London 2012 blog

LOCOG’s security team recently welcomed UK and international security partners to an IOC-sponsored security workshop.

We welcomed a high level delegation of police and security officials planning for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games and Paralympic Games to Canary Wharf HQ for a jam-packed agenda. Members of the 24-agency Olympic Security Directorate - the “OSD” - joined the team to make the workshop a full-house.

LOCOG organised a series of presentations providing security lessons learnt from past Games. A star-studded cast of Olympic Security speakers included:

Vassilios Konstantinidis (Director of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games Security Division);
Duncan Jarrett (former Metropolitan Police Officer and Athens 2004 adviser);
Peter Ryan (an IOC security consultant and Head of the New South Wales Police during Sydney 2000); and
Francesco Norante (Former Head of Security for Turin 2006 and currently Vancouver 2010’s Director of Security Integration).

Key workshop themes included the need for Organising committee and law enforcement security integration, the ongoing need to build up trust and strong relationships between all Games security planners, and the need for effective multi-agency communication.

Speakers and delegates concurred that these points are already embedded into UK security planning arrangements, and that they will continue to be developed in the 2012 Games context.

The Games security community also received presentations from key London 2012 security 'clients'. Paul Deighton opened the workshop by outlining LOCOG’s vision and security’s centrality to the project.

Jonathan Edwards gave security officials a feel for athletes' expectations and recalled some personal tales of how he had been affected by security measures during different competitions.

Phil Lane, CEO of the British Paralympic Association, confirmed security planners’ thinking by explaining how security must be integrated across the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

After the first day of presentations the Metropolitan Police Service hosted a London 2012/Vancouver 2010 partnership dinner at New Scotland Yard.

This was organised by Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur and Deputy Assistant Commissioner Richard Bryan – the OSD’s leadership team. The after-dinner speakers commented that the 'partnership' was quickly evolving into a 'relationship'.

All agreed that London/Vancouver collaborative opportunities should be developed, with a return London 2012 delegation trip being considered for later this year.

On Wednesday LOCOG security organised a venue visit tour for its Canadian partners. The group first visited the Olympic Park's optimal viewing location at Holden Point, where they were given a comprehensive briefing of developments to date by a member of the London 2012 Community relations team.

The group then moved down to the Dome venue. After a briefing from the venue operator, a LOCOG venue team official outlined current Games-time plans for Gymnastics and the Basketball finals.

The delegation then travelled south to Greenwich Park for an inspection of London 2012’s Equestrian and Modern Pentathlon events venue. Vancouver were shown what we think will become the world's "most famous mag&bag location" in front of the stunning seventeenth century Queen’s House backdrop!

The venue tour finished at the famous Trafalgar Tavern for a traditional English pub working lunch on the Thames. Not one member failed to enjoy the excellent fish and chips, and all were reassured by the police boat passing the restaurant on the river outside.

On Thursday a delegation of Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games police officers and private security partners joined the group at London 2012 HQ for a "trilateral" roundtable discussion with London 2012 and Vancouver 2010 officials.

The teams gained further Games planning and operational lessons learnt during the session. Members from the OSD and the UK’s private security industry joined in to share in the learning.

Other past week highlights included a Vancouver 2010 visit to the Metropolitan Police Service's new control room at Lambeth, a back-of-house learning visit at the Tour de France, and a series of bilateral meetings between OSD representatives and its new international partners.

At the end of a busy week a London 2012 security team member reflected: "Last year I completed some study in international security – this week we placed international security at the very heart of our 2012 planning."