Heathrow Talks Sport

2012-07-19 — /travelprnews.com/ — Heathrow has appointed one of the country’s most distinguished sports commentators, Barry Davies MBE, as its official ‘Voice of London 2012’ – providing passengers with audio commentary on the sporting action taking place in London and across the UK through the airport’s tannoy system.

Davies, who has clocked up more than five decades in the commentary box, will be on Heathrow’s airwaves throughout the Olympics and on Saturday 28 July will take to the tannoy to provide the 230,000 passengers expected to fly on that day with a unique commentary on the day’s Olympic events.

Davies’ legendary lines and much-loved style of commentary will be played out across the terminals to give arriving passengers a unique welcome to London and ensure sporting enthusiasts are informed of major wins and world records.

As part of his role, Davies has already given a commentary master-class to the airport’s operations team, to help them deliver announcements that bring the buzz and excitement of the Games to the eight million passengers expected to fly through the airport over the next three months.

Davies will be covering the Opening and Closing ceremonies for the Olympic Broadcast Service and commentating on the men’s and women’s hockey for the BBC. His involvement with London 2012 will see him become the first UK sports broadcaster to have commentated on twelve Summer Olympics.

As the Official Host Airport, Heathrow will welcome around 80 per cent of the athletes, sponsors and VIP expected to attend the Games, as well as hundreds of thousands of spectators. Monday 16 July saw Heathrow set a new record for passenger numbers as it welcomed athletes from more than 50 countries to the London 2012 Games.

Barry Davies comments: “The London 2012 Olympic Games will bring an electric atmosphere to the capital this summer, and I’m looking forward to extending this to the thousands of passengers who will be passing through Heathrow’s arrivals gates for the greatest show on earth. It is a different and exciting task and I hope the passengers will enjoy it!”

John Holland-Kaye, Heathrow commercial director at Heathrow said: “Heathrow is entering its busiest ever period as spectators and athletes arrive from across the globe. We have spent seven years preparing for the Games’ challenge. Now we are putting that planning into action with thousands of extra staff and volunteers on hand to help and events and activities across the terminals to get passengers in the Olympic spirit. We are delighted to have Barry on air during this period. His commentary will create a unique experience for our passengers and ensure they won’t miss a single moment of the action.”

The London 2012 Games will be Britain’s biggest peacetime transport challenge. Heathrow has spent seven years preparing for the Games and has consulted with previous host airports such as Sydney, Athens, Beijing and Vancouver. BAA has independently invested around £20million as part of its preparations. Extra measures that are in place to ensure that all passengers have a smooth journey and a great welcome to the Games are:

• Volunteers. More than 1000 Heathrow volunteers, speaking more than 20 languages between them, are welcoming groups of Olympic athletes and officials from their planes.

• Olympic accreditation. London 2012 accreditation desks are operational in each terminal allowing Games family members to collect their accreditation for the Olympic Village as soon as they arrive.

• Immigration. Additional Border Force officers are staffing immigration desks for the peak arrivals period, helping to ensure that all passengers have a smooth journey. Border waiting times have been within the targets set by the Home Office, which is responsible for immigration, since new resources were put in place on 15 July.

• Baggage. Additional staff are on duty in the baggage hall to quickly reunite Olympic teams with their baggage and equipment. Athletes travel with around twice the number of bags as regular passengers (an average of nearly three items per athlete). Approximately 15% of baggage on peak days is large pieces of sporting equipment such as canoes, pole vaults, bikes and javelins and around 1,000 guns and associated ammunition are arriving with competitors over the coming days.

• Onward travel. London 2012 coaches are operating from airport forecourts to transport athletes to the Olympic Village. Games accredited international media are being given free Heathrow Express tickets so they can quickly and conveniently get to central London.

Other measures will be in place for departures after the Games including check-in at the Olympic Village and a special ‘Games Terminal’ that will welcome more than 10,000 athletes on the 13, 14, and 15 August.