The Challenge
The eyes of the world were on London and its showcase Olympic Park as an estimated global audience of almost five billion tuned in to London 2012. If ever terrorists wanted a jaw-dropping public target, the main Stratford site and its village of 10,500 athletes was it.
The British government and Games organisers insisted security was tighter than ever before and the perimeter of the Olympic Park allowed only those who had tickets and had been properly vetted to get in to enjoy the greatest show on earth.
The Solution
The Olympic Delivery Authority turned to Zaun to secure the near 20km boundary of the Olympic Park. A further 1.5km of Zaun fencing provided a ‘ring-within-a- ring’ around the Olympic Stadium.
Zaun worked with Olympic Park contractor Skanska and stadium contractor BAM Nuttall to install 3.6m high fencing above ground, topped with 1.2m of electric fencing, with security properties specified by Olympic security advisers.
They chose a mix of Zaun’s Multi-Fence, Hi-Sec, Super 6, Duo5 and Duo8 while the perimeter incorporated intruder detection systems, CCTV at regular intervals, hostile vehicle mitigation where appropriate and vehicle and pedestrian access portals, gates and turnstiles.
The design for the Olympic Stadium included VIP emergency gates, which were dubbed the Obama Gates, in case of attack during the highest-profile and most sought-after events, such as Usain Bolt’s historic 100m gold medal triumph.
In total, Zaun worked 30,000 man hours poured 1,400 cubic tonnes of concrete and installed more than 1000 gates It was also on call 24/7 to rectify any issues that arose during the Games.
Looking at securing events? Look no further than to Zaun, who have a history of securing events all over the world!