London 2012 blog

It’s a wonderful vision.

The whole of the UK linked together by Live Sites - a permanent network of 2012 giant outdoor screens in public squares? A piece of dedicated space in major cities and county towns around the UK?

So when the Lloyds TSB partnership was announced last week which included their wish to be involved with the Live Sites, it was a very helpful early indication of how others are also seeing the concept as an imaginative way of ensuring that the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games connect with the rest of Britain.

I’m putting the finishing touches to a feasibility study into the project.

I’ve lost count of the number of people I’ve spoken to in the process from national and local government, the arts, tourism, and sport; from people who want to regenerate our town and city centres and make them more economically viable and family friendly; to those who want to encourage film-making and other creative industries; to those in the IOC with experience of Live Sites and to LOCOG team members who would help to make the sites work with their content and activities.

People can see the value to London 2012 and the wider legacy of such a 21st-century community facility. It is very encouraging.

There is, of course, much work still to be done, including business modelling and a careful examination of just how such a complex technical, content and event hungry installation could be rolled-out within the time frame and operated.

No-one has tried to do it before. It would be a world first as well as a first for the Olympic Movement.

So what is a Live Site?

In its simplest form it is a large LED screen capable of showing a live relayed event (e.g. The Olympic or Paralympic Games) as the focal point of a public space, whilst also being used to showcase other things that might be happening in that space (e.g. a music concert).

Usually the screen is temporary, but LOCOG’s ambition is for a permanent structure.

The UK already has an embryo infrastructure of seven permanent screens which run 24/7 in the centres of Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, Hull, Bradford and Rotherham, with Derby due to open shortly and at least two others before Beijing.

Screens are used by their local communities as 'digital canvases' to be enjoyed by local filmmakers, including school children and students, and as information boards by a wide range of organisations.

Cameras are mounted on top of each screen to allow the screens to network with each other nationally and internationally, and the facility is Bluetooth-enabled so that the public can upload and download information.

In parallel with this world-leading experiment in outdoor urban space broadcasting, the IOC deployed temporary Live Sites in Sydney and Athens during the Games and Beijing plans to have 30 within the city itself and four or five at football venues elsewhere.

Also, screen-led event areas really came into their own in Germany last year when FIFA had enormous success with their 12 Fanzones during the World Cup.

London 2012 seeks to learn from and build upon the experience gained from these models.

It hopes to take the idea to a whole new level; beyond the host city to embrace the whole of the host nation; beyond the Games themselves and start operating from the Beijing handover in 2008 to 2012 and leave a community legacy long afterwards. And they won’t just be big TV-sets…they’ll interact with their audiences and network.

The real magic of big screens is the simple truth that people like to enjoy a big occasion in the company of others.

An event may be on the TV at home, but many prefer the communal experience and the special atmosphere a big screen generates.

So imagine the scale of what it could be like in the summer of 2012, when people in their millions, in public squares and parks, in front of permanent (and some temporary and touring screens too) across London and the rest of Britain, join with those in the Olympic Stadium to share the opening of the London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The nation truly united for one of its biggest moments ever.