Reflections on London's Olympic Stadium Status

Scanning NYTimes.com this afternoon, I spotted a fresh article datelined London, noting the ups and downs faced to find new use for the 2012 Olympic Stadium. The article is good, in that it was an informative update as to the status and next steps for the venue, and comments are flowing in to their site, including one posted by this blogger.

My issue with this article is the multimedia photo gallery that accompanies the online text. Though I concur that many Olympic venues became white elephants after their glory days, today's article/slideshow left out a few success stories while also noticeably deleting iconic venues of late. While Beijing's Water Cube gets some clicks, where is the Bird's Nest? And what of the Atlanta success converting the 1996 Olympic stadium into MLB's Turner Field?

I also wondered why select Olympic stadiums -- such as Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Munich Olympic Stadium and Barcelona's venue, each with decades of non-Olympic use under their belts -- got omitted while the usual suspects Montreal and Athens got billing as Olympic boondoggles.

Though the London update was in order, it seemed a bit early to be crying or labeling things a failure; London staged a most successful Games, and there should be no doubt their success will continue in a post-Games afterglow, which I think is warranted for more than six months (let's give it, say, a year before tearing out finger nails and then pointing bloody fingers).

One of my favorite Olympic stadiums is Munich. Now home to rock concerts, sports and special events, and a zip line attraction, I love this centerpiece of Olympiapark. Here's hoping Germany again enters the Winter Olympic race with a Munich-centric future Olympic bid (sadly they lost for 2018). The LA Memorial Coliseum also remains a favorite.

I am optimistic London will find an appropriate tenant and use for the 2012 stadium, as will Rio de Janiero and other future host cities.

Photo by Nicholas Wolaver

Thoughts on the Opening Ceremony Experience

It's four days past the London Olympic Opening Ceremonies, and words are still not easily found to describe the experience. Of course, it was a wonderful ceremony. But it was so different on several levels, and my reactions varied greatly from one portion to the next.

Entering the venue, I learned early on one major difference from past Opening Ceremonies. Most likely due to austerity considerations, the seats for attendees included no kit, no program, no pins. Nothing. This was a disappointment -- Opening Ceremony kits are a coveted prize of past Games!

How better to Ebay the experience, my dear?

Shaking off the sticker shock for official programs, priced at 15 pounds (!!!), settling into my original seat in the 222 section, I did enjoy the massive green field of play symbolizing the Isles of Wonder. In case NBC cut it, during the countdown sequence, there were live sheep, ducks, geese and horses with May Pole players on the British "island" in the center of the stadium. Audience members participated by "silking" the stands with massive blue silks creating water around the grand stage.

The massive bell featuring Shakespeare's quote from The Tempest -- "Be not afeard: the isle is full of noises" -- hung just a few row below my seat, and in the one-sheet run-of-show provided to spectators, I learned this bell will remain for posterity to be run in the year 2212 with a message from its creators commenting on the recent infancy of the World Wide Web, invented by British-born scientist Tim Berners-Lee, who said "This Is For Everyone" (the theme of the evening). Clever!

Other segments to love: The opening "Journey along the Thames" video, the "Green and Pleasant Land" countryside show on the British meadow, the songs from the Four Nations, Kenneth Branagh acting as a leading engineer (Branagh was the first of several predicted performers from my pre-ceremony post), and the transformation into "Pandemonium" and The Age of Industry (as described in the ceremony media guide).

I was delighted by the Olympic rings -- one forged by iron workers on the stadium floor -- took flight and rained gorgeous gold fireworks. Best rings arrival since Torino.

Also loved the pixel screens, which volunteers taught the audience to use during the countdown. This is the modern version of the flag cards famously unveiled by the spectators at the Los Angeles Opening Ceremony in 1984.

Paraphrasing a friend's friend via Facebook comment, I could have done without the tribute to socialized medicine. From my seat, the "big baby" did not appear as as such. Blowing bubbles was a good idea but not easy to appreciate outside of the venue (nor inside). The 3D glasses did not enhance a thing (and why not brand the glasses with Games logos?).

But Rowan Atkinson's performance set to "Chariots of Fire" was perfect. And the montage of music and TV via the BBC went over well (more Annie Lennox next time, please). I found myself awaiting Morissey's lyrics "There is a light that never goes out" for the arrival of the torch and cauldron, but the song's somber themes would not have played well.

I really did love the solo performance of "Abide With Me" sung by Emeli Sande. The modern dance segment was beautiful, and it struck me as the largest dance in opening ceremony memory. What a bloody shame NBC cut this (see my July 28 post for more on this segment).

It was brilliant to play tribute to the July 7 bombing victims with a memorial video (set to my favorite Brian Eno tune) ... why not add a brief remembrance for all Olympic Family members at future opening ceremonies (this would have easily covered the Munich 1972 victims and Olympic Family/IOC members lost in this Olympiad)?

The arrival of a record 204 national Olympic committees gave me time to grab dinner, trade a few pins and ... wait for it ... UPGRADE MY SEAT. With a wink, a flash of an unaccredited media badge, and a camera, I found myself on row 10 in section 124, this time under the stage right area of the big Olympic bell and platform for Sir Paul McCartney's performance.

As luck had it, I sat only a few seats from just about every living Team GB Olympic medal winner, and enjoyed a much closer view of the athlete parade including Usain Bolt/Jamaica, Team USA, Team GB and many more (I arrived during the letter "H").

The "dove bikes" were cool.

Much was made of the Queen's arrival with the James Bond actor Daniel Craig. Jolly good show! The only improvement I'd suggest ... perhaps Her Majesty could have high-fived the other living James Bond actors en route to the helicopter, or Sean Connery could have been revealed as the pilot.

I searched with loaned binoculars but did not yet spot the newlywed Royals, who I hope to see at beach volleyball or gymnastics.

For me, the more I learn about the Olympic cauldron, the better it gets. In the media section of the stadium after the event, the TODAY Show's Meredith Viera told me the delegations each carried in a bit of the cauldron that was attached (it was a bean- or melon-like chrome piece about the size of a football), which volunteers attached to the cauldron before it was ignited (Viera stated these pieces go back to each participating nation after the Games).

But it was, in my opinion, an oversight to permit its display out of public view. Vancouver got this right with two cauldrons in the Olympic city.

And inviting unknown youth to ignite the cauldron ... zzzzzzzzzzz ... (been there done that with the little girl who lit the cauldron in Calgary).

There are many things to love about the London Olympic Opening Ceremony and I will always cherish the experience. There is a light that never goes out, indeed.

Photos by Nicholas Wolaver

En Route to the Opening Ceremony

Before posting about the magnificent London Olympic opening ceremony, here's a roundup of images snapped en route to the Olympic Stadium in London. Posted mostly in order, this includes the tube ride, the approach to the stadium island bridge, the ticket check process and some images around the Olympic park inside the stadium complex.
It is curious to me that for the first time in any Olympics I can recall, the fans who paid hundreds of pounds or dollars to attend did not receive a commemorative program. I suspect in this Games of austerity, selling the glossy programs at 15 pounds each was a savvy move on the part of the organizers (but it also was the one and only bummer of the arrival process to receive a free one-page run of show and movie theatre-style 3-D glasses as the only "included" takeaways ... unless, of course, you count the lifetime of memories of the wonderful event.

Photos by Nicholas Wolaver

London Olympic Stadium

Catching up on Olympic website reading lately, found an outstanding London 2012 photo gallery of aerial shots around the Olympic Stadium. Check this link for some amazing images.

Photos via LOCOG

London 2012 Mascots Have An Eye On You

Today the world was introduced to Wenlock and Mandeville, the new London Olympic mascots.

Media outlets are picking up the story, and folks are starting to chime in with their views about the new characters that will populate merchandise, venues and all things London 2012 now through the Games.

Since the new eyecons, er, icons for London 2012 -- which both have a single oculus (or would that be ocula?) and a Terminator 2-like shiny, computer-generated exterior -- are a client of the P.R. firm where I work, I'll leave it to readers to share their thoughts on the new arrivals.

From the London 2012 press release (full version available here):

"Wenlock and Mandeville were created from the last drops of steel left over from the construction of the final support girder for the [London 2012] Olympic Stadium. An animated film, based on a story by children’s author Michael Morpurgo, shows how the figures were brought to life and are able to reflect and adapt to their surroundings, changing their appearance depending on the situation. Wenlock and Mandeville will now go on separate journeys, often crossing paths and meeting people all over the country inspiring them to choose sport as they head towards the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

"The mascots’ names reflect the UK’s rich Olympic and Paralympic histories. Wenlock’s name is inspired by the Shropshire village of Much Wenlock where the ‘Wenlock Games’ was one of the inspirations that led the founder of the modern Olympic movement Baron Pierre de Coubertin to create the Olympic Games. Mandeville’s name is inspired by Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire. In the 1940s, Dr. Ludwig Guttmann came to Stoke Mandeville Hospital to set up a new spinal unit to help former soldiers suffering from spinal cord injuries. Looking for ways to inspire those in his care, he encouraged them to take up sport, leading to the formation of the Stoke Mandeville Games, widely recognised as a forerunner of the modern Paralympic movement."

Wenlock has its own Facebook page and Twitter page, and Mandeville also has its own Facebook page and Twitter page.

What are your thoughts?

Photo via London 2012

Bird's Eye View of London 2012 Olympic Venues

During the recent Edelman sabbatical trip, my flight connection in London (on Aug. 10) took us over several of the 2012 Olympic venues, including the city's emerging Olympic Park and Olympic Stadium, as well as Wembley and a couple of other stadia I am still trying to identify (it was my first time over London).

The London 2012 Olympic website offers some interesting updates on the construction, and this site has an interactive map highlighting many of the other 2012 London Olympic venues on deck.

God Save The Queen!

Photos copyright 2009 by Nicholas Wolaver.