London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
At a glance
As part of the architectural and engineering consortium, we helped design, develop and deliver the Olympic Park on behalf of the Olympic Delivery Authority, including ODA Transport, Transport for London and Network Rail.
The challenge
GHD Movement Strategies was engaged as the Principal Crowd Planning Consultant from 2006 until the last day of the Paralympics. We advised a range of critical stakeholders on the safe and secure delivery of the Games to achieve a memorable event experience for all.
As part of the architectural and engineering consortium, we helped design, develop and deliver the Olympic Park on behalf of the Olympic Delivery Authority, including ODA Transport, Transport for London and Network Rail.
Our response
Amongst the 100+ projects we delivered in support of the Games, the following activities shaped key aspects of the event.
We authored the design standards for crowd movement and safety on behalf of ODA and LOCOG and developed the demand forecasts for the Olympic Park, combining these into the ‘Data Book’ that became the 'bible' for informing and assessing the design of infrastructure and venues.
We led the ‘Operability’ consultancy team that combined crowd movement, accessibility, security and transport disciplines to develop the baseline Concept of Operations for the Olympic Park.
The impact
Our demand forecasting and ticketing analysis led to the increase in tickets on sale, and generated additional revenue for LOCOG. Our crowd modelling and simulation work and expertise was central to securing planning consents and safety licensing for the proposals. Our dynamic crowd simulations informed the detailed design of many of the Olympic Park’s most critical nodes, including the Pedestrian Screening Areas.
We influenced the size, shape and design of most elements of the Olympic Park, including the Common Domain connecting the venues, the landscape, the security screening areas, all bridges (where we reduced their number and width saving tens of millions of pounds), the event overlay and Ceremonies. Our work extended outside the Park into the ‘Last Mile’ through Westfield Shopping Mall into the Olympic transport hubs, and to many other venues in London and around the country.
In parallel workstreams we undertook crowd modelling and operational planning for Stratford Station and other key London stations, such as London Bridge, St Pancras International and Charing Cross. During the Games our team members were embedded in the POC (Park Operations Centre) at the Olympic Park and the Event Control Room, managing the live crowd monitoring tool which supported management of the Park. Across London, other members of the team were embedded in TfL providing real-time intelligence to its senior managers on the performance of London’s transport network.
Our work greatly impacted the design of the Olympic Park, increasing its ticketing capacity and contributed in no small part, to one of the most successful Olympic Games to date.
GHD Movement Strategies were instrumental in creating a design for the Olympic Park which provided for flexibility in the Games-time operations while balancing the cost and legacy objectives of the Olympic Development Authority. This integration of operations into design is rarely achieved. Their credibility in crowd dynamics also ensured that the needs and experience of visitors were given full consideration in the value engineering process during the Games project."