London 2012 blog

A deserted Dorney Lake at dawn on a bitterly cold December morning, as the sun breaks through the freezing fog, is an evocative sight for any eyes.

It’s a Christmas card scene and festive thoughts are forefront in most people’s minds right now. That’s not so much the case for us paddlers – especially those of us dreaming of glory at the 2012 Games.

One thing’s for sure, it gets seriously windy out on the lake at this time of year. Hopefully it won’t be like that in the summer of 2012. But, even if the British climate does decide to do its worst, no one will be better prepared than me and my fellow members of the GB Under 23 squad, who have been given the chance to train every Saturday at the venue for Flatwater Canoeing.

Read more of “Eton Dorney - lake of dreams”

Britain’s Beth Tweddle is the talk of the online gymnastics community. She gave the sport’s home profile yet another boost at the weekend, by adding the prestigious World Cup title to the World Championship crown she won in October.

But, she told the BBC in an audio interview posted on Tuesday, performing at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year show was the greater challenge.

TV presenter Gabby Logan – a former Commonwealth rhythmic gymnast – reflected on the impact of this prime-time appearance in her column for The Times Online. Bloggers approved of her positive take on elite gymnastics training for youngsters.

Read more of “Olympic Sports in the Blogosphere: #1 Gymnastics”

Yesterday I travelled to Lausanne with two of my colleagues from the legal department to meet with our counterparts at the International Olympic Committee.

On the agenda were digital rights. The fast-changing media landscape is very challenging for both us and the IOC. Our games are five years away, which may seem a short time to the team at the ODA building the Olympic Park, but in digital media terms it's an eon.

Read more of “On a bicycle made for two...”

I work at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden, a Hindu temple in north London.

Yesterday we visited the 2012 HQ to meet organisers and share a traditional Indian lunch with them.

As a community, we are very excited about the 2012 Games. We believe that spiritual and physical development are closely linked and will be encouraging our young people to take part in sport. We have many members in Newham and are so proud to have the Games in our neighbourhood.

Read more of “A lesson in culture and cuisine”

Yesterday I took part in a discussion with 90 people from the UK’s Turkish communities on how they can benefit and become involved in 2012 Games. The Turkish community has a significant presence in the UK, especially in London. Anybody who knows areas like Hackney, Waltham Forest, and Islington in London will be fully aware of the social and cultural influence the Turkish community has. What was noticeable from last night's event was the hunger for information on the Games and the desire for the Turkish community play an integral role, whether it be through employment, business, volunteering, or contributing to the cultural programme.

There was a great interest in how Turkish businesses can get involved in contracts and sub-contracting opportunities generated by the Games, especially as a lot of Turkish businesses are concentrated in the textile, tourism, catering and food and service sectors . I was keen to stress that most important thing businesses can do now is sign up to the London 2012 e-alert service that can be found on www.london2012.com/business to receive all the latest information on opportunities and events generated by London 2012.

Read more of “Making the Turkish connection”

I've always been a busy person, but since starting work at the ODA at the end of July life has just got even busier. I'm Vivienne Ramsey and I’m the Head of Development Control.

My team is responsible for processing all the planning applications for the Olympic Park and the Stratford City development.

The ODA became a planning authority in September, meaning we had to get ourselves ready to receive and process planning applications. It was a bit of a tall order to set up a planning authority in such a short time but we did it.

We’ve been receiving planning applications since September, not least being the demolition of buildings on sites as the ODA gets access. The ODA planning committee has now had 4 meetings, 3 of them to consider planning applications.

Read more of “A planning committee and a chat with the Queen”

That’s me in the photo, on the right, with Seb Coe today, showing off my prize possession – a jar of cinders from the London 1948 Olympic track at Wembley Stadium, which was later re-laid at Eton Manor Boys Club to form the first floodlit athletics facility in the whole of England.

I was pleased to discover that Seb was aware of Eton Manor’s historic significance. And, as he said, another important chapter is now beginning.

For some of my fellow old boys, it was a real lump-in-the-throat moment as that digger tore into the old sports hall which played such a major role in our lives.

But I’m not such a sentimental man. For me, the most important thing is that Eton Manor is once more to be associated with top-class international sport.

Read more of “A moment of history”

Demolition work started on the Olympic Park this morning, with the destruction of an old, disused sports hall on Eton Manor, in the north of the Olympic Park. Seb was on site to see it happen, together with Sir Roy McNulty, Olympic Delivery Authority Acting Chairman.

A big thank you to the residents of Newham for a lively discussion and Q&A session on the 2012 Games yesterday evening, the first of its kind that we've run.

Topics ranged from security to transport, from contamination to the culture programme. Everyone had a different view, a different area of interest.

In the audience of about 200 adults was a student from a local secondary school. She really impressed me as she had the courage to stand up in front of all those adults and ask her questions - she wanted to know how young people could get involved.

She reminded me of how much I am looking forward to working with young people in the area (and the organisations that work with them) to ensure that we all go on this journey together.

One of the main things I realised is that people really appreciated having a forum to ask questions directly to us, face to face. This is something we'll definitely think about going forward. If you missed us this time round, don't worry, we will be back for sure - starting in Greenwich tomorrow!

Read more of “Newham: Questions on the road”

Monday mornings are sometimes dull, but not today! Seb Coe helped kick-start the Sport England conference at the NEC by joining in our Rope Skipping demonstration. He was actually really good, although we weren’t particularly surprised – athletes usually are!

Meeting Seb was a big highlight for us. He seemed really interested in all the different titles and medals we’ve won. We’re working towards the European Championships in Holland, so that’s the next thing to look forward to.

Our advice to Seb is that he should keep up the skipping – it will definitely help him stay in shape for the challenge of 2012!

Read more of “Skipping with Seb”

The IPC World Swimming Championships out here in Durban have given me an intense insight into the highly pressurised world of top-level competitive swimming, and taken me through all sorts of emotions.

Pre-packing nerves and the fear of leaving a crucial piece of kit behind were followed by moments of joy as I began training with what I quickly realised is the best disability swimming team in the world.

The pre-competition training camp quickly got me acclimatised to the local environment. Although I did not yet realise I was about to endeavour the biggest competition of my life, it was a fantastic physical preparation.

The competition was soon on me. Months of preparation, hours of dotting the i's and crossing the t's, had narrowed down to these short moments, so I was very nervous.

I managed five races, and achieved personal best times in all. In my two main events I managed five races, and achieved personal best times in all.

Read more of “Two silver medals and a 17th birthday”

Much as I hate to admit it, I was feeling pretty nervous this morning as I waited to interview the Prime Minister about multi-culturalism and the Games. I felt like a little mouse when that famous door of 10 Downing Street closed behind me – definitely not my usual style, but it’s a seriously impressive place!

As a London 2012 Young Ambassador, I thought I was a bit of a pro at this kind of thing. It was actually my second visit to Downing Street – the first time was when we went to ask Tony Blair to sign the Olympic flag in support of the original bid. I was quite a lot younger then, though, and we didn’t get to go inside.

That was right at the start of this whole 2012 adventure. The London bid team came to our school, Langdon School Specialist Sports College in Newham, to find young people from different backgrounds and cultures to help promote their campaign. I thought it was a fantastic opportunity to represent for Newham, which is one of the most diverse places in the UK. I’m really proud of that.

Read more of “Speaking up for a multi-cultural Games”

Yesterday I went along to Parliament with our Chief Operating Officer Mike Power and Director of Technology Pascal Wattiaux, presenting plans for using the newest technology at the Games to an audience drawn from IT, telecoms, technology and space companies, as well as some civil servants who deal with technology.

One of the things that I am struck with is the role that the Games play in driving new 'functionality' of IT and technology. As a confirmed technophobe, even I recognise the role that satellites play in broadcasting, but what I’ve found really fascinating are the plans for delivering news and images through mobile telephony.

One of the examples Mike used was the way in which his team are planning to be able to use technology to turn the necessary evil of all big events - queueing - into a more active experience.

Read more of “The technological Games”

As a sports development officer, working with London's disadvantaged youth, my life has already been transformed by the 2012 Games. My job now is to make sure young people across the capital enjoy the same experience.

That message Seb Coe took to Singapore – inspiring the youth of the world through sport – really resonated with me.

At the time I was in my first sports development job, working for a charity involved with young offenders. I’d been really struck by the ‘Kelly Holmes effect’ at our mini Games in 2004. One of the kids involved in the athletics programme went on to win a medal at nationals - it was incredible to see the effect on his self-esteem.

In fact, it was back in that bid phase that I started to come up with ‘Getting Ready’ – London Youth’s programme to prepare young people for the opportunities the 2012 Games will bring.

Read more of “London Youth: Getting ready for 2012”

Legacy and accountability are closely related in the context of these Games. They certainly inform everything we do at the Olympic Delivery Authority. These twin ideals topped my personal agenda as I prepared to update MPs yesterday on our progress and plans to transform the UK through the 2012 Games.

The briefing at Westminster was a great opportunity to highlight the scope the ODA’s work as the organisation charged with delivering the venues and infrastructure for 2012 and – significantly - beyond.

My audience began to get a grasp of this scale watching the 'On Track' video we’ve produced to show successes to date and our plans for the future. It seemed to impress them deeply. They seemed astounded, in fact.

Read more of “Games legacy - an astounding scope”

I can clearly remember the last London Games – they left a huge impression. I was a sports-mad eight-year-old schoolboy at the time, living in Tanzania.

In those days, there was no live coverage – we’d never even seen a television. It took five weeks for the official news reel to reach the town cinema, which doubled as our classroom. Those grainy images gave me my first taste of Olympic sport and began my love affair with London, my home for the last 40 years.

A lot has happened since 1948, and today I found myself in very different surroundings at Canary Wharf, taking part in the London 2012 Older People's Forum. These sessions have been running for a year now, and we're starting to see our input have a real impact on Games preparations. There's so much we can bring to the table – not least our vast experience.

Read more of “The Games can close the generation gap”

Here's a snap of me addressing, or should that be looming over, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), as part of my trip to see the impressive 15th Asian Games in Doha, today.

















The Games are governed by the OCA and modelled on the Olympic Games, so the trip has given me, and a small delegation from London 2012, the chance to gain an even greater understanding and respect for the incredibly wide range of issues and variables involved in planning and staging an international multi-sport event.

I admired the can-do style of the Doha Ceremonies team as they battled with the wind and rain to stage a spectacular Opening Ceremony. The impact of the rain highlighted the extraordinary contingency planning needed for these sorts of events. At least in London’s case rain won’t come as a surprise!

Read more of “A lesson in Games planning”

I have just returned from the Far Eastern and South Pacific Paralympic Games 2006 in Kuala Lumpur - and am suffering from the jet lag!

The main reason for my attendance in KL was to attend the International Paralympic Committee Governing Board on behalf of London 2012. Our Chairman, Seb Coe, gave our Progress Report personally by video-link. It is clear the board are now firmly of the view that London will deliver inspirational Paralympic and Olympic Games in 2012.

The Far Eastern & South Pacific Paralympic Games started in the 60s as an offshoot of the Commonwealth Games. In those days everyone competed in multiple sports so it was feasible to hold a week's competition with a few hundred athletes.

Read more of “Report from the Kuala Lumpur Regional Paralympic Games”

They say it only rains for two or three days a year here in the searing heat of the desert in Qatar – so that will be today, yesterday and the day before then!

Heading off to the opening ceremony of the 15th Asian Games through flooded Doha streets (the capital city) was not on the carefully planned agenda. But who cares, the whole place – indeed the whole of the Middle East and much of Asia seems to be Games-crazy.

It may not hit the headlines too much back at home, but make no mistake - this is huge - and yet another reminder of the power of major games to energise and excite vast audiences.

Read more of “Despite the rain, Doha is ignited by a flaming torch”