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London 2012 - Skybar and News

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#1 ·
Seeing as the other thread has gone...


The next 100 days - hitting the ground running

London 2012 Chairman Sebastian Coe has revealed the next steps as the capital begins planning for the the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

The double Olympic champion confirmed that he will take up the role of Chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) and said that the first LOCOC board meeting will take place before the end of the month.

"The last few days has been an emotional period for London and for the whole of the country," Lord Coe told a press conference in Canary Wharf.

"The tragic events of 7 July have affected us all but have also made Londoners and the bid team ever more resilient, determined and united to deliver the best Games ever.

"Nine days into our life as a Host City, we have moved into a different phase delivering a complex multi-faceted project."

The bid leader pledged that work on the London Games would begin immediately and outlined the structure of the LOCOG team.

London 2012 Chief Executive Keith Mills will become Deputy Chairman of LOCOG, and a new Chief Executive will be recruited over the coming months.

And a transition team of approximately 50 people has already been put in place to ensure key priorities are addressed while LOCOG is established.

An Olympic Bill has already been introduced to Parliament, and Olympic Lottery Scratchcards, which will play a key role in funding the 2012 Games, will go on sale within weeks.

The bid leader also reiterated the vision for the Games that London outlined to the International Olympic Committee in Singapore.

"Our plans are about more than just bricks and mortar or financial packages," he said.

"We set out a vision in Singapore and we are now calling on all relevant agencies in the UK to work with us to deliver it.

"This is about inspiring more young people to become involved in sport and giving the young athletes the help they need to become champions of the future."

In the wake of the London terrorist bombings, Lord Coe also addressed the issue of security for the 2012 Games.

He stressed the key role security experts had played in London's bid and said that creating a new Olympic Park would mean secuity measures would be 'designed in' from day one.

Lord Coe also outlined plans for a Cabinet-level Olympic Security Committee, which would be Chaired by the Home Secretary and would include senior representatives from the security services.

15 July 2005
 
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#5,601 ·
Went watching 'Skyfall' at the weekend. Everytime the classic Bond theme played in the background, I couldn't help but giggle :| :( My mate said, "What is it you keep laughing about?" before going "Oh, I know what it is, you're thinking about the Queen parachuting again aren't you?"

I just can't help it! Everytime I hear the Bond music, I think of the Queen and have a little smile on my face.
 
#5,603 ·
£9 billion Olympics 'good value', says spending watchdog

-- Link to Daily Telegraph article --

The public sector funding package of just under £9.3 billion was more than three times the £2.4 billion cost estimated during the bid phase. But the total is now expected to come in at just over £8.9 billion, saving £377 million, although the final figure will not be known until 2014.

The National Audit Office said: “By any reasonable measure the Games were a success and the big picture is that they have delivered value for money. LOCOG [the Games organisers] sold 11 million tickets and our athletes excelled. The contribution of the ceremonies and the volunteers was a huge part of the success and we do not underestimate the work involved. Crucially, the Games passed off without major transport disruption or security incident. The scale of the construction programme and the fact that it was completed on time and within budget is impressive.”

Boris Johnson hailed the report, saying: “The doomsters and Olymposceptics have been confounded yet again.” The National Lottery stands to be reimbursed for much of its contribution, which will be available to distribute to good causes. This includes a share in the proceeds of the future sale of the Olympic Park.

Also in the report, the NAO warned that the Cabinet Office would have to show strong leadership in bringing together the various organisations responsible for coordinating the legacy of the Games. The cost of the Olympic Delivery Authority’s programme to build venues and infrastructure is expected to be £6.7 billion, compared to the £8.1 billion that had been made available in the 2007 budget.

The NAO said success of the Games spanned from the opening and closing ceremonies through to the 11 million tickets sold for the Olympics and Paralympics, while meeting the huge challenge of recruiting and deploying 70,000 volunteers. British athletes won 65 medals, including 29 gold, at the Olympics, and 120, including 34 gold, at the Paralympics. Amyas Morse, head of the NAO, said: “Few could have envisaged how successful the London 2012 Games would turn out to be.”

But the Games had faced an added £514 million bill to cover venue security costs, after contractor G4S fell short in supplying the agreed number of security guards, and extra troops and police were deployed to plug the gap. The NAO’s post-games review said that 135,000 additional days of military personnel time had been provided, at a cost of £36 million, according to figures supplied by the Ministry of Defence. It said the Home Office had calculated that the police service provided 12,000 shifts at an estimated cost of £6 million. Margaret Hodge, chairman of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, said the exception to the smooth build-up and delivery of the Games was G4S's "unacceptable failure" to fulfil its contract.

Boris Johnson said: “This report puts into black and white the scale of the achievement in organising such a successful festival of sport, and pays tribute to the many different players who helped make the Games the greatest show on earth.”

Sports minister Hugh Robertson said the UK can look back with pride “on an outstanding Olympics and a groundbreaking Paralympics, which showed Britain at its best".
~~

National Audit Office - Executive summary (download) [PDF - 78KB]
National Audit Office - Full report (download) [PDF - 402KB]
 
#5,605 ·
Olympics hailed for boosting tourism in the North East
by Sarah Scott, The Journal, January 19th 2013


Photo posted on this forum by - clash01

THE Olympics brought the North East a multi-million- pound tourism and business boost, a new report has revealed. Figures from the NewcastleGateshead Initiative reveal that the London 2012 events boosted the region’s tourism economy by more than £7m, while firms with contracts related to the games won £150m worth of trade.

During the London 2012 Olympic Games, Newcastle was one of six Olympic Football venues, with matches being held at St James’ Park. Approximately 127,000 people attended Olympic football in the city, contributing over £7m to the region’s economy. Sarah Stewart, chief executive of the destination management and marketing agency, said the Olympics had been a great success in putting Newcastle on the world stage. “It was a fantastic opportunity for us to be able to showcase what NewcastleGateshead had to offer,” she said.


Read More - http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-...m-in-north-east-61634-32634455/#ixzz2IQ2rsfvE
 
#5,606 ·
I was looking at a map of the Lee Valley and realised how close it is to West Ham. I have just been thinking why cant we make our Olympic stadium have retractable lower tiers like the Stade de France so West Ham can relocate there and enable the stadium to have a capacity of like 50k in legacy mode rather than 25k yet still host athletics events. In addition the site of the stadium is closer to West Ham (ok only by a little bit ;)) than Upton park is so it would be like a return home for West Ham United.
The above was posted in July 2005 at the start of this thread, before the Stadium has been designed. If only eh?
 
#5,607 ·
well, it was sort-of obvious, wasnt it? In fact, the decision not to build that is a microcosm of everything thats wrong with left wing boneheadedness: Livingston was determined that a private football club wouldnt use it, so pushed for the 25k legacy, despite the fact that it was against the long term interests of taxpayers and it was a waste of a fantastic site.
 
#5,608 ·
Erm...and it was also half of the reason we won the bid? to provide a true athletics legacy in London. The fact it's being sold off to a football club is a huge shame - the best outcome now could be mixed use.

Also wasn't it West Ham that were against the idea of retractable seating?
 
#5,610 ·
Erm...and it was also half of the reason we won the bid? to provide a true athletics legacy in London. The fact it's being sold off to a football club is a huge shame - the best outcome now could be mixed use.

Also wasn't it West Ham that were against the idea of retractable seating?

How is it a huge shame given that athletics will bet guaranteed long term use of a venue that has the capacity to hold future large scale events rather than another 20-30k venue that couldnt? How exactly is it a huge shame that a crucial area of East London will see more or less constant use rather than occasionally during summer months? Mixed use would not have been counter to the promises made to the Olympic Committee, and West ham's owners had suggested at the time that they would put £200 million into a multi-use stadium, but Livingston/ Jowell ploughed on with the concrete bowl solution regardless. Instead of it costing the taxpayer £500 million its now going to cost 50% more. Well done, Comrades.
 
#5,612 ·
Gavrosh said:
How is it a huge shame given that athletics will bet guaranteed long term use of a venue that has the capacity to hold future large scale events rather than another 20-30k venue that couldnt? How exactly is it a huge shame that a crucial area of East London will see more or less constant use rather than occasionally during summer months? Mixed use would not have been counter to the promises made to the Olympic Committee, and West ham's owners had suggested at the time that they would put £200 million into a multi-use stadium, but Livingston/ Jowell ploughed on with the concrete bowl solution regardless. Instead of it costing the taxpayer £500 million its now going to cost 50% more. Well done, Comrades.
Before we even start this.. Have you read the bid?
 
#5,613 ·
Just out of interest, now that the 'final use' of the Olympic Stadium is (almost) sorted and contracts signed etc. is there a list of what's confirmed is happening to all the Olympic Venues - a sort of 'White Elephant Watch' to just see how they're doing in making sure there's nothing going to waste.

And, anyone got a comparison on how well we're doing in in less than 12 months in sorting out converting all the venues post game compared to Sydney, Athens and Beijing? I'm pretty sure we've done a lot better than Athens and Beijing - although no idea about how long it took Sydney to sort out their venues post games (I think they've all been put into use though haven't they?)
 
#5,614 ·
Not many permanent venues were built for the Olympics but I think the only one that looked like it may be a white elephant was the Main Stadium

The Stadium - Potentially West Ham's new home
Aquatics Centre - Being converted into a public pool that should open next year
Velodrome - Velopark opens early next year
Copper Box - A multi sport arena that has the London Lions Basketball team in residence for the 2013/14 sesaon
Lee Valley White Water Centre - Currently open for public use

All other venues were pre-existing or temporary.

Interestingly there was one venue from the 1948 Olympics that was reused. Wembley Arena was the Olympic pool in 1948 but used for badminton this time round.
 
#5,615 ·
Olympic anniversary athletics event sells out in 75 minutesGrand Prix featuring stars of London 2012 Games sparks rush for tickets amid complaints about booking system.

Tickets for the two-day Grand Prix athletics event at the Olympic Stadium, featuring many of the stars of London 2012, have sold out in 75 minutes amid complaints that the website could not cope with demand.

On the day that the public accounts committee queried whether the enthusiasm generated by the Games was in danger of "fizzling out", the stampede for tickets suggested that the public at least wanted to recapture the feeling of watching the likes of Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis and Usain Bolt in action.

The 65,000 tickets for each day of competition, on 26 and 27 July, were made available to those who had pre-registered through the British Athletics website. The event, named the Sainsbury's Anniversary Games, will mark exactly one year since the London 2012 opening ceremony.

Organisers insisted the website had not crashed but had slowed to a crawl amid huge demand for tickets that is likely to have left many would-be purchasers disappointed – another echo of the Olympics.

Tickets remain available for the IPC International Challenge, featuring 14 of Britain's 16 Paralympic medallists, on Sunday 28 July.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2013/apr/19/olympic-anniversary-athletics-sells-out
 
#5,616 · (Edited)
A question, every games has a poster that is used to represent it:

Which poster do you think will or should represent the London Olympic Games of 2012?

Will it be one of the art posters:
(note only 6 of the 12 below are for the Olympics, the other 6 are for the Paras. Working left to right, top row - #1 #3 #4, middle row - #2 #3, bottom row - #2)


or one of the other posters?

 
#5,617 ·
LOCOG always considered the Rachel Whiteread to be the 'official' Olympic poster and the Tracey Emin the Paralympic.

The Union Jack infill and the pictograms one were available in the London 2012 shop and weren't considered official posters, although one was used in the Opening Ceremony.

The 204 NOA infills poster (note the ones who didn't give permission to have their flag inside the emblem!) was created by the in-house look team and were used in the venues at Games-time, alongside these ones (which I designed).

 
#5,618 ·
I was going to put your up too, but didn't want to be too forward! ;) Also I noticed that Saudi, Iran and Mexico's flags weren't edited, I assume strict flag protocols.

BTW your Olympic poster was being sold as part of a 12 poster set in the Coventry sale, I didn't want the rest but this was my only chance! The set contained the 6 Olympic art posters, 2 Wenlock Posters, a poster of the Olympic sport pictograms in gold, the poster I've put above with the flags in logos, and yours, can't remember the 12th one.

I will be heading to Ikea next weekend to buy a frame for the poster you designed, I love it, shame I couldn't get the Paras one. They were all 'maxi posters', but I'm sure the one of yours I saw in the services centre was smaller, possibly half the size, is that right or am I imagining things? Either way, as I said, they only had yours in maxi poster size as part of a set.
 
#5,619 ·
There probably were smaller ones made at some point but we only designed larger ones (A1?) in the studio at the time.

Yeah I think my one disappeared quite a bit from venues from what I heard. It wasn't even intended to be a poster just something I did when working late one evening, and originally thought it would make a cool T-shirt but licensing weren't particularly interested. I had the logo as a void shape in the centre on one version, but we thought it was too obvious so took it off and kept the lines intersecting. I heard (and even am guilty of this to the day) people kept staring at it trying to work out which lines made up the logo, I can just about do the 2,0 and 1 but even now can never see all of it in one go.

One of the account managers had the poster in a meeting with the agency that did the live site animations and they remarked about it, and it ended up being the basis for the Live Site interval animations... http://vimeo.com/46445273

The athletes' medal certificates which I also designed came from that grid which echoed the podiums and medals. Shame no-one ever actually saw them apart from the athletes!

There's a lot of my work I did at 2012 here: http://figureandgrounduk.com if anyone was interested.
 
#5,620 ·
Actually one of my fellow games makers won one of the remaining athletes' medals and certificate, she framed it and took a photo and put it on Facebook, I the grid in it too. I think the grid was one of the best design elements of the games, and I'm glad it got to such a prominent place as the medals.

Re the seeing the logo in the lines, me and my partner got to the point of getting a picture of the logo, looking at it for 30 seconds and then quickly looking at the grid to see if we can find the image, I can only do the '0'.

What I like about the logo is that you don't realise it was designed to sit within a triangle limit, which as has been mentioned very symbolic for London. It's almost at if these zion conspiracy theorists were along the right lines about hidden messages, just were looking in the wrong place, instead of shuffling the numbers, they should have left them where they are! But I'm sure the triangle to them would represent the 'all seeing eye' :lol:
 
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