The Rotary Club of Ross heard a fascinating talk by John Cole, son of Brian Cole the Club secretary, on the planning and construction of the buildings for the 2012 Olympics,

John is a Consultant with Conetic, a Defence Procurement Co, which has been employed to vet all contracts for the building and equipping of every site to be used in the 2012 Olympics. He spoke of the vast sums of money involved, currently £9.33 billion, on projects, especially as the Government had forgotten to allow for taxation and security costs. These games, John said, will be "the greenest" ever to be held. Furthermore the majority of the buildings and layout would be used for many years to come after the games had finished thus ensuring a realistic return on capital spent in holding the games.

The Games are being held in the area containing 5 of the poorest boroughs in London and ensured that 2.5 sq kilometres of land would be redeveloped from wasteland and derelict buildings. Where businesses were being relocated they were getting better facilities than they had at present. John described and showed pictures of each of the centres being used for the Olympics and explained how British firms, including some local to Ross, were supplying the majority of the work and materials needed. He also gave some staggering statistics about the facilities – they had to cater for 20,000 Radio and TV broadcasters in a centre of 100,000 square metres (one and a half times bigger than Canary Wharf), 181,000 bed spaces in the village for athletes, over 30,000 people will be employed during the project and the games, and over 65,000 volunteers will be needed during the games.

Once the Olympics are over the contractors have one week to strip and re-equip the facilities for the disabled athletes attending the Para Olympics. Once those games are over, they have to be adapted again for long-term use by both able bodied and disabled athletes.

Ross Rotary is always interested in hearing from anyone wanting to know more about what being a Rotarian involves - phone 567810 or go to http://www.rossrotary.com">www.rossrotary.com