London 2012 blog

The London 2012 Information Stall is reaching the end of its summer season and this Saturday we were in Trafalgar Square to mark the Liberty festival, promoting equality for disabled and Deaf Londoners. London 2012 Organising Committee and ODA staff were again enjoying the opportunity to meet with Londoners and answer their questions about the Games.

We were particularly pleased to see how important it was for us to have the services of two British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters for the afternoon (rather than relying exclusively on the interpreters helpfully provided by the organisers who had to cover a much larger area. This meant we were able to have lots of interaction with the large numbers of deaf Londoners attending the festival and also support the interaction of some of our visitors with the other stall holders nearby.

Tracey creating an impromtu BSL workshop at the stand:



We also found out about a programme that the Metrpoloitan Police are running in Westminster, with 30 officers trained to BSL level 1 to help them communicate with deaf visitors and Londoners alike.

Although there was music and dance in the Square all day, we spent so long talking to visitors to our stall that we didn't get the chance to visit to Street Arts or Carnival zones at all until the very end of the day. As the day drew to a close a group of deaf performers - the Alexandras - took to the stage on the steps to the north of the Square. A lively and colourful song and dance routine brought the house down on a wonderful celebration.