Olympics 2012

 

Most days, I designs logos and websites, or produces leaflets, brochures and other marketing materials, so when I applied to be a volunteer at the London 2012 Games, I couldn’t have imagined in my wildest dreams that I’d be in the middle of the stage at the Opening Ceremony!

After nagging the organisers to give me a meaningful role, I found myself with not one, but two roles and since April this year, have spent more than 75 days at rehearsals, in workshops
and at the Olympic Stadium.

At times, it was really hard juggling work and volunteering, but it was always a dream of mine to be involved in the Games, so when such incredible opportunities present themselves – and you know they are once-in-a-lifetime events – it’s impossible to turn them down!

My initial role was as part of the Props & Staging Team: making, preparing and shifting the thousands of props needed for the four ceremonies – Olympic Opening and Closing, and then the Paralympic Opening and Closing.

We spent hundreds of hours painting chairs, putting batteries into illuminated beds, repairing umbrellas that light up, ironing the flags, blowing up balloons, or just washing down trucks. But the team spirit was tremendous, and we all knew that we were contributing in some small way to making the London Games the best ever.

And once the props were prepared, we needed to make sure that they were all in the right place at the right time, so we needed to be at the rehearsals, and that was always really exciting, seeing the creative process.

I can’t pretend that there wasn’t plenty of waiting around – that’s the nature of such a massive undertaking – and when you’re stuck in the middle of a huge open showground in Dagenham day after day in torrential rain, you definitely begin to question your own sanity!

But then you got the chance to be in the middle of the Opening Ceremony, and you were reminded that it’s a huge privilege to be a part of this whole thing.

My role in the first three ceremonies was mainly setting up the stages, and handling the logistics of getting the props on and off the stage at the right time, but he was required ‘on stage’ on a few occasions, most notably to help transform the Green & Pleasant Land into the Industrial Revolution scene at the Olympic Opening, and then to be centre stage pushing around one of the massive puppet beds in the NHS nightmare sequence.

The atmosphere in the Stadium was absolutely electric for each of the four Ceremonies, and I had to pinch myself to know that I was really there! The opportunity to rub shoulders with such talented people has been truly extraordinary. To stand and chat with
Danny Boyle or Ray Davies or Seb Coe, to see the choreographers at work, and to be there at the Stadium when the cauldron was lit, or to see Mo Farah winning gold – these are moments to be treasured forever.

But for all the excitement of my role in the Props team, it was my final role which provided the icing on the cake – a cast role to perform at the Paralympic Closing Ceremony with Coldplay, Rihanna and Jay-Z.

I’d never performed in any show before these Olympics, so the chance to sing, dance, and do deaf signing with those stars was as exciting as it was daunting!

It was a really enthralling experience, and it’s given me so many friends and so many priceless memories.

I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my family and friends, who have allowed me to take five months off from domestic and social duties to fulfil this dream, and my clients have also been amazingly tolerant.

The reason I did all this, and gave up over 500 hours of time, was because I had a real passion for London, for the Olympics – and Paralympics – and because I shared the dream for our capital to put on an event we’d be proud of, and would inspire our kids to reach new heights.

And looking back, I can’t think of any ways in which we didn’t succeed. And to be just a small part of it was a massive privilege.”