Sport for all!

Buro Happold

21/08/2012 Written by: Andy Passingham No comments

Having driven from Edinburgh the day before, we approached Stratford a little wearily, but the reception from the Games Maker volunteers as soon as we stepped off the tube blew all our cobwebs away.

High fives for the children, smiles, offers to take photos, nothing too much trouble; they truly made the Olympic experience for the public.  We had tickets for the evening athletics, so had a few hours to kill in the Park.  A fantastic mix of buildings and planning.  Some architecturally stunning; why didn't the stunning Velodrome win the Stirling prize last year?  Some great examples of temporary, efficient and lean construction, all linked by a well laid out and simple to travel through Park that even managed to have all the flowers blooming at the right time!  And all around, happy smiley people, communicating with each other in ways that we don’t normally see.  Minor miracles everywhere, as well as regular announcements of Team GB medals as well.

When we got into the Stadium the atmosphere just got better.  We were lucky enough to see Jess Ennis set a PB in her 200m finals race, with my two boys screaming "run for Wenlock!" at her as she came past us; that will stay in the memory for a long time. Seeing the enthusiasm for a sport that they don’t see that much of for the rest of the year was truly uplifting and a great example of what the Games did for the UK. 

Our hours in the Stadium flew past, always something happening and the reception for all the athletes was fantastic.  What a day!