London 2012 Olympics

Some of my readers may know that I spent a good few years working on the London 2012 Olympics.

Back in 2004, I was asked to develop the strategy for how all of the venues, facilities and infrastructure needed for the London Games would be constructed. This was used as part of London’s bid to be the Host City for the Games and even though it played just a small part in convincing the International Olympic Committee to award the Games to London, I was immensely proud that my team and I helped bring the Games to my city.

I continued to work on the London 2012 Olympic Games and developed that previous strategy into the detailed plans that showed how everything would be done, at what time, the logistics needed, how the construction would take place, how and when the venues would be completed, how the test sports events would take place and all the other things needed to deliver the facilities in time.

When all the plans had been developed and the full construction team were clear about what needed to be done and how, it was time for me to leave the project in the hands of the delivery teams and I moved onto helping the Russian Government with their preparations for the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi 2014.

I am a Londoner and very proud of my city. Working on the London 2012 Olympic Games was without a doubt the pinnacle of my career and made me even more proud. After I left the project I kept up-to-date with how the construction was progressing and occasionally went back to see how the construction was progressing.

One of these such visits back to the Olympic Park was very recently, I went to see all of the completed venues. It was very rewarding to see that the construction had followed the plans I had developed years earlier. I enjoyed seeing the venues and of course a few photos were taken....

My friend Paul and I in the new Velodrome.... at 42 degrees, the banking of the track is very steep....

The two of us standing on the 10m diving board in the iconic Aquatics Centre....

The two of us standing in one of the doorways of the basketball venue. The doors have to be this high to accommodate the very tall basketball players....

I loved seeing how well the venues have been constructed. I am looking forward to the evening of Friday 27th July 2012 when Jackie and I will be sitting in the Olympic Stadium waiting for the Opening Ceremony to start. Fantastic!