The organisers of the 2012 London Games would have been forgiven for reeling in horror as the rest of the world gasped in awe at Beijing’s breathtaking Olympics opening ceremony. They surely must have wondered how we follow that and whether China’s Bird’s Nest stadium stunner had dropped us spectacularly in the soup.
Clearly, after a synchronised display by 12,000 assorted dancers and drummers, not to mention the final torch bearer ‘running’ through the air above the crowds to light the Olympic flame, a parade of pearly kings and queens singing “Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner” is not going to cut it.
But a growing school of thought is that the UK should not be aiming to match Beijing in terms of scale of spectacle – not least because, with our cost levels, a similar- sized opening ceremony here would break the bank (ex-London mayor Ken Livingstone estimated the bill at £100m).
The alternative view is that London should stand apart by focusing on a core element of its original bid for the Games – environmental impact. They should not be just a flash in the pan sprint; a fortnight of prime time TV and a firework display. They should be a distance event that lays down a long-term template for sustainable construction, and leaves the UK with sports facilities, plus the seeds of a major residential development in the athletes’ village, that will last long after the Olympics are done.
And I know we’ve said it before, but, if this is the main stress of the Games, timber, the sustainable building material, really can capitalise. It may not yet have been selected as the main structural element of a major arena, but there is still a huge amount of specification to go; for everything from buildings to footbridges, both at the main Olympics site and satellite venues across the?UK. So all power to the efforts of the industry’s Wood for Gold lobbying campaign and individual suppliers to get timber in front of the London Games organisers and main contractors. If they win, we all do.
But all this is not to say that we can’t draw some inspiration from Beijing’s big show. One idea is that the 2012 Olympics lantern should be lit by Paula Radcliffe, dressed as Mary Poppins, floating over the stadium with a flame-throwing umbrella.
