Unfortunately the sun has set on my Olympic adventure but my Paralympics adventure begins very shortly.

It seems very strange that only in January I applied for a volunteer slot at the games and now the games are a growing memory. 

However I have to reiterate the friendships I have made out here are unbreakable and I have made friends from all over the world which has opened up more and more possibilities for me.

The Olympics are the greatest sporting spectacle in the world and to have worked here in Beijing makes me feel very honoured but even more determined to work in London for 2012. 

At the games as a volunteer it not only allows you to watch the greatest sportsmen and women in the world compete. You enter the Olympic community where everyone helps each other and works together which is incredible with the mix of international volunteers that were here in Beijing.

I have now been invited to go visit friends in Australia; something I thought I would never say. But whilst being at the games it opens your eyes and a whole new world is at your feet. 

The confidence I have gained is incredible and I really now want to work in Sports Journalism and have my eyes fixed on doing the best I can like the Olympic athletes in my chosen specialism.

I hope to carry this blog on for everyone during the Paralympics because at times these games are too easily cast aside whereas people should embrace them the same way they do the Olympics. 

I will work at the “Birdsnest” for the Paralympics while covering the athletics. I hope to speak to you all soon, and everyone prepare for a
great games in London 2012!

Hello all, 

I can’t believe I have been sat in the same stadium as the great Diego Maradona!  

I know that he is only a shadow of his former self now but when working at the Olympic men’s semi-final Brazil v Argentina he was also in attendance.

In a match that has seen Argentina progress to the final Gold medal match against Nigeria the 1996 Olympic champions. Argentina who are the reigning champions want to retain their coveted gold medal position.

During this match there was as in all sports at the Olympics unbelievable quality on the pitch with players such as Messi, Ronaldinho, Aguero and Mascherano who fascinated the capacity crowd at the Workers stadium with their incredible agility, skill and athleticism.

What I will say as a volunteer at the Games here is that I may never get a chance to see top level sport like this up close again. I sincerely hope this is not the case. But working here at the Olympics illustrates how privileged a position we hold as volunteers during the worlds largest sporting spectacle.

Not only do I get to see some of the greatest sports stars on the planet but I also have the opportunity to interview the players and for a young aspiring journalist this experience is not only life and career changing but it makes you realise this is the profession you wish to follow.

I now know that when I graduate I want to further my career in the field of sports journalism as well as other areas of the journalistic spectrum. At twenty I have stood in mixed zones, flash quote areas and have attended both pre and post match conferences at a major sports event. This experience has been second to none and for anyone wanting to further themselves in sports journalism perhaps being a volunteer at London in 2012 wouldn’t be a bad idea!

I hope personally that by 2012 I will be working in some form of sports media and would perhaps be employed to work during the London Games but if not, I may do the same voluntary work again if the opportunity arises.

What I will leave this short extract with is that a player such as Maradona who attended the Argentina game made 64,000 people roar with excitement when he was on the screen. I was fortunate to be here to see, feel and be part of this environment. I hope that all the volunteers for London only have the same if not a better experience than I have had. But one thing is that when you leave the Olympics you have memories and meet friends that will last a lifetime.

David Stevenson

Hi everyone,

It seems very strange that we are nearly at the halfway stage of the Games. For so long I have been out here training for the event and felt like it would never come. However as always good things always seem to come and go so fast but leave an everlasting impression in your mind.

For me so far these Olympic Games have taught me lessons not only about my trade as an aspiring journalist but have given me more independence because I am in a foreign country for so long which has also boosted my confidence.

Also being a volunteer is a great role and is an experience everyone should try. In fact I am that impressed I want to apply for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and then the London Games.

I will do another blog soon to tell you more about the experience but until then it is back to the office for me and I am so happy to say it.

Hello everyone or G’day mate as my Aussie colleagues would say.

By any chance did any of you get to watch the Olympic opening ceremony. I didn’t and I’m here in Beijing. Only joking. I wasn’t in the Birdsnest but I was watching on a big screen in a park near the lama temple with 3,ooo other spectators.

Originally we all had plans to go and watch the ceremony outside the Birdsnest but with security being tight and the constant checks, we decided against it. Also the fact that there was 1 million viewers outside the stadium also had a rather large influence.

What did happen during the ceremony though is that my colleagues and I suddenly realised the Olympics were upon us and it added more excitement to the evening. We have all been out here for so long now it has felt like a long vacation with a bit of work in between. But now work really begins.

Although I am only a volunteer, after watching the ceremony I realised what a special event the games are. They are the one sporting event where the whole world turns its eyes for a fortnight and it is the only one which follows strict traditional guidelines and has created Olympic values and protocol.

The values consist of enjoyment, competitiveness, honesty and all the things that are good in people. From what I have seen so far in Beijing the Games unite a country and many of its inhabitants which can only make it a stronger nation. I can only hope that come 2012 the same happens with Britain.

I would like to end this brief little chatter by saying how wonderful the whole set up for the opening ceremony was and that I will be working  at the Birdsnest at some point during the Olympics. I only have one wish and that would be to do it all again. Although I want to pose one question to everyone. Can London top Beijings opening ceremony?

Please comment on this and I will let you know my thoughts, anyway I best get back to work. Hang on, how can the Olympics be work? I just feel honoured to be a part of it.

Speak to you soon, and please drop more comments and I will add more photos and video footage soon. Hopefully.

Hi everyone,

Well it is now official we have been here in Beijing for exactly one month. So I only have another seven weeks left in the Chinese capital till I am back in sunny Sheffield.

But before my return I have to get through the Olympics and in my case the Paralympics as well.

In the time between my last blog and this new edition I have been working monday to friday nine till four for the last two weeks unless there has been a security check at my work venue the Workers Stadium.

While at work we have been continuing Olympic News Service (ONS) training on interviewing techniques when talking with athletes. Also we have been using the computer systems in the venue to be adept at typing our reports both pre and post match as well as our flash quotes which we will get during press conferences and mixed zone interviews.

However with the Olympics only a week away, I have this weekend off so my body can prepare for the long three week endurance task it is about to undergo.

But it isn’t all work and no play here in Beijing. At the weekends I have made trips to the Forbidden City, where the former Chinese Emperors resided.

In fact the reason it was called the “Forbidden City” is because if anyone trespassed they were executed, this place was only for the royal family but it is now open to the public. My advice though is that it is so big, go early in the morning and spend a full day there if you want to see most of it.

I have also visited the Chinese Pearl Market and haggled with the shop owners, which is a lot of fun. So now I have all my gifts bought and ready to bring home for my parents wedding anniversary.

But before I celebrate their anniversary I plan on celebrating my anniversary with Beijing with my colleagues.

My next blog will be uploaded very shortly so keep a look out for it, as I will be talking about tightening security in preparation for the Games.

Talk to you soon…..