Slowly but surely we are becoming a more patriotic nation. However, with Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations about to happen, the old Union Flag can be spotted everywhere:
On top of buildings:
Hanging on Regent Street:
Even used to advertise trainers:
However my favourite view, is looking down The Mall towards Buckingham Palace:
Posted in London, Photography
Why do I find myself in Munich? Well, I am here to see a very important football match. A game, that 20 years ago, I had always dreamed of seeing, but never ever thought that dream would come true. My beloved Chelsea Football Club have made the UEFA Champions League final, beating the favourite team FC Barcelona in the Semi Finals, to set up a final match against Bayern Munich.
The venues for the final are set a couple of years ahead of time, so it is by complete chance, that Bayern Munich played the final at their home stadium. This meant that when we arrived in the City Centre on the day of the match, the whole place was a sea of red and white (Bayern Munich’s colours):
…and even dogs and bushes were sporting the home team colours:
However, the atmosphere was very friendly, and I even spotted a couple with mixed loyalties:
The weather was wonderful, in the mid-80sF, and it was nice to see so many people out and about. Unfortunately, at the time it did feel that there were only a handful of Chelsea fans in the city. So we decided we might find more at the Champions League Festival that had been set up in Munich’s Olympic Park.
However, we found the same again, so many Bayern Munich fans. It was like the whole city decided to come out to show their support for the home team.
We eventually made our way to the stadium, to find even more evidence of home team support:
As for the stadium, it is a magnificent arena. What surprised us, was how easy it was to walk around. There appeared to be no segregation, and both Chelsea and Bayern fans were allowed to mingle.
We did manage to spot a Chelsea legend though. Here is Michael Ballack, who is now a football pundit on German TV:
So it was time to take our seats for the final, and what a great view we had:
The game was a nerve wrecking affair. With Chelsea not playing to well. For more on the game, please see my previous post, which can be found HERE.
So dreams do come true, and I’m still pinching myself to make sure that the events on Saturday 19th May 2012 actually did happen.
You can see more pictures from my day out in Munich on flickr, by clicking HERE.
Posted in Chelsea, Football, Photography
I was there – I can’t believe I was in the stadium to see Dider Drogba win the UEFA Champions League.
It wasn’t the greatest Chelsea performance, and they struggled against Bayern Munich, but managed to snatch a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes and extra time. So it went to penalties.
German teams are known for their superb penalty taking, and I must admit, I didn’t have much hope of Chelsea coming through this with the outcome we all wished for. However, with our goalkeeper, Petr Cech on fine form, it was down to Dider Drogba to score his penalty to seal the win for Chelsea – and what I think will be his last kick for Chelsea, sealed our win. What a great moment, and one I don’t think I will ever forget.
Another visit to the Olympic Park for the London Prepares series. This time we are off to see Men’s Hockey, and a game between Great Britain and India. As with the our trip to see the Water Polo, our tickets gave is access to the Olympic Park.
The Riverbank Arena is another temporary arena and will hold the Hockey tournament during the Olympics, and Football during the Paralympics.
The Riverbank Arena is the furthest point from the main Stratford Gate entrance to the Park, which allows you a chance to get close to many of the new buildings:
The Copper Box:
The Basketball Arena:
The Velodrome:
The Olympic Village:
As you can see a lot of the landscaping has been completed, which also includes a Wetlands Area:
Which is going to be left as a small nature reserve in the heart of the park.
After walking past all these places, we finally arrived at the Riverbank Arena to see the Hockey.
Unfortunately, Hockey does not get a lot of TV coverage, although the British Men’s and Women’s teams are quite successful. This was the first time I have seen a hockey match in the flesh, and I was surprised how quick the sport was. I remember from previous Olympics – the only time we seem to see Hockey on TV, there were lots of interruptions from the umpires. However, this time the game seemed to flow quite fast. Here are some pictures from the game that Team GB went on to win:
Posted in London, London 2012, Olympic Games, Photography
Match 11/12 – Liverpool (FA Cup Celebrations), originally uploaded by Chelsea Football Club.
It’s like Didier Drogba owns the FA Cup. I was there to witness him break the FA Cup final scoring record – he has scored in 4 FA Cup Finals now. Chelsea by beating Liverpool 2-1 also created a modern day football record of 4 wins in 6 years. It was a good day to be a Chelsea fan!!!!
One of the good things about the Olympic Games, is seeing sports that you don’t usually get to see. On this occasion, as part of the London Prepares series, I had tickets for Women’s Water Polo. The tickets also allowed us access to the Olympic Park. So it was quite exciting to get to see the park from the inside.
Our event is taking place in one of the non-permanent arenas. The Water Polo stadium, is a pre-fab. After the games it will be dismantled, and installed elsewhere in the UK, giving the town/city who gets it, a brand new swimming pool. Looking at the Water Polo Stadium, it doesn’t look like a temporary building:
I was here to see two women’s water polo matches, Great Britain vs Hungary and Australia vs USA. The latter game, will probably be the Olympic Final come August. Never seeing a water polo match before, I was quite amazed how physical it was. How people have not drowned is quite beyond me:
The matches were really exciting, although the result for Great Britain was not a good one, losing quite convincingly to Hungary. One of the British girls was very disappointed:
But then, that is sport, and I am sure many coaches would be pleased to see such a reaction to losing.
Going to this event, also gave us access to the Olympic Park, and when we came out, we got to experience the park in the dark. I can imagine what it would be like come games time, and how lively it is going to be. They have certainly built a place to encourage this. Here are some night shots of the Olympic Park:
This is the Aquatic Centre:
The Orbit
…and finally colourful lamp-posts:
These are constantly changing colours.
Posted in London, London 2012, Olympic Games, Photography, Sport
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