Wraparound Video Screen Proposed For London Stadium

The Guardian recently reported that the London Olympic stadium could be wrapped in a kilometre-long video screen.

This move seems to be an attempt to rival the defining visual image presented by Beijing’s Olympic Precinct. In light of the iconic Bird’s Nest Stadium and Watercube, London is now trying to define “the look” of the London Olympics.

The Guardian reports that:

The stadium's architect, Rod Sheard, is advocating a kilometre-long screen that would establish the London games as the first digital Olympics. Everything from images of main events to Olympic-inspired art could be projected on to the screen and Olympic officials confirmed the idea was to be developed in the coming year.

Sheard has considerable expertise, having designed the Sydney Olympic stadium and Wembley stadium. He also said:

"The London Olympic stadium will be the beginning of digital technology. We see the stadium as the ultimate communication device."

It seems that the screen would be wrapped around the scaffolding supporting the seating. Originally this ‘wrap’ was to supposed to have static images of the Olympics, but they are now considering the kilometre long digital video screen.

I’m less than convinced about this idea. It has potential, but this move smacks of desperation and the need to try to match Beijing. There have already been several statements from various involved parties stating that there will be no increase in budget and there is no doubt that a kilometre-long screen would considerably blow out the budget.

I think London would be better off forgetting Beijing and trying to do their own thing, in their own way, within the budget available to them.

Boris Johnson confident that Beijing won't beat London

The Guardian recently reported that the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said that Beijing won't beat London. Boris made his comments during his recent trip to Beijing to take possession of the Olympic flag, on behalf of London, at the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

Boris said:

"We have been dazzled, we have been impressed, we have been blown away by these Beijing games, but we have not been intimidated. I am convinced we can do just as well in 2012

There have been many questions within the media about whether London can match the spectacular Opening and Closing Ceremonies staged by the Chinese and the superb facilities present in Beijing, particularly in light of the huge budget spent by the Chinese Government.

The Guardian reports that:

The London 2012 budget is just over half the £20bn that Beijing has spent, but Johnson insisted that the capital would not see a "mean, penny-pinching austerity show".

Boris also said that the tremendous success of the British team at the Beijing Olympics had converted the skeptics and fostered a state of excitement about the Olypmics in London.

Introducing The London Olympics Blog

As the highly successful Bejing Olympic Games close, all eyes turn to London, where the 2012 Olympic Games will be held.


Photo by rich115 - License

It's still 4 years away, but it seems like a good time to launch a blog that will follow the build up all the way from the close of the last Olympics all the way through to the Closing Ceremony in 2012.

What are my qualifications? Simply put: I love the Olympics, I've lived in the UK and I'm a blogger. That's it! I'm not a part of the London Olympic organisation. I no longer live in the UK. But I'm going to follow events and write about them, because I'm passionate about the London Olympics.

Will I go to the London Olympics in 2012? I'd love to, but it's probably unlikely. My track record isn't good. I'm Australian and had tickets to a football semi final during the Sydney Olympics, but I missed it because I moved to the US a couple of weeks beforehand. I lived just outside of Beijing for two years, but moved back to Australia 3 months before the Beijing Olympics. So in all likelihood, I probably won't make London 2012 - although you never know, I could be third time lucky!

So, will the London Olympics be able to match the success of the Beijing Olympics? Well it's a hard act to follow, but they'll give it a good go. I expect they'll try for something with a different feel rather than trying to compete with Beijing directly.

I'm looking forward to seeing how things pan out over the next 4 years.