Olympic Impressions, vol 1

London is now gearing up for the Paralympics, but I'm not going to be able to go to them after all. So my live Olympic Experiences are now over for 2012.

What impressed me most at the main Games?

One thing was the colours!
You probably noticed this on television, but it intrigued me that many of the venues had a trade-mark colour. (There were 43 venues listed throughout the UK, and I and my family only visited 7, so I am over-generalising!)

Horse Guards Parade - Beach Volleyball

Purple was for Horse Guards Parade - and the Serpentine:

The Serpentine in Hyde Park - Marathon Swimming 

The Serpentine in Hyde Park - Marathon Swimming dais

The North Greenwich Arena was pink ...

North Greenwich Arena - Women's Trampoline

... while the Riverbank Arena went for blue (mainly).

Riverbank Arena - Hockey

Earls Court arena - Volleyball

Earl's Court was turquoise for the Volleyball ...

Copper Box - Handball (photo: Wikipedia)

... as was the Copper Box for Handball.

The Stadium itself had its black and white seating. But the green of the grass was the colour the spectators saw most of, day ...

... and night.

All these colours contrast with what the scene would have been like in Ancient Olympia. There, the only Stadium would have had a pale sandy track. The sides where the spectators stood would have been almost bare earth under the relentless August sun. In Ancient Olympia it was the temples, the statues, and the crowds that provided the colour.

... to be continued with other impressions ...