| London 2012 17:51 - Aug 10 with 3593 views | slmrstid |
Slightly inspired by Brian's post, but yesterday would have been the end of Tokyo 2020, had the world not gone bonkers in the last 5 months.
Over the past 2 weeks me & Mrs have been watching the day by day highlights from the BBC boxset that was released after London 2012, so we were inline with Tokyo 2020 (and thus slightly out of sync with the day by day highlights of 2012 BBC are showing on their sports website at the moment).
We started 2 weeks ago with the Opening Ceremony - what a wonderful show that was, I still feel the giddy excitement now at seeing it all from the start. Although getting through the athlete's parade is a marathon in its own right.
Always remember the Closing Ceremony being a bit naff, but I think thats also because it was such a wonderful 2 weeks I never wanted it to end.
Was gutted I never got to go to any events live, other than football in Coventry, which was probably one of the last venues you'd really want to go. I did manage to get a day in the Olympic Park in the Paralympics which slightly made up for it. Even now I love the Olympic Park, though it is of course a shadow of what it was for that fortnight. I have also swam in the Olympic Pool, my first and only time being in a 50m pool! Did that a couple of years ago.
Mrs worked as a Games Maker for both the Olympics and Paralympics, based at the Millenium Dome, so watching all the highlights back for the first time in 8 years was for her a lot of completely new stuff, as she missed a lot of it due to the shifts she worked (including Super Saturday, although her experience of it was hearing all the roars coming from the concourses as each medal came in!)
A wonderful summer. Interesting watching back of course as some fairly big British names have been caught up in various big news stories in the 8 years since (Bradley Wiggins and the mysterious package, Mo Farah and Salazar, even Jess Varnish and some of the gymnasts with the bullying allegations against British Cycling / British Gymnastics of recent times...)
What memories do you all have of that summer? What did you manage to see if you got to anything? |  | | |  |
| London 2012 on 18:22 - Aug 10 with 2916 views | loftboy |
Couldn’t get any tickets to the stadium/ arena events so took my then 7 year old son to Hyde park for the open swimming, there was a cracking blonde bird there wrapped in an Aussie flag, I got him to asks her how many medals they had won!! Look on her face was priceless. |  |
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| London 2012 on 18:45 - Aug 10 with 2879 views | BenSummer |
Remember it really fondly. Also couldn't get tickets to the Olympics but a Paralympian called Ben Quilter came into my Scouts group a few months before to talk to us, and I ended up getting tickets with my dad and a couple of Scouts mates to see him. He ended up winning Bronze despite cartying a nasty injury and we also managed to get into Table Tennis with our tickets. Was just a lovely time and everyone seemed to be in a good mood for the entire month around the Games. |  | | |
| London 2012 on 19:13 - Aug 10 with 2859 views | izlingtonhoop |
You guys weren't trying.
I went twice.
First day of the velodrome, en famille
And the semis of the 200s etc
that, involved me, as a said to a friend at the time, clicking like a teenage porn addict..
But it paid off.
I mean I grew up watching the Olympics every four years, and knew I would never actually be in the stadium.
Hey, I was.
Tick. |  | | |
| London 2012 on 19:48 - Aug 10 with 2830 views | DWQPR |
Was trying for months to try and get a ticket for any event bar the football. Two days before the opening ceremony gave it one last try, just one lousy ticket for something! Every event was sold out. Got down to ‘opening ceremony’ and thought ‘yeah right’, but tried anyway. First it asked how many tickets. I put in 1. Then it took me through the the next stage which usually said ‘sorry we cannot meet this number of tickets’ but it didn’t. It showed a seat, row and entrance number. I thought to myself that it was now taking the pîss. But I persevered and then got to the payment section. £995 later I had myself a ticket for the opening ceremony. So on the day got down to Stratford for lunchtime to collect my ticket and hey ho it was all legit. And of course I had the hoops on. What a fantastic experience it was and even now 8 years later thinking about it brings the hairs on the back of my neck up and every time I hear David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ I am once again reminded. My seat was right on the front row of the upper tier, 11 o’clock to the bells midday.
But I was not the only member of my family there. My niece who worked in theatres doing lighting work was on the roof of the stadium at ‘1 o’clock’ and it was her spotlight that illuminated Sir Steve Redgrave as he brought the Olympic torch into the stadium.
Any absolute night to remember, the atmosphere unreal. The two weeks were magnificent. For the closing ceremony treated the family to tickets for the closing ceremony concert at Hyde Park, New Order, Bombay Bicycle Club, The Specials and Blur. The Specials were superb. |  |
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| London 2012 on 19:52 - Aug 10 with 2823 views | HantsR |
Registered as a Gamesmaker but had to decline in the end as travel and accommodation were prohibitive. Anyway, made both Olympics and Paralympics and thought it it was a wonderful event overall. I have a particular soft spot for the opening ceremony which can still leave me a bit moist--eyed and awestruck with wonder at the imagination, planning and execution of the evening. Ive heard it described as a love poem to the UK, celebrating great achievements yes, but honest in the process. |  | | |
| London 2012 on 20:27 - Aug 10 with 2783 views | DWQPR |
| London 2012 on 19:52 - Aug 10 by HantsR |
Registered as a Gamesmaker but had to decline in the end as travel and accommodation were prohibitive. Anyway, made both Olympics and Paralympics and thought it it was a wonderful event overall. I have a particular soft spot for the opening ceremony which can still leave me a bit moist--eyed and awestruck with wonder at the imagination, planning and execution of the evening. Ive heard it described as a love poem to the UK, celebrating great achievements yes, but honest in the process. |
And to think that on a weekday morning at 9am for some Paralympic qualifying races the stadium would be full! Unheard of for Olympic competition anywhere else. We really did do the games justice. | |
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| London 2012 on 20:34 - Aug 10 with 2775 views | Noelmc |
Both Olympics & Paralympics were fantastic events and left me with some unforgettable memories as I was lucky enough to be able to attend events at both.
My best memory is from the Olympics where I applied for several tickets but was only allocated rowing initially. However when a further tranche of tickets were made available after complaints about empty seats, I phoned up and managed to get through on the disability booking line. After being told that here were no wheelchair user tickets left for the Athletics I tried my luck with “I don’t suppose there’s any beach volleyball remaining?” Much to my surprise the assistant came back and said they had some top price tickets for the Quarter Finals. Not believing my luck I quickly supplied my card details for two £120 tickets.
It was only when I came off the phone I realised in my excitement I’d forgotten to check if it was the Men’s or Women’s Quarter Finals - idiot! A very anxious few minutes followed before a quick internet search revealed it was the women, much to my relief.
It was an unbelievable day. We had front row seats at Horseguards Parade, the weather was great and the atmosphere was brilliant. Definitely the best sporting event I’ve ever been too that did not involve QPR. Even then it’s only rare moments such as Bobby Zamora day & the Oldham Play Off semi-final that are clearly ahead of it. Fantastic memories.
This country is the world’s best at holding major sporting events and I’ve also been lucky enough to be at Euro 96, as well as the Rugby World Cup and Wimbledon Finals. It’s a crying shame we’ve not had a football World Cup since 1966. |  | | |
| London 2012 on 20:51 - Aug 10 with 2764 views | stowmarketrange |
If you look at my avatar,that was taken at the swimming as my Mrs wanted to see Michael Phelps win some medals.
I just happened to wearing my qpr shirt and be a few rows behind Lakshmi Mittal and was iskan sharma Who was also involved at the time.I had one eye on the swimming and the other one on them in case they snuck out without me seeing.I managed to get a couple of photos done as they were leaving,and it was certainly the highlight of my night,even if my wife wasn’t impressed.
My children were at Wembley for the football on the same night.
We also went for the Paralympics on the Saturday night when we won a few golds.
Hard to believe that was 8 years ago.
I also remember driving my truck to London on the morning that the games were given to London,and also the following day when all that joy was swept away with the bus and tube bombs. |  | | |
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| London 2012 on 21:00 - Aug 10 with 2754 views | aston_hoop |
Randomly ended up watching archery at Lords. Never had so much as a passing interest in it, but such a lovely day and brilliant entertainment as it happened. Saw a Team GB mens football match too at Wembley.
I was working Tower Bridge area during the games and recall a big screen being up nearby. Going down after work with colleagues and a few cans and watching the evenings events. Was really a great few weeks of sport and summer. The Danes had set up a little Olympic village type thing at St Katherine's dock too and every day they gave out free Danish hot dogs! |  |
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| London 2012 on 10:05 - Aug 11 with 2606 views | robith |
I have a weird thing with our Olympics whereby I was incredible cynical beforehand, I had the time of my life for 2 weeks during, but since that cynicism has come back in droves.
All the "could only buy tickets with Visa" stuff before left me very cold, but as my wife works for a host borough, she won a draw to get tickets to the technical rehearsal of the opening ceremony. You think it was great? Imagine having seen it and then not being able to tell anyone for days!
Then the only tickets I managed to get were for tae kwon doe where me and my mate saw Jade Jones win gold, truly a top ten moment.
The sun shone, we Londoners showed we are actually class acts, it's just the home county commuter mobs who make us look bad, and world class sport for 2 weeks. Then the Paralympics. Bliss.
But now. Hmmm. There is a class of mostly hardcore Remainers who talk constantly about 2012, and about a UK that didn't exist. The London riots were but the year before. The Chancellor got booed at the Paralympics because of the cuts to disabled people's benefits.
And Stratford now? Hard to think it was a place of such joy. I do cricket nets there (at an Academy School) and it's like a J.G Ballard-esque dystopian hellscape of identikit flats no one can afford running out as far as the eye can see. What a future. |  | | |
| London 2012 on 10:15 - Aug 11 with 2584 views | daveB |
My Mother in law and her fella were gamesmakers, they loved the experience, worked at the Excel centre and said it was the best 2 weeks of their lives.
The whole thing was exciting especially as the British athletes did so well.
I went to the Olympic Park one night, cost a tenner for adults, kids were a pound and was like a music festival you walk around, the events all on the big screen and you could get tickets last minute, ended up with a few beers on a big hill watching the swimming as my son, who must have been 2 or 3 at the time was running around replicating everything he saw. Was an incredible experience, so much joy and happiness in everyone and real pride that London was doing such an amazing job.
I did have tickets to the football at Wembley but think it was something like Gabon against Korea so I sold them back on that ticket website they had which was really good
I ended up getting tickets for the Paralympics in the main stadium which was great but a terrible view despite being in the front row, could not see the other end of the track so watched most of it on the big screen |  | | |
| London 2012 on 11:28 - Aug 11 with 2552 views | Northernr |
You're going to hate me for this but...
Parents and me applied for an absolute tonne of tickets in advance and got nothing.
Sarah, girl I used to work with up in Derby, also applied for tickets and managed to get some for her and her sis. Sarah then clocks the cost of hotels for the weekend they're down and asks if her and her sis can stay in my place. Fine.
Sarah's sister later clocks just how heavily pregnant she is and decides she can't make the trip, so would I want her ticket?
Yeh of course, what is it for? Archery or skateboarding or something I suppose? No, it's in the main stadium, for Super Saturday evening session.
So I was there. By accident. At about one week's notice. And it was absolutely fcking incredible. |  | | |
| London 2012 on 11:44 - Aug 11 with 2527 views | flynnbo |
| London 2012 on 11:28 - Aug 11 by Northernr |
You're going to hate me for this but...
Parents and me applied for an absolute tonne of tickets in advance and got nothing.
Sarah, girl I used to work with up in Derby, also applied for tickets and managed to get some for her and her sis. Sarah then clocks the cost of hotels for the weekend they're down and asks if her and her sis can stay in my place. Fine.
Sarah's sister later clocks just how heavily pregnant she is and decides she can't make the trip, so would I want her ticket?
Yeh of course, what is it for? Archery or skateboarding or something I suppose? No, it's in the main stadium, for Super Saturday evening session.
So I was there. By accident. At about one week's notice. And it was absolutely fcking incredible. |
Yeah, we do hate you for this!! |  | | |
| London 2012 on 11:48 - Aug 11 with 2518 views | Northernr |
| London 2012 on 11:44 - Aug 11 by flynnbo |
Yeah, we do hate you for this!! |
I know, and it only cost me 18 years of maintenance payments. | | | |
| London 2012 on 11:59 - Aug 11 with 2502 views | BklynRanger |
Really good idea, Slmrs, to watch them in sync with what the actual program of events would be. Wonder what other upcoming opportunities that could be done for?
As for the games, I won't even try to talk about them because I was still In America and don't want to start on my usual rant about US coverage of athletics, Jesus H Christ give me strength etc etc |  | | |
| London 2012 on 13:00 - Aug 11 with 2458 views | Tonto |
My main memory is how the games proved the naysayers wrong.
I also worked on the transport demand stuff pre games, helped figure out the transport demand - what was needed when. All those people who said the tube would fall over were wrong. I was right
Then there were those who said thta said it would be an economic disaster. It wasn't. An Sratford has been transformed. No white elephants.
An we won a shed of medals.
the criticism I have is the Wet Spam deal |  |
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| London 2012 on 15:15 - Aug 11 with 2399 views | BlackCrowe |
I did well. Only got volleyball at Earls Court in the ballot. but someone mentioned to keep checking the site throughout the event and keep refreshing a few times each time and stuff magically becomes available. It worked - Olympic stadium for 200m and various other things, cycling, football at Wembley, handball. Wasn't cheap though. Volleyball was the only one i thought a bit of a waste of time. |  |
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| London 2012 on 15:34 - Aug 11 with 2385 views | Fearless |
As a lot of people know, I spent 18 months working on 2012, so have some incredible memories.
I was working at Hyde Park, so got to see the Brownlees win Gold & Bronze.
Then I got a call from a colleague reminding me that I’d done him a favour in 2011 (I got him in to Wimbledon) and he’d like to return the favour... with seats in with the media on the finish line for the 200m & 800m finals!
I also spent a day on the park going to the velodrome, basketball, handball & hockey.
Best 18 months of my life
(And still see colleagues who became friends) |  | | |
| London 2012 on 15:38 - Aug 11 with 2383 views | flynnbo |
I had 3 tickets to the football at Wembley. Arrived 40 minutes late due to traffic, was in the very top row of seats and watched a 0-0 draw between South Korea and Gabon. Nice! | | | |
| London 2012 on 16:02 - Aug 11 with 2355 views | Antti_Heinola |
By various lucky means and also the ballot, I went to a fair bit. Saw some incredible gymnastics, including an unbelieveble bar routine by Ms Tweddle in the team event which, had she repeated it in the singles version of the event, would have landed her Gold. That was brilliant. Went to a fair bit of football, including the Women's final.
And, er, I was at the 100 metres final - which was, and I never usually use this word, thrilling. No other way to describe the hush and then the the burst of noise and seeing St Usain sweep all before him. Incredible - will remember it for the rest of my life. Think we saw Ohurogu get a silver that night too.
It was an amazing period. Not least because so many people stayed at home and the public transport worked almost without a hitch for once. Lovely weather. Team GB was phenomenal. I still cry if I see Gemma gibbons going 'thank you mum' in the judo. God, brings tears to my eyes even now. And this country did feel different for a few weeks. It felt like we all came together and all the cynicism vanished for a bit and we all just revelled in an orgy of superb sport. I always laugh when I think of how previous ('Golden') generations of English footballers talk about pressure. And yet what about Jess Ennis? What sort of pressure was she under? And she delivered perfectly - the finest all-round female athlete on earth. Brilliant.
Robith makes a good point about Remainers like me (and especially about the failure of the legacy in many, but not all, areas), but at the same time, I can't help thinking there were a lot on the loony right that despised much of the opening ceremony and have sought to tear down many of its messages ever since. That's me over-reacting, I know, but sometimes it feels like that. Sorry, didn't mean to bring politics into it, but I'm not a huge fan of most of Danny Boyle's (technically excellent) films, but for me this was the best thing he's done by a mile. It was a phenomenal, unbelievable display - especially considering he had to follow that jaw-dropping spectacle in Beijing. The doc the BBC showed about it a couple of years back was brilliant. Brought it all back.Just all those volunteers training for months and months to deliver that. Incredible.
Genuinely some of the best times in my life. Things felt positive and fun and we felt open and were showing our best side. And Team GB delivered on a grand scale. Glad i fully appreciated it at the time.
*Edit: Robith also noted Osborne rightly being booed. That was great. At the football, the entirety of Wembley booed when Sepp Blatter came out to deliver medals too. Fantastic. [Post edited 11 Aug 2020 16:08]
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| London 2012 on 17:26 - Aug 11 with 2320 views | derbyhoop |
| London 2012 on 11:48 - Aug 11 by Northernr |
I know, and it only cost me 18 years of maintenance payments. |
And then you found out it wasn't yours? |  |
| "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the Earth all one's lifetime." (Mark Twain)
Find me on twitter @derbyhoop and now on Bluesky |
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| London 2012 on 19:19 - Aug 11 with 2281 views | Airtomoreira |
I applied for about 6 different sets of tickets, all different sports. I was astounded to find out that one of my applications was successful, and as a result my son and I found ourselves in the Olympic Park from about 1200 on the second Thursday of the Games, soaking up the atmosphere before entering the Olympic Stadium about 1800 to see David Rudisha break the 800m World Record, and Usain Bolt win the 200m.
A truly unforgettable day, not least because of the pride I think all of us Brits there felt about the fact that we'd actually put on a show. There were goodness knows how many thousands of people in the Park that day, probably well over 100,000 late afternoon, what with the other sports that were going on, the people who were leaving the main arena after the afternoon session, and those waiting to go in for the evening. There were flags from just about every nation under the sun on show, everyone was in a great mood (the glorious weather helped), the facilities were first class. Practically no queueing for food thanks to the wide array of food outlets all over the site. All in all it was putting two fingers up to the Doubting Thomases who said it would be a flop. A great, great day. |  | | |
| London 2012 on 09:52 - Aug 12 with 2177 views | wood_hoop |
I tried like many to get tickets fot the athletics without any luck.
My daughter being a footballer was very eager to see the final of the woman's game at Wembley especially as GB had a chance of getting there, did get the final tickets in the end, myself I must admit was not really looking foward to it very much, USA v Japan.
How wrong can one be, great atmosphere and the Japenese fans were so fervant, when talking with a few once they learn't we were Brits could not be more embracing, loads of pics with me surrounded by sweet Japenese girls all in Kimono's.
Definetley a great experiece and doubt we will ever get the Olympics in the rest of my lifetime. |  | | |
| London 2012 on 10:00 - Aug 12 with 2160 views | robith |
I also recall the Olympic park had the biggest McDonalds in the world. Recall going in anf thinking "Yeah, it's pretty big" but I expected slightly grander | | | |
| London 2012 on 10:06 - Aug 12 with 2150 views | Metallica_Hoop |
A load of us went to Grenwich Naval academy for the closing ceremony on big screens and had a piss up on the grass.
The only drawback was if you left you couldn't come back in which was a drag when we ran out of booze.
Loads of good boozers round there though. |  |
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