What’s it like working at the Olympics?


Chris Hoy,Event Review,Gandhi,Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall,Jessica Ennis,Lee Valley White Water Centre,London 2012,My WEXO Experience,STEP,UPS,Usain Bolt — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 11:06 am on June 27, 2012  

30 days until the Olympics. Whilst the rest of London is busy organising the chaos that will encroach upon our daily lives we ask 2 of our WEXO recruits a few questions on working at the biggest sporting event in the world:

The best thing about working at the Olympic Games:
Being able to say: “I worked at the London 2012 Olympics”.

The athlete you’d most like to meet…
Jessica Ennis (I love her!)

What you would change about the Olympics?
I would bring back Rugby Union and Baseball to the Olympics, two huge world sports I feel should be a part of the event.

Stephen – Deputy Venue Logistics Manager, Lee Valley White Water Centre, Herts


The best thing about working at the Olympic Games:
I think the London Olympics will carry a lot of historic value and I am honoured to be a part of the biggest sporting event on the planet.

The athlete you’d most like to meet…
I would love to meet Usain Bolt because he’s the fastest man in the world and Chris Hoy since he walked away with 3 Gold medals at the last Olympics – a model of a great sportsman.

What you would change about the Olympics?
The Olympic viewing tower. I think it looks like a 6 year old has got hold of some meccano and tried to make a rollercoaster. Oh and the weather, let’s hope it holds out!

Henry – DVLM, Olympic Hotel Centre, Stratford



Some home truths about the Olympics:

* Gandhi once covered the Olympics as a newspaper reporter. The 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. We have no idea why – since it was right in the middle of his campaign for world peace – but he did.

* In 1900, in France, winners got paintings instead of gold medals. Gold, silver and bronze medals weren’t given out until the third modern Olympics, in 1904. The French gave the winners paintings because they believed they were more valuable.

* The first Olympic drug suspension wasn’t until 1968. At the 1968 Mexico City games, Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall, a Swedish pentathlete, was suspended because he tested positive for a banned substance. That substance: Alcohol. He drank several beers before the pentathlon… which was against the rules… so he was suspended.

Facts courtesy of: 11points.com

WEXO and STEP have organised paid internships and training programmes with UPS at the London 2012 Olympics for over 60 graduates.

My WEXO Experience: The London 2012 Olympics with UPS


Canary Wharf,Matthew Hill,My WEXO Experience,Olympic Village,Slough,Sport,UPS — Tags: , , , , , , — admin @ 4:58 pm on March 7, 2012  

I had previously been working in an office job in Slough and was looking for a new challenge. I wanted a role which involved lots of interaction with different people and allowed me to move about rather than being stuck in an office all day. My friend saw the Olympics DVLM role on the WEXO website and advised this would be right up my street. I have currently only been in the role for 2 weeks but have already had some great experiences.

I am based in the Olympic village in Stratford which is currently still a building site as the village looks to be completed in early April. However the buildings are already erected and thus the site already looks very impressive. Finishing touches are being put on the surrounding land as trees are installed and rooms are being furnished and decorated. It is a refreshing change to travel into Stratford everyday, an area completely rejuvenated by the Olympics, soaking up the atmosphere of Westfield and the buzz of the Olympic spirit at the athletes’ village. This is enough to get me motivated for work every day on its own!

The role itself has currently involved overseeing operations of the site. The main challenge of this so far has been to motivate and gain the respect of workers who are the same age as me or older and more experienced. I have found the best way to do this is to lead by example and muck in, as well as showing them respect by asking them for the best advice on how to complete a task.

The UPS Olympics team is based in Canary Wharf and I have also had the chance to visit the offices here and partake in training. The highlight of this was the staff meeting held recently. This was a chance to meet really important people responsible at the highest level for logistics at the Olympics. Even though many people are employed by different companies, there is a real sense of one team spirit as everyone is excited to pull together and deliver the best Olympics possible for London! Everyone is really down to earth and a lot of fun, interested in you and your story, no matter how high a level they operate at! We all went out afterwards around Canary Wharf for a couple of drinks and to exchange stories.

I envisage my role evolving a lot in the coming months as the building on the site is completed and athletes start to arrive, which is really exciting as I am not sure what challenges and surprises will be around the corner. However it is great to know that whatever happens there is a whole team of people behind me willing to help any way they can!

Matthew Hill