Tour of the Athletes' Village

Dream day so far. Breakfast time tour of athletes' village. Sun shining, UK athletes smiling and facilities looking splendid.

Flags on arrival suggest we've arrived at a UN conference on birth control. And the UN are in fact handing out condoms here - advising athletes to 'play safe'.

Ben Hunt-Davies, a rowing gold in Sydney, shows me his quarters - an attractive apartment with bespoke pillows, great bathrooms, TV, fridge, wifi and a TV studio nearby.

An enormous basement runs under the entire village - more storage space than you'd ever need, doubling up as a secure bunker. The heavy doors suggest this is designed to withstand a very serious bomb - a sobering reminder we have to take security very seriously.

Oriental gardens to soothe the soul lie next to an impressive gym and 50 metre swimming pool. Those working out here are an awesome site - top of their game; the finest physical specimen in the world.

They're modest too and unnervingly well adjusted. Goldie Sayers explains calmly how she missed a medal by 38 centimeters. Ben confirms to me that she'll relive that javelin throw for ever - adding that his own worst experience of life, as well as his best was at the Olympics.

What these athletes manage is Herculean. Those of us charged with delivering 2012 in London have a huge responsibility to do them justice. They need the best facilites - to prepare for the games and inhabit when they're underway.

But the village we build them has to be attractive to others when the Games are over. The Chinese have no doubt that the flats filled by Olympians this week will be easily sold to the emerging middle class of Beijing. And if they can manage that - so should we.

At the Olympic Stadium with the Mayor of Beijing

Just seen the stadium. Superb. And squeezed in just in time to see Phillips Idowu from Hackney take silver in the triple jump. Well done him.

Spotting his slot among all the a ctivities taking place in tandem wasn’t easy. And the scale, shape and structure of the stadium is wonderfully distracting.

The water cube next to the birds nest changes colour like an upright disco floor. And the Mayor of Beijing tells me it’s built from green, flexible, state of the art material with water heated geo-thermally.

Twas an interesting drive to the site. No Olympic lane on the backstreets but worth snaking slowly past red lanterns, elaborate arches and crawling cars. Only those with odd numbers on their plates are a llowed into town today - one of the elaborate traffic management measures put into place for the games. The Mayor told me he might keep it in pla ce long-term to combat the extra 1000 cars which are added to the city’s streets every day.

They’ve also suspended work at countless factories for three weeks to improve the local air quality. One thing they won’t do is introduce a congestion charge. When I suggested that to my opposite number, he told me he wouldn’t dare.

Arriving in Beijing

Singled out for extra security search at Heathrow and swabbed for explosives. Must look suspicious. Or is it revenge for my opposition to a 3rd runway?

Heavily armed police at plane door - not for me but to deport an illegal immigrant. Flight fine.
Surprised to see rain on arrival. Feel very at home in Beijing airport - designed (like City Hall) by Norman Foster.

Wonderfull, warm welcome by friendly officials who escort us to a 10 course feast with the Mayor of Beijing Loads of great tips. And impressed by his sounbites - how he seeks prosperity, civility and harmony for Beijing. Also how he'd aimed for a green, high tech people's Olympics.

Not sure what the interpreter made of the phrase but noticed the smile when I said 'we take our hats off to Beijing '.