Seven years in the making, the 2012 Olympics Games will open in London tonight watched by a global TV audience numbered in billions. The following is a guide for those with tickets and those without – on how to get them; how social media can help and inform; transport to the venues and where they are, available accommodation and what free events are being held in parallel
SOCIAL MEDIA
Travellers are usually advised not to download data when on holidays abroad, but London 2012 could be the exception. If you are going to London, check with Vodafone, O2 or other Irish providers on what the maximum cost could be.
Set up a Twitter account before you go. Transport for London is using Twitter to offer live information on the Tube and other train services, while mobile phone users have free internet in, but not between, stations for the course of the Games.
Each Tube line has its own designation: @victorialine, for example, or @piccadillyline. So far, updates have appeared quite quickly. Such information could be the difference between a baking half-hour underground or worse, and comfort if there are delays or breakdowns.
In addition, London 2012 has a free app offering interactive venue maps and listings for all of the events taking place in the capital during the Games, which can be found at london2012.com/mobileapps. Also TripAdvisor has produced a useful city guide, which can be downloaded beforehand and read offline (so no data charges). This offers a guide to restaurants, hotels and other attractions, along with maps, directions and reviews.
Initially, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) imposed a ban on spectators at events posting videos on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, but backed off in the face of protests. Now, it merely asks that you not do so, and that it will pursue people legally only in exceptional cases. The IOC had wanted a social media “black-out” because of multibillion euro TV contracts it has to protect.
TRANSPORT:
Journeys will take longer, so plan, plan, plan. Transport for London's Journey Planner on its website at tfl.gov.ukis required reading. Not only does it give details about Tube journeys, but also times for walking distance to and from stations, and up-to-date travel and timetable information. Highly useful and simple to navigate.
Buy an Oyster ticket immediately on arrival and put enough credit on it to last for the duration. Do not buy a Tube ticket on the day – a more expensive way to travel on what is already an expensive system, and queues to buy them will be very long.
Spectators with tickets receive a one-day Travelcard valid for Zones 1-9, which covers all travel on the Underground, the overground, the Docklands Light Railway, buses, trams and National Rail Services.
The Travelcard covers travel on the Olympic Javelin shuttle service between Stratford and St Pancras International – a seven-minute journey on the UK’s fastest commuter service and preferred route to get out of the Olympic crush.
Spectators with tickets for events taking place outside the Olympic Park – such as the equestrian events in Greenwich Park, or the rowing at Eton Dorney – can avail of park-and-ride services, which must be booked beforehand with firstgroupgamestravel.com.
Services to the Olympic Park in Stratford, the best-connected part of London: the Olympic Park is surrounded by three stations: Stratford itself, which has services from London and East Anglia; Stratford International, which has services from London, Ebbsfleet and Kent, and West Ham, which has direct services from London and Essex. National Rail offers services from Liverpool Street, King’s Cross, St Pancras or Euston. The underground runs to Stratford on the Jubilee and Central lines, while West Ham has the District, Hammersmith and City and Jubilee lines. Passengers face a 15-minute walk from West Ham to the Park’s Greenway Gate entrance.
The North London line on London overground connects Richmond to Stratford and, most importantly, avoids central London – a boon for tourists staying with friends, or relatives in the southwest of the city.
Travellers coming to South London are advised to use the East London overground line and to change at Canonbury to the North London line to get to Stratford. Bring water and secure your possessions.
Or consider cycling. Routes exist between the Park and Lee Valley North, Hackney Parks, Victoria Park and Stepney, Limehouse Cut, Epping Forest and the Elevated Greenway. Free secure parking for cyclists will be provided at the Eton Manor transport hub, the Greenway transport hub and at Victoria Park. River services exist from Putney in the West and Woolwich Arsenal and Greenwich in the east, but prior booking is essential.
TICKETS:
Tickets are still available, even some for tonight’s opening ceremony if one has £2,012 to spare. However, there are cheap offers still around for some of the less-favoured sports, and, particularly, football, which has struggled to fill stadiums.
Residents of the UK or a designated European country, including Ireland, can buy directly from the london2012.comwebsite, or from designated resellers – though Irish buyers are warned to purchase only from the Olympic Council of Ireland and its resellers.
VENUES
Full details of travel journey times, maps, etc to ALL of the venues in the Olympic Park, or elsewhere throughout the UK – Cardiff, Coventry, Manchester, Glasgow, Weymouth Hertfordshire, Newcastle and Essex – are available at www.tickets.london2012.com/venuetransport.html.
Some events are taking place in the city centre. The triathlon takes place in Hyde Park, while the 10km marathon swim will be held in the Park’s centrepiece, the Serpentine. The marathon will begin and end on The Mall.
For Irish horse-lovers, Greenwich Park will be the place to be, though tickets are long gone for the show-jumping dressage and eventing. Three National Rail stations serve the venue: Greenwich, Blackheath and Maze Hill, from Charing Cross, Cannon Street and Victoria.
For rowing fans, the centre of the universe from July 28th to August 11th will be Eton Dorney, 40km outside London and NOT on the London underground. Three stations are recommended: Slough, Windsor Eton Riverside and Maidenhead.
HELPFUL HINTS
The usual rules to major events apply. There will be delays at scanners, so be patient. Bring water and enjoy the Babel-like queues.
Do not lose your temper – the people on the other side will be polite, but some of them were on the frontlines in Afghanistan only two months ago.
It hardly needs to be said, but the organisers do remind spectators not to bring pets or fireworks, while big floppy hats and golf umbrellas will not be allowed, as they obscure the view of others, and could be dangerous in the hands of some.
Check the location of your seat BEFORE arriving at the Park. Some of the seats in the stadium are not covered in, so light waterproofs may prove a sensible investment if this week’s summer does not linger.
London 2012 has banned the Vuvuzelas that were so disliked during the World Cup. So, too, air-horns, klaxons, drums and whistles.
NO TICKETS?
For those without tickets: big screens will bring all the action to those gathered in Hyde Park and Victoria Park in East London, complete with live music.
Singer Tom Jones performs in Hyde Park tomorrow. Turn up on the day or book online at btlondonlive.com. British Airways is sponsoring a live screening inside the Olympic Park for 10,000 people, using a 14m-high double-sided screen on the River Lea.
SAMPLING THE ATMOSPHERE:
One can stay safe and travel to the Irish Olympic House at the Big Chill, 257-259 Pentonville Road in King's Cross, www.irishhouse-london2012.comHowever, those interested in more international fare can get tickets for the hospitality houses operated by every country taking part in the Games. Full details on: www.visitlondon.com/london2012/national-hospitality-houses-for-london-2012/
ACCOMMODATION:
Ideally, find a tolerant relative, but, if not, be comforted that hotel rooms are available. According to Air and Business Travel News occupancy levels for the next fortnight have just nudged above 80 per cent – up by three points in the last week.
Prices are up by an average of 70 per cent to around £190 a night compared to this time last year, said the agency, while, according to another travel source, TravelClick, the busiest night for hotels will be next Tuesday.
Hotel prices peak at a £193 on Sunday, August 5th, the night of the men’s 100 metres final when Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt will defend his title, said the travel company.
Search specialist Trivago, however, estimates that hotel prices are £201 a night, down from £242, and that there is “plenty of opportunity” to find a bed.
FOR THOSE WEARY OF THE OLYMPICS:
Simon Russell Beale, the greatest stage actor of his generation in the eyes of many, appears in Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens at the National Theatre until September 9th.
The Shakespearean theme continues at the British Museum’s Staging the Worldexhibition, which examines London’s emergence as a world city during the time of the Bard.
