Raising the bar (Explore 06/08/16 #101)

            Tower Bridge, London 2012 Summer Olympics

On the eve of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro I thought I'd repost this slightly improved image as a reminder of the games that London staged.

As a nation we Brits are generally a cynical lot. From the announcement that London would be the host city for the 2012 Olympic Games right up to the start there was much pessimism nationwide. The press and media had a field day... costs would running away; tickets will be too expensive for the ordinary man; it will be a disaster; we won't win anything; the country can't afford it! The BBC even produced a spoof documentary series leading up to the games called "Twenty Twelve", which played to our stereotype of a bumbling, disorganised and underachieving nation (we don't mention England's dismal performance in the Euros as that is a given and a whole subject on its own). 

However, the seedlings of optimism started to grow when Sir Bradley Wiggins won the Tour de France on the 22nd July, the week before. A glorious triumph of preparation, team working and behind the scenes man-management masterminded by Sir David Brailsford of Team Sky. But this was nothing compared to what would follow on the night of 27th July 2012.

From the moment the opening ceremony began even the most cynical could not fail to be impressed with the vision unfolding in the Olympic Stadium... a show orchestrated by Danny Boyle (the man who turned down his knighthood on the grounds he couldn't take credit for the achievements of thousands... a top man in my book). We showcased our history, culture, music, achievements - who will forget Kenneth Branagh as Isambard Kingdom Brunel and the Industrial Revolution changing the green landscape before our eyes and forging the rings that ascended into the night sky to form the five Olympic rings. The National Health Service, Sir Tim Berners-Lee - the inventor of the World Wide Web (WWW) and not forgetting Mr Bean, known the world over.

The Stadium, designed by Populous and built on time and on budget, the aquatic centre designed by the brilliant and sadly late Zaha Hadid. And not forgetting the stunning design for the Olympic Cauldron, by Thomas Heatherwick. How quickly the mood of a nation changed in those four hours and the following morning, the press and media had turned full circle with positive headlines and double page colour spreads of the spectacle that was the Opening Ceremony. 

The opening day of competition saw a million people line the course for the men's road cycling race, every sport and venue packed to the rafters and when Team GB won their first gold (Bradley Wiggins - cycling time trial), we were on our way.  The sporting achievements of Team GB surpassed all expectations and I couldn't do justice to them all in my little write-up but we finished the games with 65 metals (29 Gold, 17 Silver, 19 Bronze), third overall behind the superpowers of the US and China.  

The London 2012 Olympics Games are our finest national moment in modern times in terms of infrastructure, organisation, support as well as the sporting achievements. 1966 doesn't come anywhere close for the simple reason these were the games for the people. Thousands volunteered not just for the two ceremonies, but to organise visitors at every event, station, tube line, railway station, the underground. London was packed with volunteers working for free to make these Games the greatest in the modern era of the Olympics and the benchmark for those that follow. Given the opportunity and the right people to lead, Great Britain once again showed the world what we are capable of achieving as a nation.

So Rio, you have a tough act to follow and the world will be watching... good luck!

Taken on: July 22, 2012

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Camera: Canon EOS 20D, f/18.0, 4 sec, 75mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 20D
Lens:	17.0-85.0 mm
Aperture:	f/18.0
Exposure Time:	4
Focal Length:	75mm
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Elements 12.0 Windows
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