Visiting the Olympic Park is an exciting experience whatever you go there for. I’ve been out there a couple of times, once for the technical rehearsal which was in my blog on 24th July when I couldn’t spoil the surprise by telling you anything about the show!  My second trip was this week when we had day passes and although we didn’t have any event tickets, we had time to explore and enjoy the whole park.

Arriving for the technical rehearsal was a special experience and the excitement level of the crowd of specially invited volunteers and others connected with the Opening Ceremony was so high you could light up the stadium with it! Being there to see the show was a once in a lifetime moment. We didn’t have the videos so Mr Bean and James Bond’s appearances were a surprise as was the arrival of David Beckham and the beautiful lighting of the cauldron in the full show.  To be in the stadium to see the transformation from the countryside to the industrial scene with massively loud, driving drums was breath-taking. The gasps when the chimneys came out of nowhere and the intricate choreography of thousands of people weaving around each other was extraordinary to see. The wildly energetic dancing to a run down of so much stand out British music was great fun and I could see everything as the views in the stadium from my top seat were splendid, and I saw quite a few bits that didn’t make the TV. The scope of what was going on in front of us was immense and there was something happening in every inch of the stadium floor and in the sky and in the stands from the lights that were in front of each seat.  I’ll never forget it and it was made extra special by knowing a good friend was actually performing!

A few photos to take you back to the greatest show on earth:

It took me a few days to recover but I was keen to return to the Olympic Park and we managed to bag day tickets which gave us entry to the Park but not to any venues – a bargain at just £10!  We had the usual weather for summer 2012: sun, rain, cloud then blue sky and then all over again…  The park is huge and it took us ages to wander around, checking out the venues but also the amazing amount of lovely flowers, all planted by volunteers to come to their peak right now. There is plenty of catering and seats but little cover – we, of course, found the undercover champagne section so dodged the rain!  The big screens are good and clear and we watched in a state of nail-biting tension as Zara and her teammates jumped for Olympic glory –  the gasps and oohs and aahs gave the moment a special feel.  We loved being there and in the end it didn’t matter though a ticket to see live sport would have been the icing on the cake.

Here are some photos to show you the amazing park:

Fingers crossed for Team GB and to all other teams competing from every corner of the planet.

Bye for now,
Sue
itsyourlondon.co.uk
@itsyourlondon