London 2012 blog

On Thursday last week I spent the most wonderful day in Merseyside with the North West Team 2012. The day was entirely focused on sport. I was able to help at the Merseyside Primary School Games where the different districts of Merseyside competed amongst each other in friendly competition at the amazing facilities at Wavertree Sports Park.

Read more of “1500 young Merseyside sports stars and a wannabe mascot”

Watch our latest video which was filmed at a recent tour of the Olympic Park for designers and architects.

Read more of “Designing for legacy”

The Marriage of Sport and Art…

…a great Olympic phrase which you may have heard before. If not, then Saturday was a terrific example on the big screens at Glastonbury!

Read more of “The marriage of sport and art - helping bring the Lions tour to Glastonbury”

Chocolate makes you fat; London 2012 is all about encouraging healthy living and getting everyone inspired to do more sport.

So as the first London 2012-branded Cadbury Dairy Milk bars soon appear on the shelves, people will no doubt start asking questions: How can we responsibly partner with a chocolate company? Surely we’re sending out the wrong message? Aren't we just encouraging obesity at a time when it's already such an issue?

Read more of “Can a chocolate company really be good for you?”

Read more of “Aquatics roof halfway”

Take 137,000 festival-goers, seven interactive web developers, the expertise of the London 2012 Live Sites programme and the BBC Big Screens team, add a large dollop of Cultural Olympiad video content from all over the UK and what have you got? 'Camp Pilton' – Glastonbury's latest invention delivered by the South West region, live from now till Monday 29 June for 18 hours a day and proud wearer of the London 2012 Inspire mark!

Read more of “Our screens are live at Glastonbury”

This scheme enables corporate organisations to provide mentoring to undergraduates from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, and for disabled and dyslexic undergraduates from a number of universities around the country.

This year was ODA’s first as part of the consortium and to our surprise and delight, we were awarded the 'Best New Employer' for both ethnic minority undergraduates and disabled or dyslexic undergraduates.

Read more of “Catalyst for Change – mentoring at the ODA”

Read more of “EDF Green Britain Day”

Q. What's the best way to involve people with the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games?
A. A sticker, a leaflet, information in a travelcard wallet – and an Olympic Torch.

Last Saturday, 20 June, I shared a stall with colleagues from London 2012 at the ProActive Islington Sports and Cycling Festival, in north London. Surrounding the Arsenal stadium, the event offered archery, athletics, boxing, cycling, fencing, football, rowing, trampolining, volleyball, wheelchair basketball, plus dance, health checks and other activities.

Over 10,000 people attended, and many of them stopped by at our stall. Children wanted the sticker with the London 2012 logo, and everyone wanted a leaflet in a pouch of a travelcard wallet giving information on how to get involved with the Games.

My colleague Bob arrived with an Olympic torch for the Melbourne 1956 Games and lots of people, young and old, wanted to hold it and have their picture taken. It's a great sign of how inspiring the Games are. Bob is using the Torch in a scheme called 'Championship Pledges' for people to pledge to achieve something beyond what would they would normally do while holding the Torch.

With these tools we could tell people about the Games, promote opportunities to get involved, answer questions and hand out information on what was  happening locally.

This was also great partnership in action between London 2012 and Islington Council.

Same again next year?

Read more of “Islington residents inspired by the Torch”

The Victorians would pour over a well thumbed edition of Baedeker before embarking on a Grand Tour. By comparison the Network Rail online timetable lacks a certain romance, but I'm checking on connection times at Crewe with just as much anticipation.

For last year's Open Weekend I tested the UK's public transport network to (and sometimes beyond) its limit. I clocked up almost one thousand miles to take in as many of the 600 events as I could – to see new street festivals, innovative outdoor art, multi-media shows and young film-makers meeting great movie talents. 

Read more of “Getting ready to open new doors: London 2012 Open Weekend is back”