Paul, Games Chief
Paul Deighton is Chief Executive of LOCOG, in charge of day-to-day operations. Previously Chief Operating Officer of investment bank Goldman Sachs, Paul is a keen runner and Arsenal fan.
Learning lessons as preparations step up in Beijing
, 18 April 2008
In just over 100 days, Beijing will welcome the world to the 2008 Olympic Games. However, the biggest show on earth actually begins a month earlier (8 June) when the broadcast and press centres open and then the athletes begin setting up home in the Village.
This is a city that is well prepared and you can't help but be impressed with the state of readiness, the enthusiasm and pride with which the Organising Committee ('BOCOG') and their teams are applying the final touches.
Together with the ODA we have had an unprecedented look behind the scenes of the venues here in Beijing and the testing that BOCOG is putting itself through.
This is a city that is well prepared and you can't help but be impressed with the state of readiness, the enthusiasm and pride with which the Organising Committee ('BOCOG') and their teams are applying the final touches.
Together with the ODA we have had an unprecedented look behind the scenes of the venues here in Beijing and the testing that BOCOG is putting itself through.
Read more of “Learning lessons as preparations step up in Beijing”
Up, up and away
, 14 March 2008
This morning I was at the opening of Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5. It’s occupied exclusively by British Airways, our new Tier One partner. It was a great chance to see how it will operate for us at Games time, where many of our international athletes, spectators and officials will arrive.
I was struck by the scale and spaces and just how spectacular a welcome we will be able to provide when our guests from all over the world arrive in 2012.
It officially opens to passengers on 27 March and will handle up to 30 million passengers annually.
It’s a fantastic space and a great accomplishment – a £4.3 billion investment that was completed on time and on budget. It renewed my confidence that it can be done – except we will have to complete a project twice the size in half the time!
I was struck by the scale and spaces and just how spectacular a welcome we will be able to provide when our guests from all over the world arrive in 2012.
It officially opens to passengers on 27 March and will handle up to 30 million passengers annually.
It’s a fantastic space and a great accomplishment – a £4.3 billion investment that was completed on time and on budget. It renewed my confidence that it can be done – except we will have to complete a project twice the size in half the time!
A different kind of football at Wembley
, 30 October 2007
On Sunday the Amercian NFL brought their first ever league match outside the United States to London - a clash between the Miami Dolphins and the New York Giants at the new Wembley Stadium. I was lucky enough to attend the game with London 2012 colleagues, not only to enjoy the US-style party but also to think about lessons for 2012 - Wembley is, of course, a Football venue for the Games.
I’m not sure all the US-style trimmings will make it to 2012 but there were certainly great lessons for our Venues and Sports teams. It was interesting for the Sports team to see how well the NFL presented their sport to new observers like me: we’re always looking for new ways to get sport to a wider audience too and the match offered lots of interesting ideas on how to do it.
Our Venues team were also able to look at the ‘overlay’- the additional facilities needed for an existing venue to get it ready for Games-time. This is something we’re doing a lot of work on for 2012 where we will ‘dress’ venues like Wimbledon, Wembley and Lords for Olympic sports.
New kids on the block
, 5 September 2007
On Monday I had the chance to meet ten new bright sparks – our first group of school and college leavers, many drawn from the five Host Boroughs.
At the London 2012 Organising Committee we thought it was important to make sure we led by example and recruited from the wealth of local talent. So after a rigorous selection process, Rebecca, Natalie, Nathan, Stephen, Mark, Jennifer, Alexandra, Steven, Darcia and Sutveer have now joined us on to begin their work across our team.
At the London 2012 Organising Committee we thought it was important to make sure we led by example and recruited from the wealth of local talent. So after a rigorous selection process, Rebecca, Natalie, Nathan, Stephen, Mark, Jennifer, Alexandra, Steven, Darcia and Sutveer have now joined us on to begin their work across our team.
A great night of athletics
, 7 August 2007
Last Friday I was at the Crystal Palace London Grand Prix, the Athletics annual event. It’s always a sell out with world class athletes in abundance – 100m world number one Tyson Gay, Pole Vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva and 400m legend Jeremy Wariner.
There was also a special ‘On Camp with Kelly’ 800 race – featuring the young athletes being mentored by Kelly Holmes - they’re all future hopefuls for 2012 and this was an excellent chance for them to compete in front of a large crowd.
There was also a special ‘On Camp with Kelly’ 800 race – featuring the young athletes being mentored by Kelly Holmes - they’re all future hopefuls for 2012 and this was an excellent chance for them to compete in front of a large crowd.
Boxing clever
, 3 August 2007
In our staff meeting this week, we held a boxing match! Well, not quite, but we did get a fantastic demonstration from some of our 2012 hopefuls.
Between now and 2012 we'll be having a series of briefings on all the sports that will feature at the 2012 Games - Olympic and Paralympic: it’s important for us to understand the sports we’re delivering in 2012 and to remember what we’re about.
The rules of boxing are some of the least understood in Olympic sport yet boxing itself has given us some truly inspirational heroes – from Cassius Clay in 1960 to the UK’s own Amir Khan in 2004. We were joined by another inspirational boxer, ex-international Tony Cesay who is currently involved in training the next generation of Boxing hopefuls. He works with young people in East London, often from disadvantaged backgrounds, getting them off the streets, giving them a focus and something positive to do with their lives.
Between now and 2012 we'll be having a series of briefings on all the sports that will feature at the 2012 Games - Olympic and Paralympic: it’s important for us to understand the sports we’re delivering in 2012 and to remember what we’re about.
The rules of boxing are some of the least understood in Olympic sport yet boxing itself has given us some truly inspirational heroes – from Cassius Clay in 1960 to the UK’s own Amir Khan in 2004. We were joined by another inspirational boxer, ex-international Tony Cesay who is currently involved in training the next generation of Boxing hopefuls. He works with young people in East London, often from disadvantaged backgrounds, getting them off the streets, giving them a focus and something positive to do with their lives.
Bicycling in Beijing
, 27 April 2007
I have just returned from a trip to Beijing to attend the Sport Accord conference and visit our Colleagues at the Beijing 2008 Organising Committee (BOCOG).
After a ten hour flight, I headed out for dinner straight away with my equivalent at BOCOG - who to my great disappointment turned out to be a Manchester United supporter.
At dinner it was very striking that many of Beijing's senior team were women - something they have in common with us.
The aim of the dinner was to get help with our observer and secondee programme for the 2008 Games and talk to them about the Handover Ceremony at the Beijing Closing Ceremony. To this end our Head of Culture Bill Morris attended.
After a ten hour flight, I headed out for dinner straight away with my equivalent at BOCOG - who to my great disappointment turned out to be a Manchester United supporter.
At dinner it was very striking that many of Beijing's senior team were women - something they have in common with us.
The aim of the dinner was to get help with our observer and secondee programme for the 2008 Games and talk to them about the Handover Ceremony at the Beijing Closing Ceremony. To this end our Head of Culture Bill Morris attended.
Posted in Beijing 2008 Permalink
Down at the Dome
, 13 March 2007
This morning I was shown around the Dome - they've just announced they're due to open in June, ahead of schedule.
We have a great view of the building from London 2012 HQ, but I had no idea the scale of what they've done inside - it's quite extraordinary, there's a whole city under there.
For us the centrepiece in 2012 will be the arena, hosting the 2012 Gymnastics and Basketball events. But surrounding the arena will be a whole community, with shops, restaurants and entertainment.
We have a great view of the building from London 2012 HQ, but I had no idea the scale of what they've done inside - it's quite extraordinary, there's a whole city under there.
For us the centrepiece in 2012 will be the arena, hosting the 2012 Gymnastics and Basketball events. But surrounding the arena will be a whole community, with shops, restaurants and entertainment.
A lesson in Games planning
, 2 December 2006
Here's a snap of me addressing, or should that be looming over, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), as part of my trip to see the impressive 15th Asian Games in Doha, today.
The Games are governed by the OCA and modelled on the Olympic Games, so the trip has given me, and a small delegation from London 2012, the chance to gain an even greater understanding and respect for the incredibly wide range of issues and variables involved in planning and staging an international multi-sport event.
I admired the can-do style of the Doha Ceremonies team as they battled with the wind and rain to stage a spectacular Opening Ceremony. The impact of the rain highlighted the extraordinary contingency planning needed for these sorts of events. At least in London’s case rain won’t come as a surprise!
The Games are governed by the OCA and modelled on the Olympic Games, so the trip has given me, and a small delegation from London 2012, the chance to gain an even greater understanding and respect for the incredibly wide range of issues and variables involved in planning and staging an international multi-sport event.
I admired the can-do style of the Doha Ceremonies team as they battled with the wind and rain to stage a spectacular Opening Ceremony. The impact of the rain highlighted the extraordinary contingency planning needed for these sorts of events. At least in London’s case rain won’t come as a surprise!
Ringing the bell for a memorable Games
, 28 November 2006
We hold a staff meeting every second Tuesday, kicked off by ringing the last-lap bell (given to us by our sponsor Omega) - see my pic below.
Today we discussed what will make our Games distinct and memorable. What are the two or three things that we want people to remember when they look back at the 2012 Games in, say, 2020?
We’ve come up with our top 10 – I won’t share them all now as we need to do more work on them - but some ideas include looking at how we present sports both in the stadium and on TV in a better way for spectators – like using satellite to help plot the position of boats in the Sailing competition, and using on-screen technology to help show why one diver might score more than another.
Today we discussed what will make our Games distinct and memorable. What are the two or three things that we want people to remember when they look back at the 2012 Games in, say, 2020?
We’ve come up with our top 10 – I won’t share them all now as we need to do more work on them - but some ideas include looking at how we present sports both in the stadium and on TV in a better way for spectators – like using satellite to help plot the position of boats in the Sailing competition, and using on-screen technology to help show why one diver might score more than another.
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