The Olympics is now over and the whole of the UK is missing it. The travel chaos never happened, the terrorists never came, and most unexpected of all, Team GB won a gallon of medals, and ended getting the overall Bronze in the medal table!
My Olympic visit came on Aug 9th, and i was lucky enough to secure a ticket to the stadium. Wooo Hooo. So after the grand total of 10 mins on the Javelin train, i was in a place i know like the back of my hand, Stratford.
This was not the Stratford of sulking hoodies and sink estates however. It was one of a happy throng of people with one intent, to watch the greatest show on earth. The volunteers made sure every got in quickly, and were on hand for almost anything. The Army were on the door, and as usual i was the only one of our group of 8 that got the full search experience.
Once inside the sheer scale of the park was amazing. Seeing it empty or on a pre opening tour, did not prepare me for the scale. There were 000’s of people and plenty of space to move about, with no queues anywhere. We took our seats at 6.30 to catch the Mens Decathlon Javelin. The one thing that took my geeky eye was not the power of the athletes, or the amazing stadium. They had remote control mini’s to return the Javelins ! How cool that is has no score attached !
Then some running and jumping, also known as the triple jump. This took place right in front of us, and was eventually won by Taylor of the US, who jumped what seemed like miles for someone like me, who had only ever done this at school.
Next up of interest was the mens 800m. Amazing. a new world record and an easy win for David Rudisha of Kenya. How long before the get into sprinting, they seem to have everything else sorted.
After a Womens 4 x 100 heat, came the main event. The Mens 200m final. Bolt came out to a ovation, and did not fail to deliver. This inevitability, and a double double of Olympic sprinting golds was almost overshadowed by the fact that the result was a 1-2-3 for Jamaica. I kept an eye on those guys and they must of spent an hour doing interviews on the zig zag for what was a <20 secs event !
Post the Womens javelin it was time to go home. This again thanks to the organisation it was a seamless affair, although I’m not too sure I would of felt the same if was going to St Pancras, but trains were leaving almost every minute.
One last comment before we leave the stadium. This place is a lot smaller when you are in it. If you are on the sides it would be great for football. So i have changed my mind ! Come on you Irons.
So, full of Olympomania, we head on to Sunday, and the closing concert ay Hyde Park. This is a short review as outside of the massive screen on the stage showing the remaining Olympic events live, it was the same as any other outdoor gig.
So.
Bombay Bicycle Club. On too soon ( i was watching the Basketball final – and cheering on the Spanish !). Average indie fayre.
New Order. No Hooky means nothing really to see, and they plodded through the set, as if they were at any one of a million festivals they have done in the past. Average.
The Specials. Now this was the big one for me, and like the Bolt they delivered in spades. Neville may be a little slower around the stage now, but the tunes are still there, even without Jerry. Quote of the day – Terry Hall- “This next one’s Chariots of Fire!”
Blur. Having seen them too many times, especially at “Final” gigs, I’ve got a little jaded. But as always Damon wins me around everytime. Another success for the Essex Boys.
So that was my Olympic experience. If you have one please leave a comment and a link, because I really want to see how others enjoyed themselves.
Roll on 2016 in Rio.
Mrben09 