IT’S ultra cheap and when the sun’s out, pretty cheerful too.
But if London’s Olympic Games turn out to be the wettest ever, as Britain’s gloomier meteorologists fear, there will be several thousand visitors rather more disappointed than others.
”It rained when I arrived and was trying to put up the tent last night,” said Jennifer Bell, 24.
”I’m a Guide so it’s OK, I know what to do … not sure how others might do though. It’s mud everywhere if this goes on.”
Ms Bell is the first in a sea of expected arrivals – Olympic tourists from all over the world as well as some British volunteers – who have decided to make their home under canvas for the duration of the Games. A school assistant from the small village of Pilling between Lancaster and Blackpool, Ms Bell has volunteered to monitor security radios at the Excel Stadium, one of the Olympic venues.
Pop-up campsites have been given approval on sports grounds and parks throughout London, including one ”luxury” camp that is charging £100 ($A150) a night for tents equipped with air mattresses, Egyptian cotton sheets and rugs. The site has a bar and 24-hour reception.
Launched with some fanfare in the shadow of icons like Tower Bridge earlier this year, the low-cost sites, however, are nowhere near as central and have been chosen more for their proximity to Games venues in the semi-industrial wastelands of East London.
Campingninja, Britain’s biggest online campsite, are particularly keen for their guests to take part in non-ticketed events and are hoping for healthy crowds to cheer on the marathon, road race cycling and time trials at Hampton Court, one of Britain’s most picturesque – and visited – tourist attractions.
At a sports ground in Walthamstow, in north-east London, this week there were already several tents being pitched a good week before the July 27 opening ceremony. By early next week, it will be a mini-village with Dutch, German and French visitors topping the enthusiastic campers’ list. Just three Australians have booked and one lonely East Timorese camper is due to check in next week, too.
”It’s a fantastic experience to volunteer but I’ve chosen to camp because at 10 quid a night it’s the only affordable option … we’ll see how we go. Some of my shifts start at 5am, so I have to leave at 10 to three in the morning … let’s hope the weather’s OK,” Ms Bell told The Saturday Age.
Near-neighbour Angela Bell (no relation) will be an anti-doping chaperone, informing winning swimmers that they will be drug-tested and ensuring they are watched until samples are collected. A prison guard in Hertfordshire in her usual life, she had set up tent and was happily having a cup of tea and Union Jack biscuits in a rare moment of sunshine. ”I’ve got a big bed because a good night’s sleep is going to be important with these shifts. It’s cheap and it’ll be good fun,” she said.
Organisers teamed up with 10 local schools and community grounds in the lead-up to the Games, offering to provide on-site showers, toilets and parking for the £10 daily fee.
A slightly more upmarket offer at £25 a day provides four-man tents with room for double air-mattresses and big enough to stand up in, set up and ready on arrival for visiting families. For communities, the venture brings an injection of extra cash for local shops and supermarkets catering for the campers.
Rhian Evans, co-founder and director of Camping at the Games said the idea was aimed at ensuring that taking part in the Olympics could be affordable for everyone: ”This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We have joined forces with the local sports clubs closest to Olympic and Paralympic venues who can offer their facilities and atmosphere for less than a 10th of the price,” he said.
”It provides great-value accommodation that in turn will generate valuable revenue to be reinvested into community sport.”
Judy and Norman Goodall, a retired couple from Oxfordshire, are volunteering, too. Passionate hikers, they were attracted by the adventure and opportunity to be part of an Olympics.
”We’re British. What’s a bit of rain? We could have done with gloves and a bobbly hat yesterday though; we didn’t expect this cold. Not sure what the Aussies are going to think” they laughed as another rain shower sparked a dash to bring chairs inside.
”We’ve only been here one night but already it’s a nice little community … We have event tickets, too, so will be here watching as well as working.”
Photo by: Paola Totaro