Case Study: London 2012 - June 2005  

The International Olympic Committee Evaluation Commission has published its final assessment report regarding the five 2012 Olympic candidate cities a month before it will make its crucial decision on 6 July in Singapore. The Commission chose not to comment on technology in the individual city reports as it considers that “each of the five countries in question has a modern technology structure and service system and that technology infrastructure in the five candidate cities would be adequate to host Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012”. Undeterred, S&T takes a closer look at the role technology will play in prime contender London, if that city is successful in winning the Games.

Technology is at the heart of London’s bid for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and thanks to the backing of global IT and communications company BT, the bidding team certainly has an advantage over the other candidate cities in that area in particular. “The level of commitment we have received from BT has been excellent,” confirms Chris Payne, technology project manager for the London 2012 team. “We have learnt a lot in a very short space of time and benefited from some high quality brainstorming and crystal ball gazing.” With the addition of globally-renowned brands such as the BBC, Siemens, Accenture and other key players like [the UK’s technology regulatory body] OFCOM into the candidate city’s technology working group mix, it is no wonder that London 2012 is confident that it has created the foundations for a “dream team” to service the 2012 Games’ technology needs. “Our technology proposal focuses on delivery, resilience and legacy,” explains Payne. “Our overall objective will be to deliver to the IOC a comprehensive technology solution that enhances the work of the IOC's existing technology partners.”
Legacy is also key. After the 2012 Games, the new technology infrastructure that will be created, particularly in the area of the Olympic Park will become a valuable legacy for the commercial and residential communities of London’s Lower Lea Valley. “Opportunities in the Lea Valley will be outstanding,” says Payne.

It’s all about the spectrum

Spectrum management is a vital part of the 2012 technology bid, according to Payne. “Three key elements to the spectrum plan are applications, technology and capacity.” On the applications side, the London bid team looked closely at spectrum usage at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games, Athens 2004 Olympic Games and took advice from external consultants. "We are confident that we have an accurate estimate of what applications will be required to host a successful games in 2012," says Payne. "The models at the centre of London's bid are based on today's technology - not on what might be possible tomorrow. This is consistent with London 2012's strategy to only introduce new technology where it brings a direct benefit and poses no risk to implementation." As far as capacity goes, London has identified and earmarked an excess of spectrum - four times more that the bid team's technology working group estimates will be required. Any spectrum needed for the Games that has been allocated elsewhere, will be returned to the organising committee for the period of the Games as part of a unique ruling by the UK’s technology regulatory body, OFCOM.
A dominant driver for the 2012 Games will be high definition television (HDTV) according to Payne. It makes sense therefore that the UK’s public service broadcaster, the BBC, is firmly supporting the bid. All BBC output will be HDTV-friendly by 2010. And the BBC has said that it will help to raise the profile of minor Olympic sports by broadcasting coverage on its interactive service in the run-up to the 2012 games if the London bid is successful. Around 9m UK viewers accessed the BBC‘s interactive service during the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens to watch events not available live on the main channels. “We also showed the Evaluation Commission examples of how the BBC already uses technology to enhance television coverage of sport through on-screen enhancements, innovative new camera angles such as postcams, and animation,” says Payne. “Our mantra during the Evaluation Commission visit was making the Games relevant to the next generation.”

Going mobile

So, what’s London’s USP in terms of technology? “Our proposed project with BT will provide a common mast infrastructure to run the Games,” explains Payne. “We will clean up the mobile landscape and additionally the quality of high level fibre in the ground will be outstanding.” London already has a comprehensive and resilient fibre optic network that serves Europe's most important financial centre. For the Games, additional fibre will be installed as necessary such as in the new Olympic Park.
Mobile is an area that has been given great attention by the London 2012 technology working group. Not surprising given that nearly half a million mobile phone calls were made from within the Olympic Park on the first day of the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and roughly a quarter of these were made during the Opening Ceremony alone.
London 2012 plans to deploy 'distributed antenna' technology that will allow cellular operators to share high-density, low-power masts that are housed discreetly in street furniture such as lamp-posts. London 2012 claims this is good for the environment, as it will mean fewer large rooftop antennae and reduced power output from handsets. It will also benefit spectators and Olympic Family members as they will be able to use their mobile phone or computer on a congestion free network.
Interestingly, London is also home to the internet's biggest data hub, according to Payne, well ahead of similar exchanges in the US and Japan. “The exchange is distributed across a number of data centres in London's Docklands meaning there is no single point of failure.”

Technology equals success

Why does Payne think that technology is so central to the success of an Olympic Games? “The performance of the athletes is of course the starting point for the success of a Games,” he says, “but after that, excellent technology is behind any success. Technology is interwoven into everything – from the infrastructure, to the systems, to the broadcasting, to the remote scanning that can be done at hospitals on injured athletes. If you look at the IOC’s list of functional areas at an Olympics, most of them rely on robust technology.”
Looking ahead, Payne sees exciting times on the horizon if London wins its bid next month, but concludes with a note of caution. “No doubt the choice of new technology by 2012 will be huge, but the challenge was to create this bid based on tangible, proven technologies, rather than focusing too much on ones not invented yet.” While the 2012 bidding cites continue to play a waiting game, one thing is sure, London is certainly confident of being up to the task of staging a technologically-seamless event if it wins.

For further information on the London bid, visit www.london2012.org

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