黑洞社区

James Bulley must be the only person in the world with 鈥減rocure enough temporary toilets to service the entire population of Malta鈥� written on his to-do list. That and 鈥渋nstall enough tents to cover Hong Kong鈥�.

As the head of venues and infrastructure of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympics Games (LOCOG), Bulley is charged with transforming the Olympic park from a construction site into an operational venue capable of hosting 10,500 athletes and 9 million visitors during one of the most important six-week periods in the capital鈥檚 recent history. Oh, and if anything - anything at all - goes wrong logistically or operationally during the Games, it will be Bulley鈥檚 responsibility to put it right.

When it comes to jobs that are likely to keep you awake at night, you would think this one would feature pretty high on the list. Not for Bulley. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 lie in bed worrying about everything,鈥� he says. 鈥淐onsidering the buck ultimately stops with me if anything goes wrong in the lead-up to, and during, the Games, I may appear calmer about it than some would expect. But I am confident that we know exactly what we need to do, the structures are in place and we are prepared.鈥�

Here, Bulley - a 44-year-old former property consultant who has been working on sports venues for 20 years - talks about what鈥檚 still left to do, touches on the construction industry鈥檚 criticisms of LOCOG鈥檚 strict marketing policy, and explains why he is so serene 鈥�

Time to shine

Bulley鈥檚 demeanour has not changed since August 2008 when 黑洞社区 first met him. Back then, with four years to go until LOCOG was due to step out from the Olympic Delivery Authority shadow, his unwavering confidence was less of a surprise. But now, with the Olympic year upon us, how is he keeping it together?

鈥淚 am actually more confident now,鈥� he says. 鈥淎fter six years鈥� planning we鈥檝e got our hands on the site and can start putting plans into place and test everything ahead of July. There will be a cluster of test events in May and that opportunity to put everything through its paces will cement that confidence.鈥�

Of course, he is quick to add, calm does not mean complacent: 鈥淭his is a mammoth task.You can never really relax in my role. I have my mobile on me all the time now and have to be ready to answer it 24/7.鈥�

It is easy to see why. Over the next six months, Bulley and his team have an almost superhuman amount of work to complete. Bulley currently has 500 staff on site - a number that will rise to 650 during the Games - and he needs every single one of them. Working alongside a number of construction firms, led by construction manager ISG, they will be busy doing everything from installing temporary venues, such as the hockey pitches, to ensuring that every food stall is in the right place and every scrap of weed has been removed from the rowing lake - yes, really - at Eton Dorney. Some of the numbers for the temporary facilities are hard to get your head around: 200,000 seats, 10,000 toilets, 76 miles of fencing and over 2.5 million ft2 of tents all need to be put in place. And with the bar set so high by the ODA and the construction industry thus far, the pressure is on.

Confident though Bulley may be, others are less sure that all this can be pulled off in such a calm fashion. Speaking to 黑洞社区 in January, Graham Watts, chief executive of the Construction Industry Council, said: 鈥淭here will be huge pressure on LOCOG to get things right first time, which will filter to the supply chain. The body will probably be a difficult client to work with as it鈥檚 going to be very stressed.鈥�

Considering the buck ultimately stops with me if anything goes wrong, I may appear calmer about it than some would expect

Bulley remains unruffled, but realistic: 鈥淥f course there is huge pressure to transform these spaces - particularly the Olympic park - from a construction site into an operational venue. It鈥檚 a lot of work and this is the big push. But we are on track and within budget after confirming our competition schedules, venues and security planning.

鈥淲e are lucky we have had a bit of a head start on the Olympic park itself as the ODA and construction industry have done such a great job in getting everything ready on time and on budget. The major tasks to complete include fitting out the media centre, finishing the building of the hockey stadium, complete with 16,000 seats - this will be done by the end of April - and finishing the configuring of the BMX track and installing 6,000 seats. All of this is on track. We also need to install 3,500 modular buildings - starting with 350 this month.鈥�

Under pressure

LOCOG鈥檚 construction partners, including ISG, Atkins and Populous, will support the body in the lead-up to the Games, but if any of the work that they - or the other supply chain members - do over the next six months isn鈥檛 up to scratch, Bulley will be held responsible. Just as he will during the Games themselves - his role stretches to operational director of the park and venues throughout the event. If any problem occurs - from issues with a venue through to a London-wide power outage - he will be the one receiving the call to get it fixed. Doesn鈥檛 he ever feel like he is being set up as the fall guy?

鈥淚 feel fine about that part of my role too,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hough it鈥檚 obviously a huge responsibility, we have contingencies for everything and have been working with the ODA, the police and other emergency services, TfL and a whole host of other bodies to ensure that every eventuality is covered.鈥� That covers any unforeseen issues not directly related to the venues. But what about the 23 buildings and surrounding infrastructure that make up the Games sites? What happens if they go wrong at a crucial moment? No surprises here that confidence is, once again, the order of the day; 鈥淚 know I can鈥檛 do everything myself, so I have surrounded myself with an excellent team from LOCOG and our suppliers and I trust their abilities entirely.鈥�

Sticking to protocol

Then there is the issue of the industry鈥檚 point about LOCOG鈥檚 much debated London 2012 No Marketing Rights protocol. Peter Murray, the chairman of New London Architecture, argued in 黑洞社区 last month that most of the team involved in the Games would get little recognition for their work because the protocol was too strict and denied them the chance to showcase their involvement - all part of a strategy to protect the main sponsors who have secured exclusive advertising rights. As Mike Cook, a senior partner at Buro Happold - one of the firms involved in the Olympic project - put it: 鈥淲hat further opportunities globally is UK Plc missing out on by keeping this story hidden?鈥�

Every single firm working on the project signed up to this protocol beforehand. They all knew about it from the start

As a former construction man himself, can Bulley see the industry鈥檚 argument? Not surprisingly, as a LOCOG director, there is very little he can add apart from reiterating the body鈥檚 own protocol: 鈥淲e have to respect those companies who have paid for the exclusive rights to marketing and advertising,鈥� he says. 鈥淚n terms of the construction industry showcasing it鈥檚 capability - especially to potential overseas clients - I believe there is an outlet for that through the Foreign Office and, through this channel, I think UK Plc and the skills it has to offer are being showcased internationally and introductions have been made. I think it鈥檚 more an issue that firms don鈥檛 feel they can create their own marketing opportunities as a result of the success of the Games and the big build. And every single firm working on the project signed up to this protocol beforehand. They all knew about it from the start.鈥�

Where am I?

Back in 2008, a then 40-year-old Bulley said he didn鈥檛 know what the future for him would hold after 2012. He said at the time: 鈥淚 am not allowing myself to think past 2012. It鈥檚 too scary. I have no aspirations beyond that year and purposefully so. I will have been on such a huge, huge journey that I don鈥檛 know where, or who, I will be.鈥漌e may not be past the 2012 Games just yet but 2012 is upon us. So, does Bulley have any clearer ideas of what he鈥檒l do next or - and now for the biggie - who he is? 鈥淥h God,鈥� he laughs. 鈥淚 have no idea. You change in any job and this particular job has certainly made me a very different person. I still have no plans beyond the Games. That has been my life for six years and will continue to be until it鈥檚 over. I鈥檒l revaluate after that.鈥�

The merest hint of doubt crosses Bulley鈥檚 face as he considers a life beyond London 2012. One wonders if that, and not the logistics of installing enough temporary toilets to service the population of Malta, is what keeps him awake at night.