Last week was a sort of a culmination of some of the work I've been doing. I was able to attend two events sponsored by my organization, UK Trade and Investment. The first was called Global for Gold and was focused on businesses results during the Beijing Olympics and business prospects for future Olympic Games. Andrew, the head of our major sports events team, did a PowerPoint presentation, which I helped put together. There was a case study presentation from Speedo that described the entire process of creating their high-tech swimming suit, the Lzr Racer. Swimmers wearing the suit in Beijing broke 23 of 25 world records and won 94% of gold medals. There was another interesting presentation by a company called Fast Track that emphasized the importance and logistics of sponsorship for sporting events. It was interesting to hear how all the companies targeted specific markets and ensured success. The free lunch was also a great opportunity to network and talk with some of the company representatives.
The second event I attended last week featured visiting officials from Poland who are involved in the UEFA European Football Championships in 2012. The tournament is scheduled to be in Poland and Ukraine in four years time. Many UK companies attended the event, including construction contractors, security companies, and multimedia firms. Again, I was happy to stick around for the free lunch and network with the companies. It's always a good idea to talk to people and get a few business cards.
Networking events and seminars are a big part of what UK Trade and Investment organizes. Many of them, like these two, are held within the UK,;others are overseas in international markets. UKTI has held overseas missions in places like South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and Rio de Janeiro for their bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Although I obviously haven't been along on any of these missions, some of my co-workers have and it seems like a great experience to travel overseas and be part of the creation of a major international sporting event.
Looking back on my time working at UKTI, I have learned a good deal about major sports projects. Prior to my internship I never really considered all that goes into orchestrating an event like the Olympics or the World Cup. These kinds of events are truly enormous tasks with an uncountable number of issues that need to be addressed. I recall now when I traveled to China years ago in 2004 and stayed in Beijing for a few nights. Even four years before the games there were already people selling goods, souvenirs and various clothing advertising the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. At the time I remember wondering why they would be so excited about something that isn't going to happen for four years. Why are they making such a big deal about this when it's so far in the future? After working at my internship I understand all of the work and time that must be invested in order to put on an event like the Olympics. I've spent some time researching contract possibilities for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, the Summer Olympics in 2016 and events even further in the future. I now realize how necessary it is for countries and businesses to begin working on these sports projects many years in advance.
On that note, we leave London in less than a week, and I should probably follow up this blog by starting to pack up my things. Packing isn't quite as monumental a task as putting on the Olympics. It may not lead to unfinished stadiums or poorly organized events, but last minute packing can definitely lead to messy suitcases, forgotten toothbrushes and unecessarily high levels of stress.
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