Unbelievably, the London 2012 Olympic Games is just 150 days away today. Something that seemed aeons off when we won the bid seven years ago is now almost upon us.
As the company I co-founded has been among the 200,000 Games Makers it’s going to take to stage these Olympics, this prodigious milestone in the countdown to the Games got me thinking about leaving my own little legacy.
Separately, I’ve decided to turn over a new leaf and embrace the world of social media, which I have previously shrunk from. Whether it’s the recent warmth in the air, or a mid-life crisis, who knows?
But I’ve decided to link the two – my legacy and my new leaf – and write a blog on the general theme of security. Let’s hope I’m not feeling guilty in a month after abject failure to keep it up!
I work in the world of physical security, helping organisations, venues and sites to protect their premises. It’s a hot topic, with the fear of terrorism still rife, major sports events in the Olympics and Euro 2012 imminent, and the bleak economy fuelling metal theft and burglary.
One of those drivers, London 2012, has fortunately helped us to buck the tough trading conditions. We picked up one piece of work with the ODA five years ago and have now put in many miles of fencing, lighting and CCTV at the Olympic Stadium, the parks, hockey stadium, basketball arena, athletes’ village and media centre.
It’s also given us publicity and credibility beyond measure, opening doors in the Middle East and hopefully setting us up to get into events like the 2014 and 2018 World Cups and the next Olympics in Brazil.
The Olympics has also driven us to innovate and develop ever more robust systems for combating crime – from fences that are more difficult to climb or cut through to barriers that stop fully laden trucks driven at speed from breaching the defences.
So it might first sound dull when I say I work for a fencing business in Wolverhampton. But when you realise we’ve helped secure events with a global audience of two billion, nuclear installations, airports and cash handling sites – all with their particular challenges – you understand why I love it.
I hope I can convey some of that enthusiasm through my blog. So let me know what you like and don’t in my posts, and let’s hope I’m still writing six months from now when the Olympics are over, and we’re winding up for the Paralympic Games.
Wish me luck!
