London 2012... Sarajevo Style

So, at last the London 2012 Olympic Games are upon us... after a lot of talking and huge amounts of planning, the biggest show on earth has arrived in London and everyone seems to be going crazy for it!

Even though we are not in London or even in the UK, we have been caught up in Olympic fever which seems to be sweeping across the world. On Friday we attended an event at the British Ambassador’s Residence and watched Opening Ceremony on a huge screen in the garden. The drink flowed, Wenlock and Mandeville (the Olympic Mascots) made an appearance and I shed a tear or two whilst watching the amazing show (and amongst all the fun we even didn’t notice an earthquake which took place half way through). And what a show it was. Danny Boyle and his team did Britain proud. From the green and pleasant lands, through to the rising chimneys of the industrial revolution, the Queen and Bond, Mr Bean, Macca, the Artic Monkeys, Kenneth Brannagh as Brunel, JK Rowling and Harry Potter, dancing NHS nurses, the social media era, floating Olympic rings, 10,000 volunteers, David Beckham and the wondrous way in which the cauldron was lit, I felt so very proud to be British.

I wouldn't class myself as hugely patriotic, but my love for all things British seems to be growing now I am living overseas. I have found myself glued to the radio, TV and internet, watching, reading and listening to all I can about the Games, the buildup, the faux pas, security issues, the sport and everything in-between. I even found tears of joy rolling down my cheeks on Friday morning as ‘all the bells’ rang out across the UK and Big Ben chimed out of sequence for the first time in 60 years.

I have been wondering if I would be this interested in it all if I was still in London? Firstly, I hope so as I worked for a Sports Marketing agency who is heavily involved with the Games therefore there would be no getting away from it! But I wonder if the day to day disruption and inconveniences caused from living in a city hosting something so huge would detract from the overall enjoyment of such a fantastic event? There is no doubt that it would be taking me longer to get to work in the morning, there are certainly more tourists around, to stop in the middle of the pavement or dawdle on the way to the tube not knowing where they are going. I would be continuing with my normal work, therefore probably not even being able to make it to Olympic events, all in all, life would be continuing as normal… if a little different.

I have been delighted to see so many of my Facebook ‘friends’ getting out and supporting Team GB, be it actually making it up to the Olympic Park, or lining the roads in Surrey to watch the Cycling road race and I have been able to enjoy the Games Time buzz through their experiences. There is no doubt that in this well connected world in which we now live, it is easier now more than ever to keep in touch and up to date with events from around the globe and I know that if we had lived here 10 years earlier, I would not be having quite the same experience as I am today.

So for the next two weeks, I will be continuing to read, watch and listen to all I can and will be supporting Team GB all the way… #ourgreatestteam