Last week saw NBC the American Broadcaster visit London for the first of its orientation meetings. NBC are one of the Olympic broadcasting rights holders who have the exclusive television rights through until 2012. They are part of the GE Group which operates in over 100 Countries and employs some 320,000 people.
At the beginning of the week we met with the production team who are responsible for all logistical arrangements leading up to 2012. They are looking for 1,000 rooms to accommodate camera crews, reporters, makeup artists, chefs, doctors and runners.
On Monday we welcomed the team to London 2012 HQ and spent the morning outlining our vision for 2012 and looking at venue locations. That afternoon we toured the Olympic Park, specifically looking at the Main Press Centre to the North of Stratford which is where many of their employees will be based. From there we dropped down to Excel, the Dome and Greenwich. That evening we had a great meal over looking the Thames as the sun set!
Another glorious day, Tuesday was an early start as we worked our way from Canary Wharf to Lords Cricket ground where the Archery will be staged. We had the honour of walking through the long room and down onto the hallowed turf, after a quick tour it was back on the bus to Hyde Park and the site of the Triathlon. From Hyde Park we drove past the Olympic Family hotels on Park Lane and stopped off at Horse Guards Parade the site of Beach Volley Ball. That afternoon we visited Bloomsbury, home of the press during 2012 and viewed several hotels en-route.
Wednesday saw the hospitality crew arrive, NBC will run a programme for their corporate guests. The programme will consist of multiple waves of 400 people (200 rooms) spending 3-4 days each in the Capital. My colleagues Dan Hull & Neil Beard met with the Hospitality gang and embarked on an afternoon tour of Central London hotels. I meanwhile continued the hotel tour with NBC production looking at hotels in East London. That afternoon we held a debrief session and got some really positive feedback.
What a fantastic week – sun, sun, sun. Thursday we continued with the Central London hotel show arounds, this was to be a mammoth day taking in some ten hotels (thank you to everyone who participated). NBC were incredibly impressed with the high standard of quality accommodation in London.
This was the first client group to visit London and we look forward to hosting many, many more in the coming years! Their initial feedback was what a great city London is with some fantastic hotels and in their opinion London will be a spectacular Host City.
