150 days until the Olympics!

Let's keep this blog entry simple, 150 days until the Olympic games.  London 2012 - the biggest party in the world!

Party time!

Video - Inside the Aquatics Centre!

Take an exclusive tour inside the magnificent Aquatics Centre.

3 days at the Diving World Cup as an Olympic volunteer!

I have been invited to help out at the newly built Aquatics Centre on the Olympic Park.  The event was staged so that the Olympic Park, venues and other areas could be tested in the build up to the greatest show on earth, the Olympics!!!

The event was the 18th FINA Visa Diving World Cup 2012.  This competition is of great importance, as it's a qualifying event for the Olympic Games.  With countries competing from all over the world, the expected attendance for this event was 20,000 approx!

So my training begins........

The alarm bell sounded at 4.30am and I thought to myself what am I doing?  Regardless of the time, the anticipation of what lay ahead, made me spring out of bed.  With my Adidas volunteer uniform on, accreditation at hand, I made my way to the tube station at 5.30am.  To my astonishment I thought the tube would be empty but how wrong was I.  There were several other commuters also catching the tube at this ridiculous hour.  I guess London town never sleeps!!!

I arrived at the Olympic Park at 6.30am and made my way via the airport style security towards the Aquatics Centre.  There was an airy darkness at this time of the morning, with only the wind howling across the park, quite spooky but nice and calm at the same time.  I took advantage of this by snapping some pics, although dark, the silhouette's could still be visible.

6.30am - the Aquatics Centre visible before sunrise

The Orbit structure visible before sunrise

I arrived at my debrief with mixed feelings, excited, anxious and nervous.  The excitement could be felt from all parts, all the volunteers eagerly chatting away of what lay ahead, nobody would have thought it was only 7.00am!  The team of volunteers had been split into several various roles, ranging from checking and collecting tickets, to manning the information point and access control areas.  I spent the day moving between all the various tasks.  Once the team had been deployed the gates to the Olympic Park opened.

The calm before the storm

Evidence that I was there as a volunteer!

A small part of the volunteering team - nice bloke on the right!

In the distance we could see the spectators being security checked before they rushed towards ticket checking.  Half an hour into the job and a message was conveyed  that Nick Clegg had entered the Olympic Park - the first VIP of the day!  His entourage was visible from the distance, fast approaching I could just about make him out, as he was surrounded by his own security team.  He was the first of many, so the volunteers decided to see how many VIPs/celebs we could spot. Throughout the three days we managed to spot Princess Anne, comedian Jimmy Carr and Tom Daley.

As the spectators flowed in, so too did the number of pushchairs, children's scooters and bikes.  I'd never seen so many in my life, there must have been the same ratio of scooters to pushchair's!  The crowds began to fill the Aquatics Centre and the atmosphere was intensifying.  Everyone waited in anticipation for the event to begin. 

Action time!

Spectators waiting anxiously

The roof of mammoth whale like structure is clearly visible!

Synchronised diving is underway

The music began and so did the event.  The cheering and applause could be heard from within the arena outside.  I managed to catch some of the competition on my break and so did the remainder of the volunteers.   Once the competition ended, it was time to assist in helping to vacate the venue and the Olympic Park.  The Park did not take long to empty and once all the spectators had gone, we had a debrief and headed our separate ways. 

It was a long and gruelling day, a 10 hour shift in all!  It did not seem this long, the excitement and movement from role to role helped make the day go quicker.  This was pretty much the routine for the remainder of the week.  As as the days passed, the tasks became easier and so to did the journey to and from the Olympic Park.  All in all, the event had been hailed a great success, lots of positive feedback being received from many of the spectators, with gate receipts exceeded 20,000!  This trial run gave not only me, but all the volunteers and organises a flavour of what it'll actually be like at games time.  Exciting times ahead for the greatest show on earth!

Aquatics Centre here I come!

It's the final countdown - I am almost packed and ready to go to my first test event.  Only one more working day in the office and then I'm off for the remainder of the week.  You will not believe how excited I am at the thought of spending the next few days on the Olympic Park, particularly in the Aquatics Centre.  I'm not sure how quickly tomorrow will pass but the end of the day can't come soon enough!!!



The awesome Aquatics Centre

My wife, Farzana, is already fed up at my constant reminders about the Olympics but believe me, these will become even more annoying, especially as I countdown towards the Summer!  God help her!  My uniform is packed, accreditation checked and packed plus a few extra layers as I will be based on the Startford walk - the direct bridge which leads to the gigantic Olympic stadium.  This is one of five bridges, all leading straight to the mammoth structure on the centre of the Olympic Park.  The Stratford walk, directly in front of the Aquatics Centre, can be seen clearly below.  Come the Summer this will be packed solid with spectators, volunteers, media, press etc, all eagerly scurrying around the Olympic Park!

Startford walk

The next time I write a blog entry it'll be after my first day's work!  I'll be exhausted, excited but the adrenaline rush will be enough to log the day's activities.  Wish me luck.

Video - Olympic Park fly-through

Take a deep breath and gasp at the size of my temporary home for the Summer!  I get goosebumps whenever I watch this.....

Video - Eddie Izzard at the training day!

Just a short entry today, to share with you the atmosphere that I recently experienced at Wembley Arena.  You will recognise a famous face or two!!!

The colossal Olympic structures!

I arrived onto the Olympic park in Stratford only to be met by airport style security.  Something for which I was not prepared for but would soon get used to in the run up to the Olympic games.  Once I had been searched I entered the Olympic park and was greeted by these gigantic Olympic structures.  Even though I'd seen them a few times on TV and on line, nothing can ever prepare you for them, especially as you come face-to-face to them!  I was standing on the Stratford walk, with the whopping Aquatics Centre to my left, followed by the spiralling Orbit structure.  The colossal Olympic Stadium was directly facing me and to my right was the immense Water Polo Arena.  In the distance I could just about make out the golf like Basketball Arena - I did not know which way to turn!  I stood trying to take in the scenery from all around and snap pictures as quickly as possible but unfortunately I was ushered forward to go and register along with all the volunteers.

The spiralling Orbit structure!

The colossal Olympic Stadium

The two gigantic structures standing side by side - amazing!

I was sent to register and collect my free travel card for the tube.  As part of signing up to be a volunteer, all travel in the underground, overground, DLR and local buses is paid for - bonus!  Next I collected my Adidas goodies for the diving event, which would be happening towards the end of February.  I was given a Adidas waterproof jacket, two t-shirts and my official my accreditation. 

One of the official sponsors, who are also providing all the training uniforms for all the test events

My official Adidas waterproof jacket!

One of my two Adidas t-shirts for the test events

Once I had collected my goodies I headed over to the briefing area and was met by fellow volunteers who would be working with me at the Olympics.  Here we were introduced to several other senior colleagues and then began the tour of the Aquatics Centre.  One thing that amazed me was the heat within the Aquatics centre.  The temperature has to remain a steady 28-30 degrees at all times - it was like a sauna!  I guess we'd get acclimatised to the heat once we start working. As we toured around it soon became apparent the size of the Aquatics Centre.  The structure housed a diving pool, the main swimming pool, a warm up pool and a soft pool to practise diving in.  Not to mention the changing rooms, VIP suites and areas for press and family!

The main pool






The diving pit






Both pools side by side with amazing spectator views!

As we toured around the Aquatics Centre one fact that I found rather amusing was that apparently all hair dryers in the changing rooms had been fitted before any of the spectator seating!  I guess there's something to be said for the ego's of sports men and women :)

The temporary seating in the huge temporary wings seemed to expand endlessly into the roof of the Aquatics Centre.  As we climbed further and further up the sides of the temporary wings, it became hotter and hotter!  I can only begin to imagine what it'll be like at games time when the place will be full of spectators and all that adrenaline - better come dressed appropriately!

A bird's eye view from half way up the temporary wings!

Once the tour had ended it was time to say a farewell to the volunteers and head back home.  What a great afternoon, seeing only some of the mammoth Olympic Park, the inside of the Aquatics Centre and behind the scenes area.  The excitement was only heightened as we soon realised the next time we would all meet would be at the diving event at the end of February - bring it on London, let's prepare for the Olympic games!!!

My new best mate, Lord Seb Coe!

I arrived at Wembley Arena at 8.00am on a cold February day, it was a cool minus 2!  This did not dampen my spirits or those of fellow volunteers.  Whilst waiting in anticipation for the doors to open I noticed Seb Coe doing the rounds, along with a film crew.  Just hope they got my best side on camera :)  I entered the arena and could sense the excitement and buzz from all around.  I made my way to the allocated seating. 


Volunteers taking their seats inside Wembley Arena

It soon became apparent, from the number of volunteers, approx 10,000, the mammoth size of the operation!  The atmosphere inside the arena was electric, everyone sat waiting for the MC to start.  Jonathan Edwards, former British triple jumper came running onto the stage, whilst 'Simply the Best' by Tina Turner was being played in the background - at this point the entire arena erupted!  Everyone was on their feet, clapping and cheering like you would not believe!

MC Jonathan Edwards in action

Once Jonathan had managed to calm us all down, it took a while, Jonathan spoke and was extremely passionate about being there and about the impending games.  He talked through his own experiences about being an athlete and what it meant to him.  Jonathan then outlined what we would expect from the morning and introduced the first guest, Eddie Izzard.

Eddie Izzard - giving his motivational speech!

Eddie was great, he gave a fantastic motivational speech about why we should embrace the whole experience of being a volunteer and being part of the greatest show on earth.  There will be approx 70,000 volunteers at the games, wow, only a small number here today then!  Once Eddie had finished he handed back to Jonathan who introduced the next guest - Lord Seb Coe.


Lord Sebastian Coe

Lord Coe gave an extremely inspirational speech and recognised the fact that the games would almost be impossible to stage without the help from volunteers.  He seemed more excited than any of the volunteers and was like a child in a sweat shop, unable to stand still for a second on the stage!!!  It was clear to see what this meant to him.  He handed back to Jonathan Edwards, who introduced what we had all been waiting for, the highly fashionable volunteer uniforms.  


Volunteer from Glasgow showing off the uniform

Once we had viewed the uniforms it was time to meet the final presenter, Huw Edwards.  He interviewed several prominent Olympic organisers, all have such mammoth tasks on their shoulders and I wouldn't want to be in their shoes!  They explained what was left to do before the opening ceremony, it was great to hear they were all on target.

This drew to an end an emotionally charged but exhausting morning.  It became apparent the importance of what being a volunteer will entail.  There was only one thing left to do, help myself to some chocs, provided by one of the sponsors, Cadbury's and make my way over to Stratford for the Olympic Park orientation!



Cadbury's olympic chocolate bars!

 

Key dates on the road to becoming an Olympic volunteer!

To set the scene, I have been selected as an Olympic volunteer to help at the Aquatics Centre for London 2012.  This is my journey so far......

• 10 June 2011 - online application completed and sent, fingers crossed I get an interview and I am successful
• 20th July 2011 - Interviewed at the O2 Arena to be part of the Event Services Team, the whole arena was buzzing and this was my first experience of Olympic fever
• 21st Sept 2011 - get in, have been offered the role as a volunteer in the Aquatics Centre!
• 25th Nov 2011 - found out I will be working at the London 2012 diving event in Feb 2012, in preparation for the the Olympics.  My first hands on experience of what it'll be like before the Olympics kick in!
• 1st Dec 2011 - sign up for orientation training
• 6th Jan 2012 - sign up for London 2012 diving event in Feb 2012
• 1st Feb 2012 - shifts allocated for diving test event, will be working for 3 days at the diving event  

It's almost a year since I submitted my initial application and soon I will be starting my role as an Olympic volunteer - bring it on!!!