As the official communications services partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, BT is dedicated to maximising its Games-time experience. To facilitate this the company has sent several representatives to Canada to learn as much as possible from the official communications services partner for the Vancouver 2010 Games - Bell Canada. I am one of the lucky people that were selected to work for Bell on secondment from BT.

During my secondment, I have been based at the Main Press Centre (MPC) working as an Assistant Venue Telecoms Manager. In this role I am responsible for managing a team of communications technicians through the deployment and management of all communications and networking services throughout the Games.  

Communication services are absolutely critical to the media and therefore the on-site Communications Team plays a critical role in the smooth operation of the Venue.

I arrived at the MPC in early January and my first impressions were of the large size of the venue. During the installation phase, the team were walking in excess of 15,000 steps per day. On my first day, whilst being shown the layout of the venue, I was walked through a completely empty room. 

Only five days later I went back into that room and was very impressed to see that they had turned that empty room into a fully kitted out McDonalds restaurant. I even went into the back of it and all the fryers, food prep, cash tills, and everything else was fully operational and ready to go.

Teams were working 24/7 and within a short time of my arrival, the venue went from being a construction site to being fully operational press centre, with the look and feel of the Vancouver Games. 

The Games are absolutely everywhere in Vancouver and the general public are really getting into the spirit of hosting this event. 



There are free shows, art installations, and entertainment all over the city and it’s all contributing to an amazing atmosphere. The Games are really changing the face of the city and I am sure Vancouver will benefit from this event for decades to come. The only surprise for me is the weather; I didn’t expect to see daffodils coming up in Vancouver city centre!

Outside of work I have been fortunate enough to attend several Olympic Games events - the dress rehearsal for the Opening Ceremony, a preliminary men’s hockey game, and the launch party for the Bell Ice Cube. The Opening Ceremony rehearsal was particularly impressive, and throughout the show I found myself thinking of London and wondering what we would be doing for Opening Ceremony when it comes to our turn.

So now the Games have begun and in return for all of the hard work, tiring days, missed meals, and time spent away from friends and family, the Bell Team at the MPC are now in the privileged position that we are well prepared. Days are spent doing site checks, talking to customers, attending venue meetings, resolving very occasional trouble tickets, and watching Olympic events on television.

Trust me: we deserve the downtime after the installation phase. Being part of the team here is a massive commitment, involving lots of hard work and sacrifice, but is extremely rewarding in lots of ways.   

Now my fellow BT secondees and I are looking forward to London 2012. I look forward to BT’s chance to part of the most famous sporting event in the world.

Bring on 2012!

Kim Cheston works for BT, a Tier One sponsor of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. To find out more click here.