London 2012 blog

Today marks 100 days since I joined the Olympic Delivery Authority and what a 100 days it has been.

When I joined the ODA as Chairman in September this year the work on the Olympic Park was just beginning to accelerate - almost a third of the Olympic Park had been cleared, with over 40 buildings demolished.

100 days later and I have seen significant progress made on site – demolition work is well over the halfway stage and the clean up of the site well underway, with previously contaminated ground being cleaned and reused on site.

We have also hit other key milestones in the project during this time including the unveiling of our innovative, world-class Olympic Stadium designs, and the publication of the first full version of the Olympic Transport Plan.

This period has also seen the conclusion of further work with key Government departments on the ODA’s budget, leading to the detailed breakdown of the budget being published this week. My thanks go to all involved in this work which gives us further certainty to build on the excellent progress we have already made.

So my first 100 days have not been unlike a 100 metre sprint – a quick start out of the blocks, getting into my stride, followed by a dramatic acceleration.

In my time at the ODA so far I have seen the strong start we have made but with a programme of this size and scale I’m only too aware that the mountain lies ahead.

The key to overcoming the challenges ahead will be working in partnership and an important part of my early days at the ODA has involved developing relationships with key stakeholders across the project.

Working with colleagues at the London Organising Committee (LOCOG) to develop our joint vision for what we want 2012 to deliver, not just to London but the whole of the UK, has been an immensely enjoyable part of my time so far.

Equally, my discussions with the London Development Agency and the Mayor’s office over the legacy visions for the Olympic Park, and discussions with the host boroughs on the day-to-day activities in and around the Olympic Park site have been invaluable. I’m grateful to these stakeholders and many more for the support they have shown me and with such dedicated and capable partners working with us I am sure we will deliver a Games to remember in 2012.

The next leg of our journey will begin in earnest next year when construction work on the Olympic Park site starts. It will be a significant moment for the project where we will see the careful planning, rapid preparatory works on site, and world-class design works, which have been at the forefront of this project since day one, start to come to fruition.

As 2007 draws to a close, we find ourselves around 4½ years away from the opening ceremony of 2012. I look forward to enjoying each of those 1687 days ahead as much as my first 100.