Olympic Village

I've been off-campus all year, what are they doing? anyone got any photos? I suspect it's of no benefit to us students but the uni itself is probably making a little extra money off the olympics committee by moonlighting as a travelodge :P

They've always used it as a travelodge out of term time - it's how it earnt the nickname Royal Holloway: Banquets 'N Conferences

I'll try and get some photos when I go back after Easter. Hmm, true, but the damage done is pretty extensive (though I'm assuming it will all be reversed at the end of the Games, but still...)



Travelodge I don't mind- however, a fair portion of campus looks pretty awful now. A friend of mine said it looked like 'East Berlin', and I can't help but agree- I saw it when they were only starting the works, and even then, there were these large concrete cylinders, a strange form of street lighting by the looks of things, the road down to Reid looked like it was being dug up, and metal fencing absolutely everywhere. Apparently now there are areas of campus out-of-bounds to students. I feel sorry for anyone graduating this year, with campus like this.

I know it sounds like I might be being a bit melodramatic, but it really isn't nice...I guess there's also the added fact that Royal Holloway always looks so pretty, so seeing a place I consider home and am very fond of being uglified like this makes me quite sad.

It'll all get sorted soon enough, I'm volunteering at the village for the Olympic and Paralympic games so I can give an insight, though obviously there are some things I can't comment on. There will be over a thousand rowers and officials living on Campus during the games and they are going to be building facilities for keeping them entertained. I know they are using the Hub but I don't know if they are using SU buildings at the moment. They also have to make the campus completely accessable for the Paralympics and find space for things like a centre for fixing orthotics etc.

It's a pretty prestigious gig for the Uni when you think about it, in addition it's basically a solid booking of about two months for them over the summer so that's income in that way. not only that though but they provided accommodation for the Junior rowing competeition and other test events.

I don't know what they are or how many of the specific changes are going to be permanent or anything but the general philosphy of the games is that anything that hasn't got a post game use will be taken away afterwards. The entire Basketball arena is a temporary building which is going to be taken down and used at the next two Winter and Summer Olympic games sites.

Also as someone graduating this year don't feel sorry for me. I've been here long enough that my memories of it are hardly going to be sullied by a bit of construction work. They'll have started it now to be minimally invasive to the students, and it's not like they've ripped a chunk out of founders If they are putting in new lighting then that's just as well, I've walked through campus enough times after working a night shift at the SU that any extra lighting is good with me!

That's some really interesting information, thanks! I didn't realise quite so many rowers and other Olympics-related individuals would be arriving- it's a bigger operation than I thought.

The lighting is a weird one, haha, just because I couldn't figure exactly what they were at first, since they're not your standard street lamps (and hence I'm not sure if they're permanent or not). I'd actually rather they weren't permanent, because they're pretty weird- there's a couple of them on the walk up by the back gate, just before you get to the steps, and they're these very large concrete cylinders with lamps sticking out of the top of them. They look a little like something out of War of the Worlds. But yes, in general, extra lighting is always a good thing!

Another complaint of mine has to be that College has hardly told us what would be going on with the Games...For example, I don't know whether I'll be able to to work at the College Shop over the summer because it seems like even they don't know if they'll be open or not. I know everyone knew that parts of campus would be effected, but I don't think the extent of the work was highlighted to us (unsurprisingly, I guess).

But thanks again. Congrats on getting a volunteering gig on site, too! Sounds like it will be pretty fun.

It'll all get sorted soon enough, I'm volunteering at the village for the Olympic and Paralympic games

Weirdly I've been offered the parlympic games but it still says under review for the olympics.

Only just saw this whilst browsing the threads, but my boyfriend and I went for a unofficial visit around RHUL. There were policemen with huge guns everywhere. It was so scary. I think seeing it in that state has put me off from going, or is it not normally like that?

no i know there are no guns normally , it just looked really shabby imo

no i know there are no guns normally , it just looked really shabby imo

That would be the olympic people trashing the place because a) they are really badly organised and b) there aren't tv cameras buzzing around so don't have to have the place spotless.

Also the atmosphere is different as most people are away

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