On the Scene - Water Polo Arena Fully Dressed for Games

7/13/2012

(ATR) LOCOG chair Sebastian Coe says he doesn’t feel let down by “anything” with two weeks to go until London 2012.
 
Coe was speaking Friday to reporters at the Water Polo Arena in Olympic Park, which is the first venue to be fully "dressed" for the Games.

The focus of questions, however, was on how Coe felt about the failure by private security company G4S to provide enough staff for the Games – meaning that extra numbers of military were hastily brought in to cover.

“This is not a time to feel let down or buoyed or depressed by anything. This is the time to fix something” he said. “The problem has been identified, we gripped it as soon as we knew the extent of it, and you can’t do that until the rubber hits the road.

“Yes, those are always profound moments when you are in lockdown, and yes the security right up to and at the last minute, you are making adjustments and understanding the full reality. So I don’t wallow in either being ecstatic or let down – we have a job to do and we’ll do it.”

Coe also said that the presence of military personnel in their fatigues would not change the mood of the Park, having previously stated that he did not want the area to be like a “siege-city”.

“When I was here for the test event in the Stadium, we had the military here and I’ve never before seen athletes stop their training routine to have their picture taken with them,” he added. “Or there were spectators asking security people to take their picture with a man from the military.

“I don’t think it will change the mood ... people will be charmed by them.”

With just two weeks until the July 27 opening ceremony, the warm Water Polo Arena gave the flavor of what the other venues will look like in Games mode. LOCOG said that the color was designed to reflect the nature of the sport, so aqua blue was everywhere around the pool and will be similar in the Aquatics Center.

The Olympic Stadium will have a purple design similar to the purple used in the Games Maker uniforms.

Purple-colored blushes were spared at LOCOG, however, when the M4 highway was reopened Friday. The road had been undergoing improvement works and is the major road into the city from Heathrow Airport, where the Olympic Family will be arriving from Monday.

Coe deflected the attention that London is now getting from nearly every major media outlet in the world, saying “Good competitors never worry about what the crowd is doing. When I was competing I never thought about what’s going on out there, you just deliver what you have to do regardless of who is there.”

LOCOG has been working with broadcasters and photographers over the last three years to ensure the color schemes and graphics help create what they feel is a stunning backdrop for the sporting action, as well as taking advantage of 3D and HD technology.

Reported by Christian Radnedge

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