The Ministry of Interior (MoI) organised a lecture on the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics to understand the measures adopted by the UK to hold the mega sporting event.

Director-general of Public Security HE Staff Major General Saad bin Jassim al-Khulaifi, Qatar Football Association president Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmad al-Thani, legal adviser to the Minister of State for Interior Affairs, Major General Dr Abdullah al-Maal, and directors and assistant directors of MoI departments were present at the event.

The programme was led by UK’s Metropolitan Police Service assistant commissioner and National Olympics Security Co-ordinator for London 2012, Chris Allison, and MPS chief superintendent and national co-ordinator, Protect & Prepare, Jim Busby.

Allison said London 2012 was the biggest sporting event ever in the UK and the well-executed security arrangements made it a huge success. The Olympics hosted 14,700 athletes and 11mn fans, he added.

The MPS assistant commissioner said the security plan was implemented based on several factors, including a systematic and coherent national approach that was pre-tested successfully, along with the distribution of roles and responsibilities according to normal national guidance and by raising the level of preparedness to a high and critical level.

The National Olympics Security Co-ordinator provided leadership, advice, guidance and support to Olympic Gold Commanders, provided single point of co-ordination for all safety and security partners and a single link with the government. He also facilitated necessary briefings and updates to the government and Gold Commanders, besides working closely with the national director of Counter-Terrorism Policing on terrorism-related issues.

Busby said the Olympics venues involved multiples agencies such as crime-prevention design advisers, counter- terrorism advisers, police operational specialists, government and fire services etc. He said the team worked with architects, designers and the organising committee to examine detailed building and landscape plans for various security concerns, such as crime, protest, terrorism and public safety. They developed appropriate and proportionate design options to reduce or remove the risks using national and international standards.