The quality of London’s 2012 Olympic volunteers will “define the DNA” of the Games, but the 250.000 hopefuls should not think that they are getting a “free pass” to events, organiser Sebastian Coe said this week.
About 100.000 applicants of all ages and backgrounds will be interviewed for the vacant 70.000 Games Maker roles, with jobs ranging from working in carparks to carrying the kit of athletes such as Olympic 100m champion Usain Bolt.
Coe said he had no doubt organisers would reach their target on volunteer numbers, but the risk was that some may not understand the nature of Olympic volunteering.
“ The difference between a good and a great Games is the quality of the volunteers,” Coe, chairman of the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) , said.
“I want people to feel excited about it, but not to be deluded. This is not a give away. It is not a free pass.
“IF you like athletics and if you are in the stadium, the chances are you will not see thae track and field.”
He said LOCOG was keen on securing as diverse a team of volunteers as possible, with a focus on team players.
The oldest applicant was a man in his 90s while a number of retired couples have also put their names forward, as have doctors and philosophers.
Volunteers have to be 18 or over on Jan.1, 2012. About 10% ofapplicants are from outside Britain, and organisers have put a strong emphasis on language skills, something the country is not traditionally renowned for.
Volunteers were first used at the 1948 London Olympics , the austerity Games, when money was tight after World War II. The current scheme is Britain’s biggest peacetime recruitment drive.
The colour and design of the volunteers’ uniform has yet to be decided.
More than 300 people a day will be interviewed during a 14 month process, with the first volunteers being recruited at the end of 2011, undergoing a minimum of three days training.
They will receive free London Underground travel on the days they work and meal during their eight-hour shifts, but no pay.
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