Cannon Design Blog

With the Opening Ceremonies mere days away and the centre of the sporting world being focused on London, it is an appropriate time to reflect on Cannon Design’s influence on the XXX Olympiad.

London’s road to the Games was a long one.  By the July 15, 2003 deadline, nine cities submitted initial letters of commitment to host the 2012 Olympic Games, including London, to the International Olympic Committee (“IOC”).

In September 2003, Cannon Design was retained by the fledgling London 2012 Bid Committee to conduct an initial assessment of all possible venues located outside of the main Olympic Park contemplated for East End of London.

Within days of being retained, Bob Johnston and David Body, two of Cannon Design’s sport leaders, along with David Luckes, the Bid Committee’s Head of Sport Competition and Roger Jackson, Consultant to the Bid and former President of the Canadian Olympic Association, were touring and reviewing potential venue sites within the Greater London area.

The work was perhaps some of the most interesting and impactful of our collective careers.

Many of our recommendations resulting from our review and analysis were endorsed and supported by the Bid Committee and, after London’s bid was accepted by the IOC, by the London Organizing Committee, or LOCOG.

The venues that Cannon Design initially reviewed and analyzed, recommended and prepared initial venue plans that will be host of Olympic events included:

One of our objectives in generating the venue plan was to take positive advantage of the iconic London sports facilities (such as Lords Cricket Ground) and public spaces (such as Horse Guards Parade) to enhance the memorability of the Games and create long-lasting images of the London Games.

The venue opportunity that we felt was potentially the most memorable was the combination of historical and monarchical England (Horse Guards Parade) with one of the most exciting Olympic sports (Beach Volleyball)….who knows, maybe the Royal Family will be watching from the balcony of Buckingham Palace!

Bob Johnston - 27 Jul 2012

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