This evening is the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympic and Paralympic Games, and there is a palpable sense of excitement and anticipation building across London and the rest of the UK.
It is an enormous privilege for all of us here at FutureBrand to have been able to play our part in delivering such an iconic global event. Even more gratifying is the fact that we are now seeing the fruits of our labours begin to flourish as visual identity that we’ve been working on for the past three and a half years is implemented across London and the rest of the UK.
Ten weeks ago we saw the Olympic Torch arrive at Land’s End on a British Airways flight that was designed by our creative team here in London. The torch relay was launched in conjunction with our colleagues at McCann Worldgroup and has provided a fantastic platform for spreading the spirit and excitement of the games to the farthest reaches of the UK.
If you’ve flown into any of our major airports over the past few weeks you won’t have failed to notice the reception areas for the athletes and other members of the Olympic Family. The logistical challenge would be even more complex without the work that we’ve delivered for signage and way finding at major venues.
And most exciting for FutureBrand, with our global headquarters being based in London, is to finally see the flags and banners springing up around the city – and already having a hugely positive impact on public opinion around the coming festivities. Our partners at LOCOG have been tracking public sentiment over the past few weeks and it’s clear from their research that pride, excitement and anticipation have increased significantly over the past few weeks as our work has gone live.
With much more to come over the next weeks I’m sure that this trend will continue, with the entire nation getting behind the Games – ‘the greatest show on earth’ – that will help to shape global perceptions of the UK for many years to come.
Today, billions of people across the globe will see our work, and we are so excited about it, so let the Games begin!
