Sport, quite rightly gets all the attention at the Olympic games, but sport would be nothing without the spectators and London 2012 rewards them well. Sportsister’s Danielle Sellwood joined the thousands inside the Olympic park and soaked up the incredible atmosphere.
Even without a ticket to an event, there is so much to do within the park that that you may find it hard to fit it all in. The park is vast, and even walking quickly it can take 20 minutes to get from venue to venue, and in between there are wonderful promenades, riverside walks and entertainment and art galore.
Top choice for the majority of visitors is the Park Live area where thousands gather to watch a double sided giant screen provided by British Airways. Of course this is weather dependent, but when it’s dry it works fantastically.
Off the beaten track, there are little gems to discover and every one of them is appreciated, photographed and studied by the enthsiastic visitors. We discovered this iconic British phonebox art near the hockey venue.
Much has been made in the media of the volunteers and how helpful and friendly they are, and it’s true, everyone is smiling, even those in the really tedious jobs have a ready smile and good wishes for everyone.
Entertainment is provided by buskers, dancers and impromptu theatre and this all adds to the infectiously happy and positive atmosphere.
Seb Coe promised us fantastic landscapes and beautiful planting and again this is delivered in abundance. The river walkway is a huge success with the wetlands areas providing a wonderful contrast to the glitz of the sponsors areas. And the planting is both spectacular and tasteful, with banks of striking flowers providing a natural haven away from the sport.
So if you are lucky enough to have a ticket, allow a couple of extra hours to enjoy the park – there really is something for everyone. And if you have tickets for the park only, then enjoy – it’s a really great way to get a taste of the games at a fraction of a price of the ticketed events.
