Solar Storms

It seems that holding the Olympics in 2012 may not be such an auspicious year, from the perspective of the communications and media industries.

Scientist have warned that the London 2012 Olympics Communication systems could be damaged by magnetic storms and solar flares, which hit their 11 year peak just as the Olympics kicks off.

The solar storms can affect satellites and power grids on Earth.

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Spectrum Is Green

With an estimated worldwide audience of 5BN, London Olympics organisers are keen to make sure the audience can actually see the games.

To this end Ofcom has announced that it will "borrow" spectrum from public bodies in order to deal with the demand for airwaves during the 2012 Olympic Games.

Ofcom intends to borrowing airwaves currently used by the Ministry of Defence and the Civil Aviation Authority to meet the short-term demand.

Ofcom emphasised that it would not endanger essential services by using publicly owned spectrum for the Olympics, and that the organisations had already agreed to make the resource available.

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Panic

In a candid admission, re the task of ensuring that the UK's communications are up to the task of covering the London 2012 Olympics, Stuart Hill BT's VP and director of BT 2012 said:

"This has to work.

This is the most complex logistical peacetime challenge I think we've had to face.

We have one spin of the circle... So I want to panic every moment from now 'til the Games to make sure we've got that right.

If a butterfly wing beats somewhere in Weymouth I want to know about it."

Would that the same level of attention to detail had gone into the original Olympics "budget"!

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

The Cost of Sponsorship

BT, one of the sponsors of the London 2012 Olympics, faces a large bill for its sponsorship of the Games.

BT will provide communications services (estimated at being around £120M) for the event in return for publicity worth around £50M-£80M.

This leaves BT with a shortfall of between £40M-£70M.

The question is, who will bear the cost of this shortfall?

A cynic might argue that it will be BT's customers.

Olympics Budget Shambles

As is widely known, the budget for the London 2012 Olympics is an utter shambles. It is currently standing at around £12BN (including running costs), and is likely to balloon to around £18BN by the time the games are held.

Despite the fact that the financial planning of these games has been an unmitigated disaster, the organisers still seem determined to heap further misery and ridicule upon themselves.

It is reported that the final cost for the main London 2012 Olympic Stadium could be higher than the revised £496M million estimate that was reported last month.

Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) chairman John Armitt told members of the London Assembly on October 10th that they had agreed the figure of £496M with main contractors Robert McAlpine for the 80,000 seater stadium.

The original budget for the stadium was in fact £280M, the £496M represents a staggering 77% increase.

However, it seems that the figure that Armitt gave the London Assembly was only a forecast. It seems that the forecast figure has an 80% chance of being correct. The people organising the games really seem to have no concept of plain speaking, and prefer instead to allow people to make assumptions.

Needless to say, this lack of rigour in their planning and communications inevitably comes back to bite them. I would have thought that they should have learnt their lesson by now, evidently not!

The actual cost of the stadium will only be known once the work is complete in 2011, a year before the London Games open.

I wonder how many more "surprises" the ODA have hidden up their sleeves for the long suffering tax payers?

Designers Sought

The organisers of the London 2012 Olympics are looking to improve their design capabilities, and are seeking a panel of design and creative services consultancies.

The Olympic Delivery Authority and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games have jointly asked for tenders to form a panel of suppliers specialising in a range of marketing, design and communications services.

Pity they didn't do this when they selected the firm that gave us the "Lisa Simpson Gives Head" logo.