International Olympic Committee : London 2012

IOC Debriefing transfers knowledge from Beijing to London

The IOC completed yesterday its week-long review of the Beijing 2008 Games to ensure that London and other Games Organising Committees benefit from the lessons learned in Beijing. The IOC Official Debriefing of the Beijing 2008 Games examined all planning and operational aspects of the Beijing Games to highlight best practices, as well as the challenges that were encountered.

Distinct Personality

“We’re delighted that the Olympic Games are returning to Great Britain, the birthplace of modern sport,” IOC President Jacques Rogge said. “Every Olympic Games has a distinct personality. The successful Games in Beijing were unique in many ways. London has its own unique assets that will ensure the success of the 2012 Games as well.” Rogge has made knowledge transfer a top priority during his tenure as IOC President. “The 2008 Games set new standards for organisation, venues and athletic performances, but we can always improve,” Olympic Games Executive Director Gilbert Felli said. “I’m confident that the London organisers will host a first-class event with a uniquely British atmosphere.”

Beijing Debriefing

Bringing together around 900 participants, the IOC Official Debriefing of the Beijing 2008 Games took place from 24 to 27 November 2008 in London. This event, which was attended by members of the Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010, London 2012 and Sochi 2014 Organising Committees (OCOGs), as well as representatives of the 2016 Candidate Cities and other Games stakeholders, gave these future Games organisers the chance to learn from the experience and knowledge gained by their Beijing counterparts during their seven years of preparation. Comprising two plenary sessions, eight stakeholder sessions and 18 functional area workshops, the event looked at the planning, operational and technical elements of organising an Olympic Games, such as sport, accommodation, transport, culture, education and logistics. The debriefing also addressed the various stakeholders’ experience of groups at the Games like athletes, spectators, workforce and the media. A full technology debrief of the Games was also held in London from 20 to 22 November 2008.

The OGKM Programme

The Beijing Debriefing is a key component of the IOC’s Olympic Games Knowledge Management (OGKM) programme, which consists of three main sources: services, personal experience and information. The services include workshops, seminars and a network of experts with Games experience on a range of Olympic topics that the OCOGs are able to call upon throughout their lifecycle. The OCOGs are also able to gain personal experience on Games preparations and operations through the Games-time observers’ programme, the official Games Debriefing and a secondment programme, which allows staff members from future OCOGs to work on the current edition of the Olympic Games. The final element of OGKM is information, which includes elements like the Official Games Report, technical manuals, knowledge reports, a range of useful documents and publications and the IOC’s visual transfer of knowledge of photos and films. All this information is available to the OCOGs through an extranet that is managed by the IOC.

Conversation, not �preaching�, key to winning youth says President

IOC President Jacques Rogge has spoken in London on the role of the Olympic Movement in getting young people to lead physically active, healthy lifestyles, and the impact of the global credit crunch on the Olympic Games.

Giving the second annual de Coubertin Lecture to an audience of leading figures from the worlds of sport, arts and culture, the President said that it was “vital” that the Olympic Movement focuses on getting young people around the world into sport: “I believe that catching the sports bug simply helps you cope with life better. It encourages you to value yourself, and your body. It equips you for learning, and improves your ability to think and create.”

Hooking young people on sport

Presented by London 2012 in conjunction with the Royal Society of Arts and the British Olympic Foundation, the de Coubertin lecture is a landmark opportunity to promote the role of Olympism in society. The President used the event, on the eve of the Beijing Debrief, to link the UK’s proud Olympic history with the chance the 2012 Games provides to address inequalities in society.

Increased physical activity was vital if younger generations were to avoid the health consequences of a “sitting down” lifestyle said the President. “British children spend 5 hours and 20 minutes a day glued to a screen. Young people are playing sport less, they are spending more time in cars, and the consequence is more obesity and greater problems.”

Technology’s challenge and opportunity

It was vital to use the digital revolution to inspire more young people to take up sport and become active. “New technologies present a challenge, but they also give us new opportunities to engage and interact. On the internet today, people don’t simply sit passively watching content – they create it and share it.”

London’s imaginative logo and adventurous cultural and sporting initiatives showed that they understood this, said the President. “London’s vision places sport and athletes at the heart of the Games,” said the President, but puts a strong focus on “engaging young people, culture and education.”

Credit crunch

The President added that the world was going through “difficult times” economically, but that the Olympic Games “had survived difficult times before. They have survived and thrived because of what they mean to people all over the world.” The success of Beijing put the Olympic Movement on a sound footing to deal with the challenges of the coming years, and future organisers were well prepared, he added.

Discover President Rogge's speech (PDF)

London builds up for spectacular Games

The International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Coordination Commission for the London 2012 Games has delivered a positive endorsement of the work being carried out by the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) and its partners. Led by its Chairman Denis Oswald, the Commission had spent three days (20-22 May) visiting some of the 2012 venues and hearing updates from LOCOG, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and the other organisations involved in preparing for the Games.

Deliver Great Games

Speaking at the end of the visit, Denis Oswald said, “The Commission has been greatly impressed by the quality and speed with which LOCOG and its partners have been able to progress since our last visit. The most visible element is obviously venue construction, and the progress made on the Olympic Park, in particular, is truly astounding. In all the areas of preparation, we have been able to see marked progress by the London 2012 team, and this puts LOCOG on track to deliver great Games in 2012 and a great legacy beyond.”

Political Support

The Commission was also able to meet this week with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, leader of the opposition David Cameron, Liberal Democrat MP Don Foster, Olympic Minister Tessa Jowell and the newly elected Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. Oswald said, “The cross party support for the Games and the backing from the highest levels of Government in Great Britain is extremely reassuring. This strong basis of support for the Olympic and Paralympic Games will be crucial to London 2012 achieving its objectives. It is also pleasing to see that all levels of Government are working hard to engender a legacy of sports participation from the Games.”

Focus On The Athletes

With many former top level athletes on the Commission, along with highly experienced sports administrators, the group was pleased to see how LOCOG, in association with the British Olympic Association (BOA), was focusing on the athletes’ needs for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Chairman Oswald noted, “The athletes are central to the Games, and our Commission members know exactly what it takes to perform at your best on the field of play, as we have a number of Olympians and Paralympians around the table. We have all been very pleased to see that LOCOG has recognised the important place that the athletes hold in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and this is reflected throughout their planning.”

LONDON 2012London was elected as the Host City for the Games of the XXX Olympiad on 6 July 2005 at the 117th IOC Session in Singapore. London eventually succeeded in the fourth round of voting taking 54 votes from a possible 104. London faced stiff opposition during the vote from the other four candidate cities: Paris, New York, Moscow and Madrid. There will be 26 sports on the Olympic Programme in London in 2012 and around 10,500 athletes.

Podcast (see below)

Podcast with Denis Oswald, Olympian and Chairman of the IOC’s Coordination Commission for London 2012, on the 3rd visit of the Commission to London.

LONDON 2012: Third Visit For IOC Commission

From 20 to 22 May, the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Coordination Commission for the London 2012 Games will be in the British capital to assess the London Organising Committee (LOCOG)’s progress over the past year. Chaired by Olympian Denis Oswald, the Coordination Commission will look at a number of Games-related topics, visit some of the sites of the future Olympic venues and have an opportunity to meet some of the London Games key partners. This will be the third visit by the Commission to London since it was elected as the host city for the 2012 Games.

The Olympic Way

As well as discussing with LOCOG and its partners the progress made since the Commission’s last visit, the Commission members will use their vast experience of the Games and of the organisation of sports events to help guide and advise LOCOG in areas as varied as sport, marketing, media operations, workforce and the cultural Olympiad. They will also get the chance to see a number of the Olympic venues during their visit, including the Olympic Park site and Wembley, which will see the Commission walk down the Olympic Way to access this iconic stadium.

LONDON 2012

London was elected as the Host City for the Games of the XXX Olympiad on 6 July 2005 at the 117th IOC Session in Singapore. London eventually succeeded in the fourth round of voting taking 54 votes from a possible 104. London faced stiff opposition during the vote from the other four candidate cities: Paris, New York, Moscow and Madrid. There will be 26 sports on the Olympic Programme in London in 2012 and around 10,500 athletes.

LONDON 2012: London Unveils Its Olympic Stadium

The Olympic Stadium for the Games in 2012 has been unveiled at a ceremony in the London Olympic Park. The 80,000-seat stadium will be the centre-piece of the 2012 Games venues and will host the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and athletics events. Once the Games are over, the arena will be converted into a 25,000-seat permanent stadium and will become a new home for athletics, combined with other sporting, community and educational uses.

Inspiring, Innovative and Sustainable

Commenting at the launch, the Chairman of the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG), Seb Coe, said: “We talk a lot about milestones, but few will be more exciting than this, the unveiling of the Olympic Stadium, which will be the centre-piece of our Olympic Park. The stadium will stand for everything we talked about in the bid: it will be inspiring, innovative and sustainable – the theatre within which the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games will be played out and will leave behind top class sporting and community facilities after the Games.”

Aircraft Carriers and Submarines

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is working with the Team Stadium consortium to build the venue, but thanks to the strong progress already made by the ODA since it received the stadium site in July, construction work is expected to start two to three months early next year. Indeed, in the five months since the ODA started working on the area, 28 out of 33 buildings have already been demolished, and because ground levels vary across the site, some parts will have to be lowered by nine metres and others raised by five metres. This implies that over the next few months around 600,000 tonnes of soil will be taken away from the site to help create the construction platform for the stadium – the equivalent weight of around 27 aircraft carriers or 37 submarines.

LONDON 2012

London was elected as the host city for the Games of the XXX Olympiad on 6 July 2005 at the 117th IOC Session in Singapore. London eventually succeeded in the fourth round of voting, taking 54 votes from a possible 104. London faced stiff opposition during the vote from the other four candidate cities: Paris, New York, Moscow and Madrid. There will be 26 sports on the Olympic programme in London in 2012 and around 10,500 athletes.

Watch a video about the London 2012 Olympic Stadium.