UPS was appointed Official Logistics and Express Delivery Supporter of London 2012 in September 2009.

Their role has involved them delivering 30 million items, including one million pieces of sporting equipment, for the Games.

Irving said that a large part of getting involved in London 2012 was to increase brand visibility and recognition, but said that the organisation will not consider their input a success until they have completed their job at the end of the year.

"Part of this was obviously about brand recognition and showing what we can do," he told insidethegames here at the UPS facility in Tilbury, their main storage venue for the Games.

"There is no bigger event out there than the Olympic and Paralympic Games and being involved in that and helping deliver it is a huge honour and responsibility for UPS.

"But being appointed was just the beginning and we will not consider this a job well done until it has been fully completed.

"That means taking all the equipment out of the Olympic Park and all the venues after the Games and then moving it on by the end of the year.

"Our goal for completing that is December 31 this year and we are on schedule to do that."

UPS carried out the same role in Beijing in 2008 and have they previously been a Worldwide Olympic Partner.


However, Irving said that there are currently no plans to get involved in Rio 2016.

"At this stage, Rio 2016 is not something on our agenda because we are entirely focused on the successful delivery of London 2012 right now," he added.

"We are very proud of our involvement in London 2012 and our involvement in the Olympic and Paralympic Games to date.

"We were obviously a provider at Beijing 2008 and we were previously a Worldwide Olympic Partner where we worked on Atlanta 1996, the Nagano Winter Games in 1998 and Sydney 2000.

"So we have a proud history and a strong track record but Rio 2016 is not being discussed in depth at this stage.

"I think the plan will be to compete London 2012 successfully and then have a full debrief before looking ahead."

To find out more about UPS' key role in the Games, click here.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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