Last Sunday we met with the dCdM and the PA
to discuss what was going to happen the following day. We learned that nearly
half of our athletes were arriving along with several senior members of the
delegation including our CdM so we had to be sure everything was ready. Around the village we managed to tie up
the loose ends with the rooms and equipment however a few loose ends still
remained. The repair crew had been through the flats to deal with many of the
outstanding issues, logistics brought any missing furniture and the IT and
cable technicians had been through and finished everything that needed fitting
or assembly. Things were starting to look up for us and our hard work the
previous couple of days was really starting to show.
Aside from the logistical arm of LOCOG, the
Olympic fleet is divided up into 3 different groups ranging from T1 – T3 and as
you can imagine each classification services a different purpose. T1 and T2 are
dedicated transportation services to and from specific Olympic Venues however
T2 transport is only available to VIP’s. This can be the CdM, political figureheads
or important friends of the delegation. These services are similar to a cab
company where you would arrange ahead of time for a specific journey. The
final, T3 is for the dedicated NOC vehicles. Each NOC is allocated a number of
these vehicles (with more being available for an additional fee) depending on
the size of their delegation and the types of events they are participating in.
The T3 vehicles do not carry the same restrictions as the other two services.
These cars can literally go wherever the delegation wishes and do not have to
stick to the Olympic road network. For us this has meant trips to the Embassy,
pickups and drop-offs at hotels and other locations and even shopping trips for
missing toiletries. The
delegations participating in road cycling events are given an extra estate car
(station wagon) and people carrier (minivan) as part of the requirement for
such events.
A plan was in place and we knew what we
were doing. We were taking three T3 cars with us for the transport of the
officials and VIPs. After arriving to the terminal and proceeding to the short
stay car park I was waved down to the ground floor where I was told someone
would direct me to park. I headed down and was shown to a front row parking
spot marked for Olympic use with a team of Olympic Volunteers present
coordinating the T1 & T2 transportation services. This made things quite
easy as it was a straight-shot from the arrivals hall to the car park.
To greet the delegation three NOC
Assistants were on hand each with their own vehicle, the dCdM, the PA as well
as a host of important looking Cubans from their Embassy. The setup at Heathrow
was impressive. LOCOG had Olympic Volunteers roaming all over the arrivals hall
helping out wherever possible. Our dCdM and PA had pre-arranged some special
passes that allowed them to cross into the secured area to greet the delegation
so they headed in to greet our new arrivals. The scene was exciting. There were
anxious cameramen, groups of athletes and delegates from various countries
including USA, Mali and Australia. Once the Cubans began arriving the scale of
this event came more into focus. Clusters of athletes began appearing from all
directions all wearing their Team Cuba blue and red gear often accompanied by
massive trolleys (carts) carrying huge boxes and sports bags.
The arrangements were in place for athlete
transfers to their relevant sites and for their equipment (bicycles and gear,
boats and oars, and endless giant athletic bags) to be forwarded. This was
scheduled to depart 30 minutes after the athletes cleared security and was on
time. Two buses were arranged for the group, one would take the teams associated
to Royal Holloway, which is the Rowing & Canoe Sprint Village for the games
and the rest headed to the Olympic village. For me and the other two assistants
were assigned a group of people ranging from 2-5 people bound for various
destinations prior to returning to the Olympic Village. We all managed to
return to the village around the same time and set out trying to sort out the
correct accreditation for a few of our delegates. The accreditation that we all
have is unique to each person having the appropriate level of clearances and
access. There was three Team Technicians who were having problems gaining
access to the village as they only had their temporary accreditation that they
received in their countries so this required quite a bit of running around to
fix. We were directed by different people to different places leaving our
guests anxious and annoyed.
Security for the Olympics was
contracted by LOCOG to a company called G4S. Recently it has been widely
publicised that they were unable to fulfil their contract and would
fail to be able to provide the necessary staffing for such an event. The
British Government has stepped in and drafted in 3,500 additional military
personnel to cover the shortfall. Rightfully so the UK Government has decided
to hold fire on any response on this matter until after the games. What this
means to me and others involved and attending Olympic Events is that the main
security checkpoints including both pedestrian and vehicle checks will be
manned by military personnel. In addition to the checkpoints the military
presence is quite visible around the Olympic sites. The G4S security staff are
outfitted in light green tops and dark green bottoms while the military are
wearing their fatigues. Often you will see pairs of heavily armed SWAT team
officers patrolling the area. With this change in staffing for security
checkpoints, I have noticed a major difference in the quality and length of the
searches. The soldiers have stepped it up and there is now a much more
comprehensive security operation in place. G4S staff remain around the
village, usually at internal accreditation checkpoints.
With about half of our athletes around we
are expecting a change in the jobs we are asked to do for the delegation. We
are excited to be able to attend training events and to check out all of the
various venues for competition. Our hours worked has remained quite intense
with long days being the norm. My schedule has been so scattered that working
the late shift one night followed by the early shift the next morning is not
uncommon, however it has managed to be a real adventure.
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