UK: OLYMPICS: The first wave of Olympic athletes and visitors begin pouring into Britain, as officials play down transport problems with people travelling from Heathrow airport

Record ID: 330880

  • Title: UK: OLYMPICS: The first wave of Olympic athletes and visitors begin pouring into Britain, as officials play down transport problems with people travelling from Heathrow airport
  • Date: 16th July 2012
  • Summary: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (JULY 16, 2012) (REUTERS) (SOUNBITE) (English) BRITISH SPORTS MINISTER, HUGH ROBERTSON, SAYING: "Clearly if a driver got lost that's not a great start, but, you must remember there are an enormous amount of people who have finished their journey successfully today, who moved between Heathrow and the athletes village without a problem at all, deeply regret if there were one or two isolated incidents where that has not been the case, clearly they'll be put right over the next few days."
  • Embargoed: 31st July 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Sports,Transport
  • Reuters ID: LVA9HS619LNQZ5V5SOY1Z7WVXFMX
  • Story Text: The first wave of Olympic athletes and visitors began pouring into Britain on Monday (July 16) and officials played down fears that a packed London would buckle under the pressure of its biggest peacetime security and transport operation.
    The first section of road reserved for Olympic athletes and officials began operating on Monday, when one lane of the M4 motorway linking Heathrow with the western edge of the capital was closed to all non-Olympic traffic.
    It forms part of a 30 mile (48km) network of road lanes designed to whisk 82,000 athletes and officials through London's notoriously congested streets. Critics have nicknamed them "Zil lanes" after the roads reserved for the limousines of senior officials in the old Soviet Union.
    By the afternoon long tail backs were reported on the motorway from Heathrow into London.
    Twice world 400 metres hurdles champion Kerron Clement didn't enjoy his first morning in London after the bus transporting him from Heathrow Airport to the Olympic village was lost for four hours en route.
    "Um, so we've been lost on the road for 4hrs. Not a good first impression London," American Clement said on the social network site Twitter.
    "Athletes are sleepy, hungry and need to pee. Could we get to the Olympic Village please?"
    The Australian Olympic team also confirmed that members of their sailing team had to wait for two hours for a bus at the airport to take them to Stratford, and the journey also took a couple of hours as the driver took a wrong route.
    In a news conference on Monday, London Mayor Boris Johnson joked that the delay meant that visiting athletes saw more of London.
    "I don't have the details of the experience of the athletes but clearly they would have had the opportunity to see even more of the city than they might otherwise of done," he said.
    He also stressed that people should not drive in London during the games to help avoid congestion, and defended the fines introduced for people using Olympic lanes.
    "Really my advice to people thinking of using a car in central london over the next few weeks is really 'think again'," Johnson said, "And as for the fines that people may unfortunately incur in the games lanes or on the M4 well obviously that I'm afraid is part of the price you pay for enforcing the system."
    Speaking to Reuters, Sports Minister Hugh Robertson said that the problems faced by some athletes were just "isolated incidents."
    "Clearly if a driver got lost that's not a great start, but, you must remember there are an enormous amount of people who have finished their journey successfully today, who moved between Heathrow and the athletes village without a problem at all," Robertson said, "If there were one or two isolated incidents where that has not been the case, clearly they'll be put right over the next few days."
    London's main Heathrow Airport was ready for its busiest day on record, while the Olympic village opened its doors to the first athletes.
    The first arrivals at an airport notorious for queues at security checks and passport control said everything had gone smoothly.
    Airport operator BAA Plc, owned by Spain's Ferrovial, said it expected a record 237,000 passengers to use Heathrow on Monday, including 335 athletes. The busiest day for arriving athletes is expected to be July 24.
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