The first ever IOC publications and editorial services workshop took place in Vancouver last week. Facilitated by the Head of Media Operations for the IOC, the primary objective was to give the publications teams from the Vancouver, Beijing and London Gam
The workshop also really re-enforced the scale of the task at hand. Each Organising Committee is responsible for producing thousands of separate publications ranging from training guides, entry forms, media guides, branding guides through to spectator programmes and daily results sheets.
This was a very intensive but worthwhile trip, providing a great opportunity to meet colleagues from other Organising Committees, learn from previous Games and also to meet members of the VANOC (Vancouver Organising Committee) team who are covering my areas of responsibility within Sports Policy and Operations.
A few facts about Vancouver (based on my 48 hours experience!):
Vancouver city is in a spectacular location arranged around a large bay with the Canadian Rockies as a stunning backdrop. Well worth a visit if you like lakes and mountains, the outdoor life and great seafood.
Apparently it rains most days from November to February as it is located within a rainforest - however, most locals seem to ignore it.
The residents of British Columbia are very conscious of the environment to the extent that hotel rooms have recycling bins, most taxis are hybrids with petrol/electric engines and anything that is to be printed on paper is challenged in order to make sure that it cannot be done electronically. - Vancouver has one of the cleanest airports in the world with a very good noodle bar.
Dress code in most offices, including VANOC, appears to be hiking boots, Goretex and fleeces, which is pretty cool.
