In honour of Love Parks Week, Saturday 27 July - Sunday 4 August, I thought I'd reflect on last year's fantastic sporting achievements and the role The Royal Parks played in delivering a memorable and successful Games.
The excitement for the Games had been building long before they began in July 2012. The Royal Parks teams had been planting, planning and preparing for some big events like the Equestrian competition in Greenwich Park, Beach Volleyball in St James's Park and the Triathlon in Hyde Park. I started at the parks in May 2012. As part of my role I was lucky enough to support the team in the delivering the largest official Olympic superstore outside of the Olympic venue in East London. I helped to arrange a grand opening for the store, attended by none other than British Olympic legend Sir Steve Redgrave!
My other jobs included getting the notice boards and information points ready for the millions of visitors that were to come to the parks over the following two months. It was such an exciting time and everyone was buzzing, it was a joy to come to work!
The atmosphere at The Royal Parks was electric. Not only did I get to work on some Olympic and Paralympic projects, I also had the privilege of attending the Triathlon and Marathon Swimming in Hyde Park and the Beach Volleyball in St James's Park on Horse Guards Parade.
It soon became a daily routine to go to the BT Live Site in Hyde Park after work and sit with tourists, London locals and friends and watch Team GB secure their 29 gold, 17 silver and 19 bronze medals on the big screens with a crowd who were happy and enthralled in the magic of the Games.
I'm looking forward to the Rio 2016 but nothing will beat the experience of having the Olympics in London.
