06 Aug 2012Bob Schukai

What a difference a week makes. Like many of you, I watched the London 2012 Opening Games ceremony just over a week ago – interested, amused, perplexed at times, and always on the lookout for our colleagues that were a part of the event. I wasn’t sure just what to expect in London after coming off a very relaxing holiday and having to get straight back into the craziness that had been projected in the city. The way the newspapers had been going on, it seemed like Armageddon and the Millenium hype all over!

I was prepared for anything on arrival Tuesday into London – and what I found is what everyone else is finding as they spend more time in the City. London is working just fine. I had no wait at immigration. The train into the City, the taxis, and the Tube have all been working well. What’s more, I found myself completely wrapped into the spirit of the Olympics. I came without any tickets to events, and did manage to buy one for the beach volleyball on Friday night (a great party – and after spending almost 3 hours on the tickets website!) and watched the cycling portion of the women’s triathlon after completing my own morning run at Green Park.

There’s a great vibe all over London. London can often feel like a very impersonal city at times, but this week, it has been all smiles – from the stewards and volunteers, to the soldiers and police officers. Yes, the ticketing situation has been a bit of a mess with seats being released everyday to the general public for purchase online – and yet still way too many empty seats at certain venues. Contrast that with the athletics events at the Olympic stadium – which was completely full on Friday before the start of just heat events with 80,000 people there before 10 AM! I personally spent my Friday with several UK ministers, investment leaders, CEOs, startups, and many dignitaries at a day long event Friday at Lancaster House, leading a session on Digital Innovation sponsored by UK Trade & Investment and serving as master of ceremonies for an evening reception with the Business Secretary Dr. Vince Cable and the head of McLaren’s applied technologies group.

Of course, I’m also proud of the coverage that we are providing through the Reuters Olympics iPad application (also available on iPhone). We truly do have the best photographers in the world, and I find myself using the app several times a day to look at the great pictures. I met with Apple earlier this week, and as we had hoped, Apple are promoting the app in the “New And Noteworthy” section on iTunes. My thanks again to everyone for their support and continued efforts as we enter week 2. My congratulations as well go out to Reinhard Krause, our Global Pictures Editor on the fine job he and his team continue to do to curate wonderful content.

For all the latest Olympics news, make sure to check out the Reuters Olympics landing page, Facebook page and follow the conversation on Twitter. You can also get instant updates on your iOS device with the Reuters Olympics London 2012 mobile app.