Another great Olympic team – the engineers behind 2012

The athletes, the volunteers and the great British public have all been celebrated but what about the other team who ‘made’ the Olympics? In the latest edition of The Engineer magazine, ‘The Gamesmakers’ article looks at the people behind the engineering infrastructure for the opening and closing ceremonies. In an interview with Piers Shepperd, the ceremony’s technical director, there is a fascinating insight into how the needs of the ceremony were built into the stadium right from the start. In particular, a huge aerial cable-net system was needed involving a mass of remote-control winches and trolleys. Timing was vital to avoid collisions between such things as 32 Mary Poppins and an 18ft Voldemort. Thomas Heatherwick’s design for the cauldron involved making 23 tonnes of metal compact enough to fit on the 18m diameter lift below the stage. For more on the range of engineering expertise behind the ceremony, read page 16 of the latest digital edition http://www.centaur2.co.uk/emags/theengineer/te-092012/