiasm that is going into the biggest sporting event on the planet.
Being in Beijing at this time really does bring home to us what we need to get accomplished over the next four years to be ready for our Games in London.
The opportunity to excite the nation is huge and we are giving a lot of thought to how we use our time when we come back in the summer. Beijing is the only 'live' summer Games that we can learn from so it is essential that we make the most of it
