I think that as a Londoner it has been impossible not to have felt deeply moved by the Olympic Games. I would freely admit that I am not what you might call a sports fan; in fact I am regularly teased by friends and family alike for having no inclination towards competitive sports whatsoever!
Roaming around the Olympic Park the other day I was struck by how brilliant the whole thing was, not only for those who enjoy the games themselves but also for people like me, who can just enjoy the atmosphere. I wanted to see the park, the architecture and the transformation of the site and I was really happy to able to get a ticket just for that. The Orbit, the spaghetti like knotted pylon at the centre of the park was a real surprise, as I thought having seen it from a distance that I would hate it. Close up its sheer complexity of form and lightness of structure was just breath-taking.
The Orbit
The only aspect of the Olympic Park that I found that did not make my heart sing was the graphics for the signs and advertising. The 2012 logo is oddly boxy and almost something that reminds me of the 1908s, its typography in shoulder-pads! The fuchsia pink of the signs and hoardings is simply horrible, no other word for it. A shame to have a flaw like that in such a sparkling jewel as the games have become.
A sign of the times
The afternoon and evening spent admiring the park was literally uplifting. As I walked I felt myself almost floating, always looking up and a few times narrowly missing bumping into people. This, I thought is what it is like in the future, the vista, the buzz of the crowds. I felt like a time traveller. This year started with so much talk of Edwardian Britain. From Downton Abbey to the famous maritime disaster of April 1912, I felt cocooned in the familiar images of the zenith of the early 20th century. We’ve journeyed from Titanic to Olympic. The two zeniths of the modern age in Britain like sister ships- thankfully the latter not being a disaster by any means!
