London 2012 blog

Well here I am in my second rotation in the CCE department and what a fun time I am having! I am the new Nathan in the Education team (as everyone describes me) even though I think we look slightly different.

I have already spotted one large difference between the Sport team where I was before and the Education team where I am now…and this is the fact that the Education team really reflect their name, they are somewhat more childish than the Sport team but I assure you it is a good thing!

I have only been in this team for three weeks but I feel like I have been here forever, they are keeping me busy but I am also getting to take part in different events all over the UK. I had a meeting with a group of young people from East London just the other day which was actually quite strange as just 7 months ago I was still in sixth form and could have been one of the children attending the trip rather than being a LOCOG representative talking to them. Being so close in age was actually a bonus - the pupils were able to relate to me and this helped them understand what the Games are about. They seemed really enthusiastic.

Read more of “Young at Heart”

The Minister for Health and Safety, Lord McKenzie, first visited the Olympic Park site a year ago. This week he came back accompanied by the Chief Inspector for the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) to see how we are progressing and to find out more about our commitments, plans and programmes. A short briefing from our offices in Canary Wharf didn’t provide the hoped-for aerial view of the Olympic Park, due to the morning fog which obscured the view across to Stratford.

We showed them some images of the Park a year ago and now, and of some of the key venues – Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre and Velodrome. This led to interesting discussions around a range of health and safety issues - from the management and control of the area and our performance to date through to our occupational health care provision and the investment in training.

Read more of “Olympic Park health and safety impresses Lord”

Recently I made my way with some excitement to the Houses of Parliament having never been inside the place before. I was going to a ‘Meet the London 2012 team’ reception for MPs and Peers. The team consisted of London Organising Committee and Olympic Delivery Authority representatives, along with people from the London 2012 Nations and Regions group and regional creative programmers for the Cultural Olympiad.

Working at the reception was my chance to have a good look around a truly wonderful building and soak up the history and atmosphere. The reception was held in the Terrace Pavilion, with its fantastic views up and down the river. Our team mingled with MPs and Lords, chatting in an informal atmosphere about where we are on the project. Tessa, John and Seb said a few words each - there was a lot to talk about since the London 2012 Business Network had been launched that morning at Old Trafford in Manchester. 

Read more of “Taking stock at the Houses of Parliament”

Last week, Simon Wright (Director - ODA Infrastructure & Utilities) and I went along to Port Cullis House opposite the House of Commons to give evidence to the Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform select committee. The Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and its associated public bodies.

On the same day as us, BAA were giving evidence on the new Terminal 5 which is due to open at Heathrow airport this year. Other organisations called to help outline issues facing the industry have included the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), Constructing Excellence and Construction Skills, Federation of Master Builders, UCATT and UNITE.

Read more of “One of the biggest construction projects in Europe”

The Get Set London roadshow is in full swing, touring all the boroughs. I am now on my fourth! The latest stop has just taken place in Bromley, on Tuesday, at The Glades Shopping Centre.

This colourful event proved to be a huge success at giving the residents of Bromley a taste of the exciting opportunities that are and will be available due to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The interactive equipment really got the public going and most importantly showed them how they could be involved right now.

Read more of “The fourth event - 28 to go”

I have been working on large regeneration projects for many years, including repairing landslides in the Himalayas, but the London 2012 Games is without precedent. The combination of the scale of the project, the immovable deadline and the need to address issues like climate change, local economic development and social renewal make this a once-in-a-lifetime challenge.

This is an opportunity to set new benchmarks and by working in partnership with the community, non-government organisations, business, industry and London 2012 key Stakeholders, we can change the way that large-scale regeneration is delivered in the UK and hopefully how future Olympic and Paralympic Games are delivered.

Read more of “Setting sustainability benchmarks”

I have just joined London 2012 on a 12 month contract with two roles: three days a week as UK Cultural Olympiad Launch Executive for LOCOG and two days a week as Head of Arts and Cultural Strategy for the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA).

In the two weeks I have been here so far, I can see the extraordinary challenges and opportunities of this dual role. I am also still at the stage of being in awe of the staggering view we have from the office and the heightened awareness you have of the weather and the changing colours of the urban cityscape during the day and at night. 

Read more of “New beginnings in the culture team”

Read more of “Delivering transport through quality processes”

Read more of “Roadshow demonstrates something for everyone”

My secondment to the Education team at LOCOG started in the middle of December and within an hour of arriving on my first day in the office, I was dispatched for a building induction, which was certainly a first in my professional career - I know that I had never heard of an INvacuation before! This was followed by invites to departmental Christmas drinks and I just knew that I was going to enjoy my time here!

Since the Christmas break however, the reality, excitement and challenge of my role have really kicked in. I have joined the team to manage the development and implementation of the Domestic Education Programme, this is will offer a huge variety of opportunities for participating schools, colleges, local authority education providers and young people across the UK who are committed to the Olympic and Paralympic values. The programme will be available by September, immediately after the Paralympic Handover ceremony.

My work will include project planning for the programme, developing the budget and also liaising with a range of colleagues to actually make it happen. The profile of the programme, which, like the bad guy in the Harry Potter books cannot be named, has increased significantly since the sector briefing in December. Hence we will be spending a lot of time in the next few weeks working with colleagues in education to ensure that the programme makes sense for them and is also something that they want to be part of.

Read more of “Living the Games dream”

As Chair of Stratford Town Centre Forum I hosted an event at St John’s Church Hall on Monday 7 January at which the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) presented on the Aquatics Centre and Olympic Stadium. I must admit I was worried that hardly anyone would turn up on a cold night in early January, but the hall was packed. There were lots of local residents as well as people from Stratford Town Centre Forum and other interested people. It was a pity the man from Newham & Essex Beagles AC was sick and had to send apologies.

John Nicholson, ODA Project Sponsor gave a presentation about his scheme, the Aquatics Centre. He was a very good speaker – quite amusing at times! The design is certainly eye-catching. There were questions about the legacy use after the Games and lots of questions about "green" issues.

Then Ian Crockford spoke about the Olympic Stadium. Local people really appreciated the chance to hear from the person responsible for delivering the Olympic Stadium. He explained the technical issues well and the up-tempo movie presentation showed how all the bits fit together. For the first time I felt quite excited about this project happening just half a mile down the road from where I live. I can’t wait to see the mounds of earth turning into an Olympic Park – I just hope the legacy is good for the local community afterwards.

I spent this morning with several hundred other business leaders and owners at the London edition of the launch of the London 2012 Business Network. Launched yesterday as a UK-wide programme, today we heard about the access that this system will provide to small- and medium-sized enterprises (also known as ‘SME's’) wanting to win some of the 50,000 or so contracts associated with the 2012 Games.

We also heard about the support available to London businesses, through LDA-funded programmes and the London Business Network, to make sure that London businesses that register on the site meet the basic criteria for inclusion in Games contract shortlists.

The event was hosted by Nick Ross and he kept everything focused and moving along really well, which made for a very enjoyable occasion.  What was also pleasing to see was the investment of so many senior figures both in London business and the various Olympic and Paralympic Games  bodies to promote SME involvement and take SME's seriously.

Read more of “A boost for diverse businesses”

This morning my colleague from LOCOG Procurement, Richard Mould and I were in Manchester speaking at Constructing Excellence’s North West regional 2012 Construction Commitments conference, held at Old Trafford.

It was one of a series of 2012 Construction Commitment roadshows across the UK to raise awareness of supply chain opportunities generated by direct London 2012 contracts and their supply chains. It was hosted by the ODA, the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, the Health and Safety Executive, and Constructing Excellence.

The North West roadshow served as the launch event for the London 2012 Business Network, which gives businesses across the UK, particularly small- and medium- sized enterprises, the opportunity to engage with potential partners and compete for London 2012 Games related work.

Read more of “Businesses throughout the UK benefit from Games”

Wimbledon will be hosting the Tennis events at the All England Lawn Tennis Club during London 2012 - so we were delighted that Merton was the first London borough to host the roadshow after its launch in Trafalgar Square.

It’s always great to have the opportunity to get out and meet people from the borough and Saturday was a great chance to do just that. Councillor Maurice Groves agreed as he was there all day and our Mayor, Councillor John Dehaney also stopped by to see what was going on, meet Geoff Newton from the London Development Agency and to take his “great sporting moments” photograph, just like I did:

Read more of “Get Set London comes to Merton”

Using London 2012 to engage young people in sport throughout the world has always been something at the heart of our plans. That is why I was fascinated to visit Morocco last week.

There I met up with Nawal El Moutawakel. She is not only a good friend of mine but also an IOC Member, IAAF Council Member, Minister for Youth and Sport in Morocco and, not least, a great example of a former competitor who is really putting something back into sport.

She set up meetings for me with the President of Moroccan Track and Field as well as the President of the country’s National Olympic Committee and I learned a lot. 

Read more of “Passion for Track and Field in Morocco”

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It was a controversial choice from the start, the city that came from behind to steal the gig from the favourite – years of rows over budgets and leadership – and is it just a flash in the pan or the driver for long term regeneration?

No – not what you think…I’ve been in Liverpool this weekend for the launch of its year as European Capital of Culture.  And sitting on the train pulling out of Lime Street to travel south you can feel the waves of relief – it’s up and running at last and the weekend has gone pretty well.

Two conjoined set piece events marked the weekend. A free people’s spectacle on Friday night occupying the rooftops around St. George’s Hall, the Radio City Tower and Lime Street itself. The City’s brand new Echo Arena was christened the following night with “Liverpool – the Musical”. The same creative team built both and they were thematically linked.

After once dallying with an almost exclusively international programme for the year, the Culture Company chose, in these launch events, to explore and celebrate the cultural DNA that makes up quintessential scouse-land. With Phil Redmond (Brookside and Hollyoaks) now at the artistic tiller you can be sure that Liverpool’s indigenous talents and the tastes of real Liverpudlians won’t miss out. He’s fast becoming a “Geldof” figure around here – frank speaking, bold determinism and flowing locks to boot. He famously described the process of creating the Capital of Culture as a Scouse Wedding – a huge family bash that results in rows and fisticuffs and then everyone remembers what a great time they had.

Read more of “From our own correspondent on the 9.53 near Runcorn…”

Read more of “Launching the Get Set roadshow”

Before Christmas I was lucky enough to spend a week with the Accommodation Department of the Beijing Organising Committee. This was an incredibly useful trip and a great insight to the systems, processes and procedures we’ll be implementing over the next 4 ½ years. I was amazed at the calm and order in the office just 8 months before Games-time – what a tough act to follow!!!

Counting down to the Beijing Games:

Read more of “Accommodation in Beijing”

Read more of “Get Set Roadshow comes to Barking and Dagenham”