The Life of an Olympic Volunteer – by Adam Ioannou
Week 4 – Tuesday 7th August
With the Cyprus delegation buoyed by the success of Kontides the day before, the mood around the team was really upbeat. However, with only two of our athletes competing today in the evening session in the Olympic Stadium, there wasn’t much to do around the Village. I decided to wander into the Olympic Park. Within seconds, I had two different members of the public come up asking for directions. They seemed very happy that I was able to help them, and that made me want to help others as well, so I went and positioned myself in the centre of the Olympic Park and spent some time helping the public with queries and directions. I got a real buzz from the couple of hours in the Park and felt a real sense of achievement. As much as I’m enjoying helping the Cyprus NOC, assisting the public feels like the real idea of volunteering and altruism that I’d anticipated when I’d first applied.
With a renewed sense of the contribution I’m making to the Games Maker programme, I returned to the Cyprus office and spent the evening in the Olympic Stadium watching the Athletics, which included Kyriakos Ioannou in the Men’s High Jump Final and Eleni Artymata in the Women’s 200 Metres Semi Final. Despite Kyriakos and Eleni’s disappointing performances, I thoroughly enjoyed the evening, and the atmosphere inside the Stadium was fantastic.
Saturday 11th August
With the majority of the Cypriot athletes now finished from competition, the Cyprus officials haven’t had as much use of the four volunteers in recent days. With this in mind, and knowing that I still have a day job to attend to around the volunteering shifts, today was my first shift for several days. It’s a very quiet day without too much going on. There is a palpable sense of relaxation in the Village. Most athletes have now finished competing and the atmosphere has changed to one of fun. There is also clearly far fewer athletes around now, and there is an eerie sense of emptiness in parts of the Village where just a week ago, there was a hive of activity.
Sunday 12th August
Today was my final shift as a Games Maker, and it was a really good day. After receiving some thank you presents from the Cyprus officials for our hard work and help, it was back in the car for the final time, as I drove the team to Hadleigh Farm in Essex for the Mountain Biking, in which the final Cypriot athlete was to compete. It was yet another experience to see the crowds and excitement at a venue outside London, and to see how people outside the capital have embraced the Games. The race itself was my first live experience of cycling and it was thoroughly enjoyable.
On returning to the Village, we walked around taking some final pictures, and indulged in a little trading of goodies with volunteers from other teams. I managed to swap a couple of Cyprus pin badges for a Bermudan team T Shirt.
It was a sad feeling to hand in my volunteer’s mobile phone and I was sad to say goodbye to all the officials whom I have come to know as colleagues and friends over the past month. Leaving the village for the final time, I took a lovely picture of the sun setting on the village as my volunteer experience came to a close. Despite the disappointment of such an amazing experience ending, I am extremely pleased to have been involved, and delighted to have had the opportunity to meet so many people and share some unforgettable experiences with them. The praise and gratitude expressed by so many people including Lord Coe and Jacques Rogge in their addresses at the Closing Ceremony makes me feel incredibly honoured and proud to count myself as a London 2012 Games Maker, and to quote Lord Coe, “I helped make the Games happen!”
