The purpose of this blog was to share the excitement of being a Games Maker in the London 2012 Olympics and document the entire experience from beginning to end. There may well be further posts and this blog may even evolve into something else over time, but my journey as a Games Maker has come to an end and, very sadly, I need to write a conclusion.
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| Pins and other gifts for being a Games Maker |
I originally applied to be a Games Maker because I was incredibly proud that the Games were going to be in London and I wanted to do anything I could, in whatever tiny way, to help make them a success. It was a true honour to be selected and it has been a real privilege to have been part of the Games Maker programme and the greater Locog team.
From the day that the International Olympic Committee awarded the Games to London, right up to the actual opening ceremony, many people predicted that the Games would be a disaster and a national embarrassment. Yes, of course there were problems and monumental challenges to overcome but Locog, and the country as a whole, rose to the occasion and put on an Olympic Games that we can all be proud of.
Speaking for myself, being a Games Maker was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. For more than two weeks, I lived and breathed the Olympics and I loved every second of it. Every day was a surprise and completely unpredictable. I saw and experienced many amazing things and did things that I never imagined that I would do. I also met people that I would never normally meet, from all walks of life and all corners of the world.
The pre-dawn starts and extremely long days were disorientating and exhausting, but the pure excitement and pleasure of it all was like rocket fuel. In previous Olympics, there have been high levels of attrition with volunteers, who have become bored or disillusioned after their first few days, but this was not a problem with London - we were all enjoying ourselves too much! Within my team (Event Services) we had an attendance rate of over 90% for the whole two weeks, which is extraordinary. Over the course of the Games, we were offered small gifts (which you can see in the photo above) as rewards and recognition for our efforts. Although these were much appreciated, I believe that they were only a small contributing factor in the high attendance rate. What really got us out of bed in the morning was the feeling that we were making a difference.
We all wanted the spectators to have the best possible experience at the Olympics and, for the most part, I think they did. I think this is partly due to the outstanding work that the London ambassadors, London transport workers and "final mile" volunteers did. From the moment that the spectators arrived in London, they were greeted by friendly, smiling and helpful people who guided them on their journeys to the venues and kept the transport system flowing smoothly, despite the hundreds of thousands of additional people coming into London every day. Certainly by the time that the spectators arrived at Greenwich Park everyone seemed to be in a fabulous mood, which must have been largely due to stress-free journeys. This made our jobs significantly easier, as we took over the responsibility of caring for the spectators for the rest of the day.
From customer satisfaction surveys, London 2012 staff and volunteers received a 93% "excellent" rating on helpfulness and after the first few days we certainly seemed to be earning a good reputation with the public. Many spectators wanted to thank and compliment us, which was incredibly gratifying. On my journeys home in the evening, it seemed like everyone wanted to talk to a Games Maker. By the second week of the Games, strangers were coming up to me in the street wanting to shake my hand and thank me for what us volunteers were doing. One couple wanted to have their photo taken with me, just because I was wearing a Games Maker uniform and what that represented. On my penultimate day, a taxi driver stopped in the middle of traffic and yelled "Well done Games Maker!" over to me. I was glowing with pride all the way home - work doesn't get much more rewarding than that!
I think some post-Olympics blues were inevitable and I certainly felt some when it was time to return to the real world. I washed all of my uniform for one last time and put it all carefully into a box, together with all my other Olympic souvenirs. Even things like unused meal tickets and old shift schedules have special memories that I want to hold on to. So, what next? Well, next weekend I will be going back to the Olympic Park as a spectator, rather than a volunteer, to see the Paralympic athletics, which I'm very excited about. In the longer term, I have already started making enquiries about volunteering opportunities at the Rio 2016 Games and am planning to begin Portuguese lessons shortly. I really hope that I will be able to take part in some way.
As I write this, over 6000 people have read this blog at some point, and I would like to thank all of you. I hope that I have been able to share some of the excitement and fun of the Olympic Games, as well as providing a behind-the-scenes view of the world's greatest sporting event. With any luck, perhaps I will be able to do so again in four years time.
If you are a Paralympics Games Maker, have a fantastic time and try to savour every moment of it. You're about to have the time of your life!
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