I was lucky enough to nab a ticket for the Women's Hockey yesterday--Japan V China & Korea V Belgium---I am not a big Hockey fan but to gain access to the Olympic Park a ticket for an event happening in the park is required...Hell i'd have gone to watch snail racing to get the "Olympic Vibe"
My ticket was £35 which included a free travel pass to and from the Games.An excellent idea which not only saves the ticket holder money but also means no elongated queues of folk not au fait with the vagaries of London travel...Saving them time but also saving them the chagrin of fellow travellers not going to Olympicland...
As i live a short bus ride away from St Pancras station i decided to take the Javelin Train direct to Stratford International.A journey that usually takes between half hour & forty five minutes was reduced to seven minutes...I arrived at Stratford at 8-10am,by 8-20am i was through security and in the Olympic Park...Incredibly efficient...
The day in Olympicland is cut into three distinct phases,Morning,Afternoon and Evening sessions.Each ticket gives access to one session of whichever event you're going to.Meaning that at the end of both morning and afternoon sessions the sell out crowds at each event have to be replaced by another sell out crowd.This is done within an hour.Remarkable...
However any ticket holder is welcome to stay within the confines of Olympicland from opening to closing and many do( I was there for over eight hours) which means that as the day wears on the attendance within the park grows steadily...Probably between 250,000/500,000 people daily.
From the moment you get to the Javelin train there are livery clad volunteers there to point you the way,This continues all the way to Olympicland and beyond.They are helpful and cheery.Normally i baulk at this kind of herding and forced holiday camp bonhomie but 1) i had no reason to explore Stratford having lived in the area in my early days in London 2)I really wanted to get to the Olympic site with speed and little fuss.
Although security is understandably tight it is'nt notably intrusive.As it's airport like security there's no need to open up every individual bag which speeds things up no end...as you walk through Olympicland opens up before you and the first noticeable thing is the sheer size.The site is 2.5 square Kilometers comprising of eight separate venues...It's takes a little while to familiarise yourself with the layout but you get there eventually.
Other things that hit you pretty quickly in Olympicland is the reaction of the largely British crowd to being corralled into what is essentially a very large fenced in camp.Albeit a very well appointed one...As i said in another blog we're basically a cynical people who love nothing more than a good old moan.Frankly the thought of spending a whole day with thousands of my fellow Brits whining filled me with dread.But all day i only overheard one minor whinge...surely a World record?
Infact the crowd showed signs of a very un-British metamorphosis into a mass of unbridled joie de vivre...I would'nt say it was like a revivalist religious convention as such Outside of the sporting stadiums.More like a contented hum of folk who've paid off their mortgage and have a decent pension...However once they are inside we have all witnessed the passion they(we?) have shown in supporting our Olympians.TV Evangelists Worldwide must be looking on in a jealous rage...
The Water sports venues...Gloriana in the foreground.
The Velodrome(aka the Pringle) Where British Cyclists have dominated winning countless medals and breaking several world records.
@bbc5Live Nicky Campbell with British long jump gold medalist Greg Ruderford.
The Basketball Arena.Site of my former abode.Looks a bit different now...
Looks like my taxi's arrived...
So that was my day in Olympicland...A wonderful experience all round.One final word must go to the thousands of volunteers who are helping out with cheerful abandon and also keeping the place amazingly clean & tidy...
The reason i headlined this blog the way i did was coming out of Olympicland everyone was still on a happy high...I got on a bus at Kings Cross and a row broke out between two commuters.After a day of being in the company of thousands of well mannered,polite and thoughtful people it came as a shock to realise things are different outside of Olympicland...
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