London 212 Review: Even the Weather has been excellent!

So, this is it! In little over two weeks, the 2012 Olympic Games have come and gone. It went quick, if you asked me, and pretty much very smooth. Here’s my review on what caught my eye these Games, seen and experienced as a Spaniard who has lived in London for the past ten years:

1. The Weather: 8.5/10. I am Spanish, but because of my ten years living in this country there is one thing I can quickly talk about to break the ice. And fair played to it: Mr Weather during the past two weeks has been mostly fantastic. Not only in London but in the other venues across the country that have hosted Olympic events.

What a landmark to feature the Olympic Rings, and the sun is out yet again!

True that there has been the odd bit of rain and some days and evenings where it went below 20 degrees. But the fact that it hasn’t been too hot either has helped athletes perform at their best more times than not – including many new world records. We even have had some truly sunny days which have allowed for some great photos to be taken and really think ‘this is not too bad, at all’.

2. The atmosphere: 10/10. Having lived in London for ten years, I have seen the city prepare itself to embrace the Games step by step. Even though it unofficially boasts the title of ‘Capital of the World’ with its great diversity and international DNA, these past two to three weeks there has been this floating extra multinational feel to it.

More chances than ever before for cultural exchange, London 2012

The nations, united at London 2012

Wherever you have gone to, you could easily see people wearing with pride their national colours, with a general ‘feel good’ attitude and ease that really felt special. Whether sharing the tube with members of the Chinese Olympic team who were a little lost, high fiving fellow Spanish fans as we walked by, sharing a table at the Olympic Park with a Swedish family before a handball semi final or watching the basketball in the big screens next to some French fans, it really has been as diverse as I have ever experienced in London.

Members of the Chinese Olympic team, a little lost on the Victoria Line.
They had just won the men's race walk gold, mind

Colourful Blues fans before France's handball men's semi vs Croatia. Les French won.

Ah, and a BIG shout to all the Game Makers and volunteers, police and transport staff, cleaners and everyone else working around the clock to deliver this beast called Olympic Games: great work guys.

Game Makers take a moment to enjoy the beach volleyball - they have been great.

Police has been ever present yet one never felt a military-like status, like the media had scared us with. Well done.
And great shout to the troops, stepping up for the G4S fiasco.

3. The Olympic Park: 8/10. You might have missed my first review of these Games, which you can read here, so here’s a second review of the Park having been there a second time: with its great, spacious and green layout, it still missed some more ‘sporty’ atmosphere; like a big radio show from a stage somewhere which we could all hear through the loudspeakers system. Instead of that commercial music they played all along. We could see the BBC studios, but we couldn’t hear them. Wouldn’t it have been great if we had a couple of DJs going “and now, over to the Basketball arena where Argentina lead USA by ten points...” or something like “and over to the North Greenwich Arena where team China are closing in on another gold medal...”. Or just plug BBC Radio 5 live. Either way Rio 2016, take note if you may. Ah, and more screens to watch the action – not just the two huge ones but many more, smaller ones, scattered around the park.

Diving at the Olympic Park, with a decent zoom you could get good pics!

But otherwise the Park was the place to be in London the past two weeks, and by the looks of it many of us were lucky enough to enjoy it.

Fans and spectators enjoy the sun around the Olympic Park - the Velodrome stands out in the distance

4. The free events: 9/10. From the road cycling to the marathon swimming, the race walk or the ‘normal’ marathon. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, have enjoyed watching some sort of Olympic event for free. The world didn’t end if you had not been lucky enough to get hold of tickets, there have been plenty of events to watch for free. And not just any events, with the road cycling and the marathon featuring most of the best current athletes in the planet, being able to watch them for free is just extraordinary. Ah, and there have been the BT sponsored free Live sites too, like Hyde Park, which was a great success with its five big screens and tons of activities going on around the park every day.

BT Live at Hyde Park - hundreds of thousands embraced the free-to-attend concept, loved it

5. The sights of London: 10/10. Seeing these world class athletes perform at some of the world’s most iconic landmarks, particularly in the centre of London, has been also a great experience. Every year London hosts already some great events (Wimbledon, the Marathon, the FA Cup Final) but seeing the Olympic cycling, the race walk, the triathlon and other events taking place on the very same streets and parks that many millions of us walk by every day it really is an honour. And considering the history of London itself, knowing that it won’t most likely happen again in my lifetime –for all the up and coming developing countries around the world bidding for them- it takes things to a whole new level.

Beach Volleyball just off the Prime Minister's pad - and that big wheel in the background

Olympic men's marathon swim at Hyde Park

Cameraman covering the marathon swim at Hyde Park .
Not sure about all those photos though, swimmers are IN the water.

6. Friends’ enthusiasm: 10/10. I have been working in the sports industry for the past ten years and I have been lucky enough to have made great friends along the way. It has been great to see how many of us working in the industry have embraced the Games these past two weeks. Mostly through Facebook and other social media, my news feeds were virtually covered in Olympics related stuff, and tens of pictures from my friends attending events here and there. And those not attending where sharing their pride and enthusiasm for this or that medal or performance. Truly fantastic.

7. The Games on TV: 9/10. Or actually I should say the Games on ‘any device’ because I watched Live and delayed action on TV as well as my laptop and my phone. The BBC have again raised the bar when it comes down to Live coverage. With 20+ Live HD channels available for free (i.e. I mean paid by the £145.50 a year License fee tax each of the 26 million households pay in the UK) and all the live and Video On Demand clips they have made available on their website, there really are no excuses not to have seen all the action happening these Games. If anything we needed more days! With all the official and unofficial social media offerings and Apps out there, these really have been the Digital games – not only to watch but to interact with. Twelve years ago few would have anticipated this boom; let’s see how do we ‘watch’ them twelve years from now!

OK, everyone is allowed a slip every now in a while - BBC coverage London 2012

8. The Opening Ceremony: 9/10. Here is a little secret: I was supposed to have performed at the Opening Ceremony (as a dancer of some sorts) after passing the two auditions earlier in February. But I couldn’t commit to the demanding schedule they sent through. It asked for you to attend 3-4 hrs rehearsals between three to five times a week for about twelve weeks before the Games, with only transport costs being reimbursed. With everything else going on in my life I had to decline this opportunity but having been involved in the very early stages, and knowing the number of rehearsals they put in, I have huge respect for the show they put together. It was a great musical all round, a fantastic tribute to all the shows we can see day, day out in the West End whether dramatic or fun, modern or old. The NHS bit might have been a little over the top but having been helping at the Great Ormond Street Hospital before I think that was a great touch.

9. The transport: 9/10. I used public transport to attend all events and in all that was six different days. Even though my very first trip to an event started with a familiar “we are sorry to announce that the O Eight Thirty Two South West Train to London Waterloo has been cancelled; we apologize for the delay this may cause to your journey”, everything else since has run smooth and without much trouble or particularly large crowds.

Plenty of bright signs to get around

Plenty of people at the Olympic Park - we made it!

At all stations there have always been more than enough volunteers to help me find my way. It was also boosted by the extra bright pink London 2012 signs pointing you right or left depending on what event you wanted to go.

10. The Sport: 9.5/10. Ah yes, this is about sport after all, isn’t it? I have been lucky enough to attend men’s basketball, handball, beach volleyball and marathon swimming, and women’s volleyball, diving and beach volleyball. 

Men's handball semi final  - relentless; nobody saw his foot was on the ground before releasing the ball, ooopss!

My pick definitely is women’s volleyball. I played the sport a few times in my teens, and have watched it on TV many times but actually attending live was great. I was even luckier to see both Brazil and the USA playing each other in the early rounds of the competitions, and they both ended up with the Gold and Silver medals in a great final (which I watched, recorded, on TV).

Brazil v USA in the first round - they both went on to play the Final

Brazil v USA first round - in the Final Brazil won 3-1

At the top of the medals table no surprise to see the USA. The nation that has made sport become a huge industry in its own right really embraces the Olympics like no other, though it relies heavily in Athletics and Swimming to pile up their medals (about 60% of those come from these two sports alone).

China has too embraced sport at the highest level and though there always are rumours about their tough training techniques and regimes, it is a fact that they have the most widespread list of medals across many disciplines.

The Chinese take over the Queen's house.

The Brits, my adopted country, have performed exceptionally well, more so considering there are only sixty million of them; I hope this carries forward in Games to come. And my beloved Spain: what a sight of the medal table after week one, with just a couple of medals. But week two has delivered yet again.

A Spanish race walker never gives up - vamoooos!!!

Mostly through team sports but with some fantastic individual performances too – and mostly by women too, like sailing, swimming, water polo or handball. Really well done girls (and guys), you have delivered despite all the cuts in funding and the horrible economic situation the country is going through. There is always hope.

Ok then, this is it. I am sure I have left many areas out, but since this is unofficial and all that, I can always write about those later. In any case, and despite the empty seats mostly in week one, it has been great to be part of the Greatest Show on Earth at least once in my lifetime; hopefully there will be more. Rio, hello.

The sun sets at the 2012 Olympic Games - THANK YOU, LONDON

Olympics Review: Beach Volleyball, where entertainment meets sport

Probably the most well attended sport of the entire London 2012 Olympic Games, Beach Volleyball this summer has truly captured the imagination of people around the world. Here I give my thoughts on how it all has worked out:

1. ENTERTAINMENT: 9/10 – Above all it is about having FUN! Most spectators attending any sporting event, go there for the competition itself, for the performance of the athletes taking part and, of course, for the final result. Here that’s only half of the reason. People attending a beach volleyball match go because they are guaranteed to have a great time. Given the high demand of tickets for London, most people if not all of us had to buy tickets without knowing what they were going to watch. I bought mine just four weeks out and didn’t have a clue what I was going to watch. It didn’t matter. Between the constant music, the venue’s host, the cheerleaders... ah! And the game itself, there never really is a dull moment.

Olympics Beach Volleyball - in London

People are so willing to have a great time that they easily get carried away. So much that at some point in one of the matches I attended a massive conga of over 100 people set off and went on and on around the stadium – very, very funny.

The only downside is that there is so much going on off the court that at times, many, it is very easy to lose record of what is going on in the court and before you know it it may be set or match point!

2. LOCATION: 9/10 - A ‘beach’ in the heart of the city. Bang on in the centre of London, arguably the world’s capital, they have built this fantastic temporary 15,000 capacity stadium; off the house of the Prime Minister and a stone’s throw of Buckingham Palace too, in the background one sees the London Eye – Britain’s most visited touristic attraction every year (and it was supposed to be a temporary one too). All that means that from the beginning it was always going to be really appealing as it is really easily accessible for everyone going, with no less than five underground stations and a couple of train stations within relatively short walk distance.

The location of the London Olympics Beach Volleyball stadium provides fantastic views

And I am told this is exactly what they do when they play beach volleyball at the highest level around the world. They look for the best locations in the cities, so people are easily attracted to the events; as opposed to having to travel long distances outside of the city and get back later.

3. SEXYNESS: 8/10 – It is inevitable to refer here to one of the key ingredients for the re-invention of Volleyball within this beach environment: women playing while wearing bikinis. For the level of skill and dedication the athletes put into it, it is no surprise that 65% of those applying for tickets for the London 2012 Olympic Beach Volleyball were men; no other sport had such a one-sided male appeal. Admittedly, what’s not to like watching ultra-fit women throwing themselves into the sand with all those ultra-tight bikinis?

Now, there has been a slight problem: given this is London, temperatures tend to drop significantly once the sun sets in the horizon. Which in turns means the female players switch their bikinis for the equivalent of ‘beach volleyball burqas’ – overalls that keep them warm in the under 20s evening temperatures. I don’t need to tell you what happens next, but here is an idea...

Women's beach volleyball 'burqas' - not quite what people expect to see

Action is still as intense - just a little bit less of flesh in view

If you are a male reader I kind of can imagine what you are thinking. If you are a female reader you may understand men too, or feel slightly appalled by finding out that many men watch women’s beach volleyball for ‘not-quite-the-right’ reasons. Sorry, but it is what it is.

Ah, but there is hope - and there are too the cheerleaders. Not only all girls but there a couple of guys too, so everyone gets a bit of eye candy every now and then when there are long time outs and in between matches.

The official with one of the toughest jobs in the world

4. PERFORMANCE: 6.5/10 – I can appreciate players give everything they have to make each point as tough and competitive as possible. What happens though is that, compared to the ‘old’, indoors Volleyball it feels slower, less intense and less aggressive. For starters there are only two of them per team, as opposed to six, which easily means a lot more chances of scoring each time, or less chances of defending a ball.

Because they jump off sand and on their bare feet, they cannot simply replicate the height or speed of jump seen in normal volleyball, where a solid floor and proper trainers helps players gain speed and momentum, flying high up in the sky.

Good 'old' volleyball: jump higher, hit harder, move faster.
And there's so many of them, there's always something happening!

In addition, given there is just two of them, this leaves the door open for many drop shots (where the attacking player, instead of hitting the ball hard, simply gives it a soft touch and lets it drop behind the defending player). It is no easy skill that players do not over use, but it is seen a lot more than in normal volleyball.

They suspend themselves in the air - and then let the ball drop ever so softly on the sand.
Difficult skill, no doubt. Just not visually that compelling.

5. IT IS A ‘MIXED’ AFFAIR: 10/10 – Other than in tennis, I cannot think of another sport that has learnt so well to combine both the men’s and women’s versions at the same events. Ok maybe badminton, table-tennis, squash and swimming. Here a normal day of play alternates both men’s and women’s matches. And given the nature of the sport, even though men by nature are able to jump higher, hit harder and last longer, women’s matches are virtually as competitive and furious. Just like attending a high profile tennis event, you get to watch both men’s and women’s and at no point you feel you are being short-changed by the competition.

In summary: everyone attending a beach volleyball event will have a great time; you may not get to watch the most spectacular of sports yet you will go home feeling you had a fantastic time and got your money’s worth. I will be going back soon, no doubt. However they do not play ‘mixed’ Beach Volleyball like they do in tennis or badminton and that might well be an additional expansion the game -and the spectators- will welcome in the future...

Until next time, thank you for reading.