London 2012 blog

It was the last event of our Get Set London Roadshow, coinciding with the Beijing Torch Relay visiting London and a huge dump of snow. It was going to be an exciting day.

Snow hadn’t stopped the transport and it certainly wasn’t dampening the spirit of the Newham residents - they were determined to enjoy the day. Walking out of the station I was immediately met with lots of sport activities busy with kids dry rowing (debatable yesterday!) and canoeing in the thick of this white flurry. They had the right idea that the more energy they put into it and the louder they shouted the warmer they became.

Continuing past these I walked into the warm and welcoming surroundings of Stratford Shopping Centre (yes, we were lucky our roadshow was inside for once), past some shops and was met with a life-size 100 metre Athletics track. It provided scope for plenty of fun. Most vistors were clamouring to either run against the Mayor of Newham or Jonathan Edwards, the latter having a few brave attempts at beating some of the kids - only to lose. ‘Where was the hop, skip and jump?!’ was the protest! The young people loved it - Newham’s Sports Academy must have been very proud of their activity.

The activities filling the centre were plentiful - not just sport but also the chance to take part in an arts workshop, enjoy a neck massage, have a henna tattoo and plenty more. People were spoilt for choice - and they made the most of it.



Finally I reached the roadshow pod itself, our large bright yellow ‘everyone’s Games’ dome looked splendid and was busy from the moment it started. Over 9,500 people visited - they had hopefully seen and even taken part in finding out what sport they could be great at, jumped as high as they could, gripped their tightest grip, smiled their biggest smile and rowed like crazy…and on top of this they could learn about more business opportunities, talk to Jo Sarjant about her basketball achievements and possible tips, chat to Jonathan Edwards…



This was all accompanied by the finale of the London 2012 Talent competition. The four bands who had won their heats from the north, south and east London events needed to show Newham and eventually London who was the best, who wanted it the most, who could wow the crowd! Their enthusiasm was boundless; they arrived early, they canvassed their friends and then played their hearts out, the determination and passion to win was wonderful, it was certainly a battle of the bands.

The crowds around the roadshow built up even more as guitar strings were strummed and when the high notes were hit the applause was astounding, whatever the result, the bands had a ball - they loved it. You could see this was a chance for them to make it big - winning this would mean them appearing in Trafalgar Square on 24th August during the Beijing London Handover ceremony - their moment to be seen, a number 1 one could be possible...could it be another Olympic dream come true?!



Anyone can vote - Listen to the four bands and take your pick - who do you fancy playing live in Trafalgar Square on August 24th 2008? Voting closes at midday on Friday 18 April and the result will be announced on ITV’s London Tonight programme.

One of the highlights of the day was Tessa Saunderson passing with the Beijing Olympic Torch. She got a warm welcome from the crowds with a colourful carnival and rooftop acrobatics – probably unsurprisingly: she’s a well-known figure for local residents, doing amazing things helping young people progress in sport at her Newham Sports Academy. It made a great finale to what has been a wonderful roadshow, that has reached right across London.

See the full journey of the roadshow around London