Working on the Olympic Park - temporary bridges
Michael, Senior Engineer, Temporary Structures, 29 February 2008
On the Park I am currently in charge of the temporary bridges, which is a contract bigger than any I have been put in charge of before. This contract was for the delivery of two temporary bridges (approx. 42m and 52m clear span) which were to span the River Lea. These bridges are to enable the earthworks to proceed without having an impact on local infrastructure.
One of the temporary bridges:
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Special guest to join the fun
Rebecca, Get Set Roadshow team, 29 February 2008
Camden has a long history of athletic achievement and Susan Halter is one of the borough’s oldest sporting ambassadors. Susan swam in the 1948 UK Olympic Games aged just 19 and sixty years later is still winning medals for the sport, so who better to affirm Camden’s support for London 2012?
Video: VeloDream competition winners
The 2012 Editor, 29 February 2008
VeloDream: inspiring children to use their imagination
Shanaze, British BMX and track cyclist, 29 February 2008
This competition was their chance to design their own dream cycling venues for a future Games and all of the schools I met deserved to reach the finals of the competition for the imagination and hard work that had gone into their design entries.
My visit to the VeloDream finals:
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Getting businesses in the Highlands and Islands involved in 2012
Bob, Highlands and Islands of Scotland, 29 February 2008
The event organising committee did a sensational job and the event went down without a hitch - and that wasn’t just because I was on the committee. The speakers had some really good information to share. It was informative and realistic – not promising the earth. The practical level of the information was what impressed me most.
Read more of “Getting businesses in the Highlands and Islands involved in 2012”
Sport and music - the roadshow at Haringey
Mayor Sheik Thompson, 28 February 2008
On entering the 'everyone’s Games' pod I was shown around the diagnostic equipment to find out which sport I would be best at competing in (if I was a little younger)! My personal favourite was the jump mat although I’m sure the weighty Mayoral chain prevented me from reaching a higher score:
Inspired by Get Set Roadshow
Councillor Chris Best, Lewisham, 28 February 2008
School visit to the Olympic Park
Zahra and Philippa, 28 February 2008
Us - Philippa and Zahra:
We went to the Olympic Park and saw some work being done. We were shown on a map were everything was going to be built. We drove around the site in a minibus and a tour guide told us lots of facts about the site and what will happen to the area after it has been used for the Games.
Interviewing VeloDream finalists
Simon, ODA Marketing Officer, 27 February 2008
Five secondary and five primary schools had been invited as finalists to a jam-packed, two-day visit to the capital, ending in the announcement of the two national winners. The schools gathered in Royal Victoria Docks – each school’s pupils confirming their presence in the roll call with a rousing cheer.
We’ve spent the last couple of weeks visiting the schools within the 5 Host Boroughs for planning sessions for the project. We rode our bicycles along canals, vibrant high streets and across parklands to get to the schools. Because this project will be using film and photography, I’ve started really looking at places I’m passing through. These Host Boroughs, along with Newham and Tower Hamlets, are going to be great for photography and filming. I was struck with the richness of contrasts within these areas. And, that it’s a long way on a bike from Hackney to the outskirts of Waltham Forest and Greenwich.
Welcoming the World is structured on the Olympic Values – Friendship, Respect and Excellence and the Paralympic Values – Determination, Courage, Inspiration and Equality. The youth-centred project, divided into My World – photography and sound and Our World – film and sound, has been designed in collaboration with creative and education partners to enable the students to represent and reflect on people, places, events, activities and interests within their borough.
The project has been funded by Creative Partnerships London East and South to work in 20 schools within the 5 Host Boroughs. The project is a pilot education project, undertaken prior to the launch of the LOCOG Education Programme in September 2008. An inter-school sharing of the project will take place in early July 2008.
By working with high-calibre artists, we are supporting the production of high-quality, and therefore inspirational, creative outcomes from all the participants.
Keeping safe living by the Park site
Ashley, Waterden Crescent resident, 27 February 2008
Last Friday we went to the Olympic site with other children from our street. We learnt about the dangers of a construction site and how we must make sure that we are kept safe and watched a play called ‘don’t go there’. It was about two people called Dean and Dona.
Dona was teasing Dean to go on to the building site without protective gear. But he ignored her, but she kept on teasing until he finally agreed with her. He got his foot stuck in wood and then a lorry came and Dean injured his eye.
The London Roadshow visits Greenwich
Zoe, Sporting hopeful, 27 February 2008
It is truly awesome that the Olympic and Paralympic Games is coming to London! I just can't believe that I will get the opportunity to go to the Games and maybe even perform in front of my home crowd - it doesn't get better then that! This roadshow is a great way to introduce local resident to new things, give them the confidence to try something new, be active and ultimately to share in this memorable moment.
My World
Crispin, 'My World' professional photographer, 26 February 2008
On the streets with the schoolchildren:
I’ve spent most of my career looking at social issues both in the UK and in many countries across Africa.
Many of these children involved in Welcoming the World don’t realise that they are living in an extraordinary time and place. I hope that by looking at their lives and communities through photography they will come to see what a remarkable place the five Host Boroughs are to live in 2008.
Cultural and social division is rife within the world. The role of London as a beacon of hope it vital and I hope this project reflects this.
Keep and eye on this website for photographs from My World.
Planning transport with key partners
Klara, ODA Transport team, 26 February 2008
The upgrade is going to completely transform the current station to make sure it can handle the thousands of passengers that will go through it everyday in 2012. For example, we are re-opening an old subway, adding new lifts to make the station more accessible and creating a new entrance to the station at mezzanine level above the current taxi rank at Meridian Square.
The legacy will be a train station that the people of Stratford will be proud of, with vastly increased capacity, more gates, and better links between different underground lines, overground platforms and the DLR. I’m looking forward to seeing the finished result in a couple of years time and seeing it unveiled to the world.
The station next to the Olympic Park site, with the city in the background:
Opportunities for Scottish businesses
Forrester, Scottish business owner, 25 February 2008
I went to the Perth London 2012 Business Network roadshow last week to find out how my specialist wood machinists business can get involved and find out about opportunities for the London 2012 Games. The calibre of the people presenting was outstanding and they had the literature to support it, but what really made things clear for me was the one-to-one session that I had with Lee Taylor (Supply Chain Manager). He cleared up any uncertainties that I had and gave me the confidence that they not only have the system in place to bring these opportunities to people, but they have the people in place to ensure that it will happen.
Young people's voice - a daily education
Sue, Culture team, 25 February 2008
I will be working with Steve Mannix, Cultural Programmes Advisor, and the rest of the Culture team to try and figure out how young people really can have a say in the way LOCOG delivers its culture programme.
So what does qualify me for this role? My work currently as Director at Creative Partnerships (Thames Gateway) and formerly with Brentwood Borough Council and Colchester Youth Arts Partnership has certainly given me something to go on. I’ve also worked with the Duke Of Edinburgh Awards scheme and with young people on ESF funded media courses. This all adds up to quite a few years of working with people less chronologically challenged than myself. But the truth is, it’s my own children that keep the fire burning in my belly.
My life in the arts
Mary, Culture team secondee, 22 February 2008
The Clore Leadership gives me the support to definitively consolidate my experiences in the arts and through the secondment to experience a working environment outside of my comfort zone. Working at LOCOG is a huge departure from my role as the artistic director of CultureMix, where I oversee the development of young people eager to join the creative industry either as musicians or in the hope of running their own creative business.
As the UK Cultural Olympiad Launch Coordinator, my job at London 2012 is to coordinate the launch of the four year festival of arts and culture celebrating the Olympic and Paralympic Games - The Cultural Olympiad. I gather and record information on local, regional and UK-wide events happening during the launch weekend in September 2008 working closely with the UK Cultural Olympiad Launch Executive Sarah Weir, the Culture team and the Creative Programmers, who represent each region and country, to ensure an even spread of art forms and representation.
It happened amidst mountains of mud and dust. Double decker-sized trucks roaring past in all directions are groaning under the strain of thousands of tons of earth. As far as the eye can see, a wild moonscape of exposed, heaving ground.
We were bouncing around in the back of a 4x4 experiencing the Olympic and Paralympic future.
'You're on the 100 metres track right now,' said Lucy, our guide from the construction company, 'and we're just about to cross the Long Jump.' This is the London 2012 Olympic Stadium in Stratford and carved out of the ground the bowl of the main arena is already clearly visible.
On the first evening, Morag Stuart (Head of Procurement, ODA) and I had dinner in Edinburgh with Norman Quirk, Chairman of the Scottish Chamber of Commerce. The aim of this meeting was to identify how the Chamber of Commerce can get word around their 9,000 members about London 2012 business opportunities.
Read more of “Encouraging companies in Scotland to compete for work”
Amazing experiences
20 February 2008
But what an exile. I was Promoter at two of Moscow’s best clubs, ran a Russia-wide European Commission communications programme and then ran the British Council’s Arts programme across Russia until being tempted to Warsaw. It took something pretty special to get me back to the UK, which was the role of Creative Director of Creative Partnerships in Bradford and West Yorkshire. And now I’m at LOCOG, seconded from the Arts Council.
Video: London 2012 employment and skills opportunities
The 2012 Editor, 20 February 2008
I’d been working as a plasterer when a friend who worked in construction said he might be able to help me get a job labouring on the Olympic Park site. Plastering work was a bit on and off so I was keen to try construction as I wanted to get more regular work and learn something new.
Me, far right, on site with John Armitt and Tessa Jowell:
I had already completed my CSCS card and I started work in October 2007 as a labourer on the Olympic Park site. My jobs have included looking after the canteen and general site cleaning up duties.
There are lots of ways for all of us to get involved, not just in terms of sport but also with things like employment, business and volunteering. Over the next four years we are going to see more and more facilities being built and this will give us the chance to improve and even try out new sports or activities for the first time.
We are really excited about the Olympic and Paralympic Games coming not just to Waltham Forest but to East London too. We want the people of Waltham Forest to get behind and support the Games. With over 200 sports clubs in the borough residents can easily become more active and with new jobs and training opportunities available local people can really start to get involved. It’s important as it’s happening here and now!
Telling a story of the Olympic Park
Rhian, Graduate Trainee, 19 February 2008
The aim of the workshop was the generation of ideas for incorporating art into structures and weaving art features into the public realm to provide interest and ‘tell a story’ of the Olympic Park. The workshop was not simply a theoretical exercise – the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) will be working to develop the ideas with students in order to implement them on site.
Students working on their designs:
The workshop began with a briefing session on Tuesday evening, which included presentations from ODA and EDAW staff on Park/bridge design and the history of the site, an RCA student’s perspective on gabions, and an inspirational talk from artist David Cross, exploring sustainability and public art.
I was enlisted as one of the organisers of this lecture by Martin Green, Head of Ceremonies. The response was amazing and the room was full. There is a great sense of intrigue and enthusiasm when it comes to the Ceremonies - everyone wants to be a part of it in any way they can.
Get Set Roadshow Visits Redbridge
Councillor Ronnie Barden, 18 February 2008
Redbridge has a tremendous tradition of sport and open spaces and residents here are always enthusiastic about leisure and sporting initiatives. With the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games taking place so close to many of us in Redbridge it's vital that people in the borough know how they can benefit, and the Get Set London roadshow is designed to help you find that out.
I spent the morning talking to the public and the event team at the interactive pod, along with Redbridge Lead Councillor Alan Weinberg and representatives from the London Development Agency and Next Step, the adult learning organisation.
The conference room was shaking rhythmically with the shoulder movements of the amassed numbers; and this was before Charles started to speak...
Hugh Muckian and I (from the Nations and Regions Joint Secretariat), joined Charles Allen (Chair of the Nations and Regions Group) for his trip to Scotland on 7 February. The main purpose of the trip had been to make a keynote speech at the Hospitality Industry Trust conference at the International Climbing Centre in Ratho, just outside Edinburgh. But this wasn’t what our driver from the airport to the Climbing Centre thought we were there for: “I only brought the people carrier so there was plenty of room for your climbing gear….”, he said.
The Climbing Centre was impressive; the world’s largest indoor climbing arena we were told.
The event was impressive too: 500 of the most talented young people in Scotland’s hospitality industry. And somewhat originally, they had a comedian as compere; Fred McAuley, the host of a popular Scottish radio show. He went down well.
Engaging with artists and designers of the future
Marcus, Royal College of Art Students' Union, 14 February 2008
The Royal College of Art and ODA 'Gabions workshop' yesterday involved students looking at gabions (support structures usually made from a wire mesh cage and filled with stones) and suggesting how they could be used as design features in the Olympic Park. Gabions will be used as more sustainable alternatives to walls or concrete, for example as river walls.
The workshop was an all-round success, as clearly evidenced by the judging panel’s decision to award two prizes rather than one. The looks on their faces at seeing the sheer amount and variety of concepts generated in the space of one day was reward enough. It’s always satisfying when you can disprove the theory that creatives are just loafers sat about discussing existentialism and in actual fact can make a solid contribution to developments with a well-thought out range of innovative ideas that will actually work. And often make it work better whilst being visually and intellectually rich.
Students designing at the workshop:
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Whilst on my way to hockey training last Sunday I stopped off at the Get Set London roadshow in Richmond upon Thames. I had no idea what to expect but was really intrigued to find out a little more about The Games. 2012 seems like a long way off but there’s already so much that people can do to get involved. Personally I’ve got my sights set on playing Hockey for Great Britain when the Olympic and Paralympic Games come to London and I was recently fortunate to receive a grant from Sports Aid to help me on my way. I’m currently in the England under 16’s squad so playing 2012 in front of all those crowds would be a dream come true.
Working with CHAT to safely remove cats from site
Giorgia, Community Relations Manager, 12 February 2008
Protecting and preserving wildlife on the Olympic Park site is something the Olympic Delivery Authority is very committed to. We’ve recently launched an ecology action plan to safeguard any wildlife found on the Olympic Park site. Since last year, I have been working closely with the Celia Hammond Animal Trust (CHAT), helping to ensure that any cats that are found on the Olympic Park are safely captured and taken into the care of the Trust.
Since we gained vacant possession of the site in July last year, the construction programme has increased, meaning access onto the Park has been restricted. With over 200 buildings needing to be demolished, there are obvious health and safety issues in some areas of the Park because large trucks are moving around the site, along with other construction works. Part of my job has been working closely with our contractors and security team to ensure CHAT have safe and easy access onto site to safely capture the cats.
Talent of London at Tower Hamlets
Rebecca, Get Set Roadshow team, 11 February 2008
There is just under two weeks left to submit your video auditions via www.itvlocal.com/audition and the first round of quarter finals has already taken place at the Get Set London Roadshow in Tower Hamlets with some fantastic live performances.
Saturday afternoon, approaching three pm…“Close the gates – we're absolutely full”. It's one of London's premier venues so perhaps no surprise that there's still a huge crowd outside trying to get in.
Think again. This is the British Museum. Its towering old iron gates in front of the elegant forecourt aren’t often pressed into action as crowd barriers. It's the eve of Chinese New Year (we're welcoming the Year of the Rat) and the museum has programmed a mini Chinese Festival from morning until midnight. The centre piece continues to be its 'First Emperor' exhibition with unique access to The Terracotta Warriors. This alone has broken attendance records over recent months. But add to this Chinese crafts and food, mandarin story tellers, and the climax (for me at least), a concert performance of Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewletts 'Monkey: Journey to the West'.
Premiering at last year's Manchester International Festival, 'Monkey' is a fantastical retelling of the Chinese monkey myth. Building on Albarn and Hewlett's famous collaboration on 'Gorillaz', it combines Albarn's music and Hewlett’s vivid animations. The museum's Great Court offered a dramatic arena for the performance and surely this most majestic of spaces can hardly have been more densely populated. And if you still thought London's museums are only populated with the white, middle classes from the Home Counties, you'd have been in for a shock.
On my first day I was with the Education team and I had a great welcome from everybody. Getting involved in Education, I had to do research on the events and conferences that are education related across the United Kingdom. On my second day, I was with the Facilities department and I had an extremely good time - being with facilities was great fun! On Wednesday I was with the Commercial department. My task was to do a spreadsheet on events.
Earth. Lots of it. The one thing that is apparent to anyone visiting the site at present is the staggering amount of material being moved and treated around the Olympic park right now.
I joined the project at the beginning of last September, and even in such a short space of time, many of the locations are completely unrecognisable to what was there before. On the site of the stadium in particular, a lot of the industrial units still looked fairly normal and some businesses were even still training. Look at the same location today, and the buildings, roads, and in many places the earth itself have been removed.
Get Set roadshow visits Tower Hamlets
Michael, coach and volunteer development officer, 5 February 2008
Tower Hamlets is one of the host boroughs for London 2012 so we were very pleased to welcome the Get Set London roadshow to the Rich Mix Centre on Bethnal Green Road at the weekend. It may seem like a long time until 2012, but four years passes very quickly and there will be so much happening between now and the Games that it's the perfect time to find out how you can get involved.
Some within the borough are already doing just that. Tower Hamlets council runs Participate, a volunteering scheme that offers people from all backgrounds the chance to take part in sports projects going on in their neighbourhood, as well as in the Olympic and Paralympic Games. A big thanks to the team who came along to Get Set London on Saturday, helping to hand out flyers telling people about the event and also trying out all the interactive sports equipment themselves. Find out more about Participate .
British Airways is the natural airline partner for us, so there was a nice feel to the launch events this morning.
Seb spoke eloquently as ever, reminding everyone that BA was there through the bid, they delivered the bid book to the IOC in Lausanne - in fact, the stewardess who was with the bid book was there this morning. They've been engaged right through the 2012 story so it's good to continue - it's like they're part of the family, and now they're officially part of it.
My first event was at Waterside - the main British Airways HQ, on the outskirts of Heathrow. Willie Walsh, the BA chief executive was there along with Seb and Steve Cram, who compered, as well as a host of athletes. We had a fencing display from international fencers, Wheelchair Basketball and a fantastic rhythmic gymnastics performance.
This weekend Wandsworth council and the Southside Centre were host to the seventh stop of the Get Set London roadshow, and what a day it was!
The presence of the roadshow was a great way to give the residents a taste of the exciting opportunities that are available starting from NOW due to the Olympic and Paralympic Games - new jobs, new skills, new employment, new sporting levels, the list is endless! London 2012 is really going to be the ‘Greatest Show on Earth’.
I was delighted to attend the Barnet leg of the Get Set London Roadshow, which took place in the Brent Cross Shopping Centre. The aim of the roadshow is to demonstrate to people living within the borough what opportunities the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be bringing to them and how they can go about getting involved.
The exhibition was really good fun and as the equipment was mostly interactive, people of all ages could get involved. Diagnostics equipment identified which sport you could excel in, there was a grip test to find out how good you would be at sports such as javelin and the batak tests your hand-eye coordination – the record is currently held by Jenson Button and proved quite hard to beat! I was also particularly pleased to see pupils from the nearby Nancy Reuben Primary School enjoying themselves at the roadshow and taking turns to have their own historic sporting moments photographed in front of the green screen.
The Olympic Park site and surrounding area are characterised by a series of unique and interesting waterways. Walking around them gives you a real sense of the nature of the Park, its setting and its potential. Unfortunately, the waterways have been polluted and neglected for many years and are currently under-used: 
Our aim is to reinvigorate them, making them a key part of the Olympic Park both for the 2012 Games and for legacy. This will allow current and future communities to make the most of this unique resource for leisure, recreation, boating, fishing, and enhancing the area for wildlife. Making this happen will involve work to improve water quality, remodelling river banks, replacing river walls, improving tow paths, widening wetland areas and improving wildlife habitats.
Recently we announced the completion of the first stage of the project to regenerate the waterway with the river wall that runs alongside the Aquatics Centre. Our contractors have been driving metal piles (massive stakes) 18 metres into the ground along the bank - over 700 steel piles have been used and each one weighs up to 11 tonnes, so it is no mean feat. This means that the old concrete river walls can now be removed, allowing the waterway to be widened by eight metres.
Last Wednesday, I travelled to Sunderland, Gateshead and Newcastle to meet some of the individuals and agencies who are working together to ensure the North East makes the most of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities the 2012 Games offer.
I also met lots of very enthusiastic children from local schools who had come along to the Tyne and Wear festival of sport. Having addressed a lunch meeting of Local Authorities about the sorts of opportunities we believe the Games will generate, it was great to then go out into the stadium and see so many young people being encouraged to try out different sports - building towards the increase in participation that we are hoping to achieve. I was also 'cheer-led' by a local troop who had come along to show off their talents, which was certainly unexpected and a first!!
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