British MPs To Discuss London 2012 Logo

A report in Marketing Week says that a group of British MPs want to meet the team behind the controversial London 2012 logo to discuss the thinking behind the design.

Any meeting would include representatives from Wolff Olins, the design agency behind the logo, and the London 2012 Organizing Committee.

Joanna Shaw, group manager of the cross-party Parliamentary Design Group, says all parties have shown interest in discussing the logo and a meeting could be arranged for next month.

The design group was established to elevate the standard of debate on design in Britain’s parliament and ensure design is considered in policy development.

Not tickled pink by the new logo

COMMUNITY leaders have reacted furiously to the design and cost of the new London 2012 Olympic Games logo.

Costing £400,000, the jagged emblem is based on the number 2012 and comes in a series of shades of pink, blue, green and orange. Games officials said it will ‘evolve’ in the run-up to the Games.

London Mayor Ken Livingstone blasted the animated version of the logo over concern it could spark epileptic fits.

He said: “I would not pay a penny for making such a catastrophic mistake – this is a pretty basic thing.”

The word London and the Olympic rings are included in the first two digits of the new logo but critics claim they are oblique and obscured.

London 2012 Logo Creators Break Silence

The two men behind the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games logo finally broke their silence in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, saying they were proud of the design and even pleased about some of the criticism of the logo.

Brian Boylan, chairman of Wolff Olins, the consultancy responsible for the 400,000 pound design said, “let’s be clear – we won’t change the design at all. We are proud of it. It will go down in history. We have created something original in a world where it is increasingly difficult to make something different”.

Patrick Cox, leader of the design team that created the logo said, “it wasn’t created to be warm and fuzzy. Its design is intentionally raw which means it doesn’t immediately sit there and ask to be liked very much. It was meant to be something that did provoke a response, like the little thorn in the chair that gets you to breathe in, sit up and take notice”.

Boylan, who was in charge of the project said, “I don’t think brands need only to be lived any more. They need to be useful, in terms of providing participation and a platform for people to do things with them. I think that is what this is going to be remembered for “.

The Telegraph reports that Boylan admitted he had been surprised by the intensity of the criticism, but said that his travels to Switzerland and Denmark in the last two weeks had convinced him that opinion was getting behind the design.

When asked if most Britons would ever love it he said, “we are not confident or unconfident. The public will judge”.

Chris Townsend, the commercial director of London 2012, said he had been enthusiastic when shown the first drafts of the logo just before Christmas. He said, “the senior management team was unanimous. We saw other designs, but this was the one. The more the brand is understood, the more it will be loved”, adding, “we were creating something we hope reflects the spirit of our times, party youthfulness, and also the sense of participation”.

He said the logo is intended to be a “blank canvas”, a set of blocks in which people can place images of their choice. It is hoped that a “non-commercial” version will be available next year for use by bodies such as amateur sports clubs.

Cox said, “when people are saying that a child could have done it, or are coming up with their own designs, that’s what we want. We want everyone to be able to do something with it”.

Olympic chairman loves 2012 logo

The chairman of the International Olympic Committee has pledged support for the controversial London 2012 logo.

Speaking at the end of a three-day visit, Dennis Oswald told journalists he "loved it."

During their visit, inspectors received a full report on the row over the new brand and logo.

Mr Oswald also said preparations were "on time and on track" and that Britain's 2012 preparations would prove to be a model for future host cities.

Commenting on the new logo, Mr Oswald said: "I love it. It's very simple. We have a fantastic logo, it's very creative, very young and very dynamic. I'm very enthusiastic about it."

Britain's legacy

The IOC inspection committee had spent the last three days assessing the London 2012 team's preparations, ranging from venue construction to transport.

"It was a very positive visit which confirmed all the impressions we had from previous visits," said Mr Oswald.

"At this stage we're very satisfied. We don't have any specific area of concern. The work should just go on, but compared to other organising committees, London is really on time and on track."

He also said Britain's commitment to ensuring 2012 left a legacy on the landscape was something future host cities must learn.

"We were delighted to have confirmation that the legacy aspect of the Games was what it was promised at the time of the bid," he said.

"This legacy is very important and we really consider London will be a model for future host cities of the Games as far as legacy is concerned. But this legacy will not only be for London but for Britain in general."

Key targets

The IOC team was told key targets for the project include making the UK a leading sporting nation and securing 50,000 new jobs.

Mr Livingstone guaranteed the 2012 Olympics would be the "most successful since Barcelona in 1992 in terms of regeneration and legacy".

"As the next three Olympic Games follow London, we will still be getting the legacy benefits in terms of housing and employment," he said.

He added that London would be able to meet all its Olympics targets and would "stage the greatest Games ever".

"It is time for the pessimists and purveyors of doom to start looking at the facts as laid out today and join the rest of us in backing London," he said.

The IOC will continue to inspect venues once a year until 2008, when progress will be subject to scrutiny every six months.