London Olympics Media Centre
The spacious One Great George Street conference centre off Parliament Square will house the London Media Centre, welcoming non-accredited and accredited journalists.
At each Olympiad the National Olympic Committees collectively accredit around 25,000 journalists and other representatives from international media organisations to cover the Games, giving them access to the Olympic Park Media Centre and International Broadcast Centre. However thousands more journalists, without accreditation, will also descend on the capital to report on the Games and celebrations in London during this historic period. The Mayor has therefore made special arrangements to accommodate them, and accredited media, in One Great George Street.
The Centre will have workspaces for over 250 journalists, with press conference facilities to sit 200 members of media. It will be a fully serviced 24-hour media centre with live broadcasting areas, additional office space for photographers and in-house dining facilities.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “Journalists joining us for these historic days in the summer of 2012 are now guaranteed a central working base in the heart of all the action. A stone’s throw from the London Media Centre lie some of the capital’s most iconic shots and locations, ready to be beamed into homes across the globe. I look forward to welcoming our visitors in 2012 and joining with them for the biggest party London has ever seen.”
LOCOG Chair Sebastian Coe said: “In the summer of 2012, the focus of the world will be on London. As well as thousands of athletes, thousands more media will be in London and will be telling our story globally. Ensuring they are well looked after and have all the information they need about the Games, about London and about the UK as a whole will be vital to how they work and how London and the Games is reported. “
Christopher Wyld, Director of the Foreign Press Association, said: “The Foreign Press Association in London looks forward to working closely with the Mayor and Visit London to make sure that visiting journalists get every opportunity to see what a diverse and exciting city London is before, during and after the 2012 Games. London is one of the great media hubs of the world and the central location of the London Media Centre will provide yet another opportunity to welcome foreign journalists to the United Kingdom and help them gain access to the people they want to meet and the places they want to see”.
Visit London’s Chief Executive Sally Chatterjee said: “The eyes of the world will be upon us throughout the whole of the Olympic year and it’s the world’s media who will be telling that story. It’s vital that we work closely with journalists, make them as welcome as we possibly can and provide them with great news about the city.”
MEDIA ENQUIRIES: Press information is available from Helen Collier in the Mayor’s Press Office on 020 7983 4020
GENERAL PUBLIC/NON-MEDIA ENQUIRIES: Call the Public Liaison Unit at the Greater London Authority on 020 7983 4100
DUTY PRESS OFFICER: For out-of-hours media enquiries, please call 020 7983 4000
updated: 18 August 2010
