London 2012 blog

A glittering event in the British Museum’s Great Court one day, and twenty four hours later London 2012 is the magnet for a run-down warehouse in a slightly shabby industrial park in Woolwich. Six or seven miles down the road in one great city, or worlds apart in the cultural firmament?

Thursday morning saw the welcome announcement that BP are joining us as a major commercial partner. The most elegant and articulate of launch events took its place a few yards from the Elgin Marbles and from the gallery where until recently the Terracotta Warriors Exhibition was such a big hit. The British Museum was an ideal choice. Not only is BP a long term supporter, but its inspirational Director Neil McGregor (and thanks from us all, Neil, for not being lured off to New York’s Met) is one of the powerhouse figures behind the 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

Incidentally, for the sad few who still think of the BM as a moribund home of dusty glass cases and ignored artefacts, it was announced this week that the Museum has topped the charts for the UK’s most visited tourist attraction. Not only hugely popular, but the museum continues to challenge, to interpret and to uses its unique collections to tell world stories – and much more of that to come when the Cultural Olympiad starts in the autumn.

Read more of “A week of welcomes”

The Concours Hippique International Officiel (CHIO) in Aachen is one of the leading international horse shows. They held the World Equestrian Games at this showground in 2006 and many people think it is one of the best organised and best attended equestrian events in the world. I came here to see how they do it. I left behind a few London 2012 pins. And I had a great time.

The CHIO is the Official International Equestrian Event of the Federal Republic of Germany. It's run every summer. Last year more than 300,000 people came from all over the world to watch international-level showjumping, dressage, eventing, four-in-hand driving and vaulting. Check out the CHIO website at www.chioaachen.com for all the details.

I was there with my husband Jonathan (a keen carriage-driver) on Saturday - cross-country day for the eventers and for the four-in-hand driving. The night before, I watched the eventers show-jump in the main arena, a huge space with covered grandstands on all sides. I was, of course, cheering on the British contingent, but also keen to see the German, French and Swedish teams, all with their top stars vying for Olympic team selection (including Nicolas Touzaint, the first French winner of Badminton).

Lots of poles were falling but the main problem was the tight time, with very few able to manage without some time faults. Best of the British: Nicola Wilson on Opposition Buzz. Most surprising: Bettina Hoy, leader after dressage, collecting more than 20 faults on Ringwood Cockatoo. He was later withdrawn.

Read more of “Getting up close to thrilling international equestrian action”

Last week I had the pleasure of announcing that BP has become the latest Tier One partner for London 2012.

As Britain’s biggest company, I believe our place is to be right up there, throwing our weight behind London 2012 which is going to be the one of the biggest events ever staged in this country.

The Olympic and Paralympic movements are founded on a belief in human endeavour and high performance. These attributes are also at the heart of BP where today, more than ever, we need great people who, like great sportsmen, are prepared to push the frontiers of achievement. We need them to tackle today’s energy challenges including affordability, energy security and climate change.

Read more of “Delighted to be part of a great celebration of human endeavour”

So, one of the first roles in my new job (having made the move from HR) has been to review the sports equipment lists from Athens, Sydney and Beijing. With over a million pieces of kit involved, there’s a lot to review! The inner-geek in me (which is probably not that inner) is loving the various equipment peculiarities and oddities that each sport has to offer.

Towels have been in the news this week as Wimbledon announced they lost about £60,000 worth of towels each year. I am not sure how many they have for each Championships, but I know Athens had somewhere in the region of 80,000 - not for showering in the Village (which of course they had too), but more for athletes and officials during events. So, for example, Tennis players wiping their hands between points in games or archers before they let fly.

Elsewhere, my favourites have included the need for 3 metal detectors at the Beach Volleyball – presumably to retrieve lost belly button piercings? – and I am determined to get to the bottom of why they needed 60 crossbars for the high jump.

Each sport presents its own little treasure trove of trivia – I'm hoping that aside from anything else it'll come in useful at the next LOCOG quiz night.