LONDON 2012
OLYMPIC BID
In 2006 Future Events were offered an unbelievable opportunity to work on the Olympic Bid process on land at Stratford that is now part of the Olympic Park.
The project was broken into three separate parts:
- A conventional exhibition space indicating the position of the stadiums, athlete accommodation and media centres
- A panoramic viewing display located on a specially-constructed earth bank
- A drive through the tunnels for the IOC delegates to highlight that the link between St Pancras and Stratford was already in existence
The first phase of the project seemed relatively straightforward, using information supplied by the ODA. The problems started when we realised that the building this was to be installed in was only one-third complete. Our initial task was to weatherproof to a degree the building that is now Stratford Station. Into this we put temporary heating, lighting and sound. Once this was complete we then installed the exhibition material, conference set and catering.
The second element of work was the panorama. During the excavation of the tunnels, the spoil had been spread over 72 acres of the old coal yard at Stratford and had raised the ground level by some 10m. With the assistance of the contractors on site the spoil was raised even higher and a panoramic glazed structure was placed on top to give the IOC delegates full vision of the intended site. Additional graphic material, lighting and sound were also installed.
The third element, one of the more unusual we have ever been involved in, required the co-operation of every single person working on the site. After months of negotiation Land Rover agreed to let us borrow 13 brand new Discoveries to transport the IOC delegates through the tunnel from Stratford to St Pancras.
To make this possible the whole site had to stop work for one day, with the rail laying operation being halted 100m short of the tunnel entrance. Within hours of the vehicles going through, the site was reactivated and the rails laid. Uniquely, this was the only time that road vehicles would ever be able to travel through the 7.5 km of railway tunnel. The press affectionately dubbed this the ‘Indiana Jones Moment’ which undoubtedly helped London secure the bid.
project facts
- The tunnel trip: one of our finest hours – or 48 minutes to be precise...
- Viewing the land that has now become the Olympic Stadium, swimming pool and velodrome
- First and only time road vehicles were allowed to drive through part of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link
- All construction work halted for 72 hours for the event, downtime costing £300,000
- One hour after the last car had gone through, the first railway track was laid
related links
- The Capitals Olympic bid on the BBC website more
- Keep updated with the preparations for 2012 view and more
contact us
+44 (0) 1628 770 099
info@futurevents.com