Press Release
British Red Cross prepare for 2012 Olympic Games
12 November 2010
The British Red Cross is stepping up efforts to support emergency services and local authorities ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Up to 500,000 spectators are predicted at Olympic venues with the population of London potentially increasing by up to 2 million people.
Simon Lewis, the British Red Cross head of emergency planning and response said: “The Olympic Games pose an unprecedented challenge to the UK, its emergency services and statutory responders. The size and impact of the games is the equivalent of the Wimbledon final, London Marathon, FA cup final and Notting Hill all taking place at the same time.”
The British Red Cross will be presenting its Olympic preparation plans at this year’s Emergency Services Show (ESS) in Coventry from 24th -25th November. A key component of British Red Cross preparation will be a focus on recruiting more volunteers to the organisation. With a predicted increase in emergency response calls by 2012, the organisation is aiming to strengthen its capability and capacity in emergency response and recovery.
Lewis continued: “The large number of people the games will attract will mean an increased risk of emergencies such as fires and road accidents. As our organisation holds a unique role in support of statutory services such as the police, fire and ambulance services, we are working hard, with our partners, to put robust plans in place to support a safe event.”
Whilst the 2012 London Olympics is concentrated in London, the games will also be played out in many other UK sites as event venues, training camps and accommodation campuses.
In addition to discussing Olympic preparation plans, the British Red Cross will also have an exhibition stand at the ESS, showing the latest model of the Fire and Emergency Support Service vehicle, a mobile ambulance and equipment used by British Red Cross emergency response teams.
The event will see the launch of the unique “Major Incident Response Multilingual Phrasebook”, developed to help emergency responders communicate with individuals for whom English is not the first language. The Red Cross have also become the first voluntary organisation in the UK to roll out the state-of-the-art, Airwave radio communications system which is designed to create a new digital solution for emergency response.
The annual Emergency Services Show (ESS), now in its fourth year, is a platform event for sharing information between Category 1 and 2 responders . The two day conference runs alongside the exhibition and attracts high profile speakers, discussing relevant and topical issues in emergency services. The show is organised the leading emergency response media group, Morden Media Communications, publishers of the Emergency Services Times and Fire Times magazine.
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