London Latest - Final Press Briefing for 2012 Olympics Concludes

(ATR) How can I get from the Main Press Centre to London Olympic Stadium? How long will that take? Must I remove my belt for security? These were among the most pressing questions from journalists at the third World Press Briefing for the 2012 Games.

From Oct. 24 to 27, delegates had days loaded with PowerPoint presentations and venue tours while being briefed on all facets of Games-time media operations.

What seemingly piqued the most interest were topics related to the nuts and bolts of operations such as how to navigate London’s notoriously clogged streets during the Games as well as credential activation and security procedures.

Transportation, a typical source of trouble in any Olympics, will likely pose a bigger than usual challenge for next year’s Olympics. Buses will ferry reporters from London to the Olympic Park and from the Park to various sites throughout the city. LOCOG touted the Javelin train as the most efficient way of accessing the Park in only seven minutes. However, many journalists expressed reservations that the seven-minute timetable did not accurately reflect the actual journey time, which includes a substantial hike from the station to the Park.

Attendees seemed irked that credentials can only be activated at the MPC or Heathrow Airport –but only for international arrivals. On the first day of meetings, the press was told of the procedure and the question period lasted for more than 15 minutes, one of the longest such periods.

Another hot topic was security. When informed that the "mag-and-bag" routine of an X-ray of bags coupled with a full-body metal scan would be modeled on airport-style security, several questions popped up. For obvious reasons LOCOG declined to give specifics on its security procedures but could say laptops would have to be removed from bags and liquids in containers of 100ml or less would be allowed.

The new service that drew loud support from the crowd: delivery of food –and alcoholic beverages –to suites in the MPC. That the MPC bar would have some of the lowest prices in London elicited just-as-warm reactions.

"Never Enough"

British press representatives bemoaned the seemingly small number of credentials allocated to the British news outlets.The IOC allowed for 510 British E-category credentials.

Jacquelin Magnay, Olympics editor for London’s Daily Telegraph, was the most vocal, peppering IOC head of media operations Anthony Edgar for an explanation.

Edgar claimed "the numbers haven’t been understood with the British market."

Interms of venue-specific credentials, "there are more than 500" for Brits, he told Magnay,adding that China received a similar number for the 2008 Olympics.

Edgar said the British press delegation would be the largest ever and that only three National Olympic Committees had an increase in their number of credentials from the Beijing Games: Brazil, Great Britain and Russia. The IOC gives the lion's share of credentials to NOCs to then allocate as they see fit.

He acknowledged: "It’s never enough."

High Interest Elsewhere

Press interest from the rest of the world for these Games is similarly high. Edgar said the credential quota was met for London, and many will be disappointed.

"We’ve had to say 'no' to four out of every five ENR accreditation" he claimed, referring to the category for non-rights holding broadcasters.

ForSochi, 2,800 E credentials are available, given to journalists to cover all sports. Edgar revealed that 5,800 credentials will be available for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016.

In addition to chairman Sebastian Coe, LOCOG chief executive Paul Deighton and communications director Jackie Brock-Doyle as well as IOC Press Commission chair Kevan Gosper addressed the body.

Perhaps to accommodate journalists’ attention spans, venue tours were scheduled for the second half of Oct. 25 and 26.Two tours of the Olympic Park were available, hitting the Stadium, Main Press Centre, Aquatics Centre, Basketball Arena and velodrome. Disappointing the shutterbugs, photos snapped at the Park could only be used for non-editorial purposes.

On Oct. 27, tours groups departed for a number of far-flung venues including archery, mountain bike, tennis, sailing and others.

While largely designed for the written press, other media-related figures were in attendance.

Press attaches from numerous NOCs were in attendance, including the Australian, British, Polish, Slovak, U.S. and others.

The international sport federations were well-represented as well. Spokespeople for the fencing, sailing, basketball and volleyball IFs were present, to name a few.

Representatives from the Sochi and Rio de Janeiro organizing committees also learned from LOCOG.

One noticeable absence was the African press corps. All other continents had strong contingents, but other than a South African delegate, Africa was largely unrepresented.

Reported in London by Ed Hula III

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.