The O2 (formerly the Millennium Dome)

Website: www.theo2.co.uk

Wow! What a day! There was snowfall, ancient Egyptian mummies and Olympic torches. But we'll come to that...

I decided yesterday to visit "The O2" - a giant arena and entertainment complex in what used to be the Millennium Dome. Waking up to thick snowfall this morning I was informed, before I set out, that the Beijing Olympic torch was going to be touring through London. Looking into it I found that the tour's finale was to be held at the O2 at 6pm - what a bonus! Off I set.


Arriving on the Jubilee tube line at North Greenwich I was outside the giant white dome at about 1pm. I went to explore. Inside the giant entrance foyer there was a line of "Customer Helpers" who looked ready to pounce on anyone that looked a bit confused. Past them I walked down "Entertainment Avenue". Not sure what to expect I merged into the dawdling crowd and walked past rows and rows of sushi bars, Brazilian all-you-can-eat buffets, American bar and grills, Pizzerias, Starbucks etc. In the centre of the dome was the O2 Arena - a bit auditorium where they have big shows in the evenings. Circling that are the lines of eateries and bars. Half-way around there was a cinema and further along a few vast empty open spaces. Due to the snow melting on the roof the whole place was freezing cold and people shivered as they walked arm in arm around it.

I kept walking - passed the "Tutankhamen exhibition" - until I arrived at an exit. A cheery security guard then told me that, unless I had tickets for "Afrika! Afrika!" I'd have to go back. So I did. As I retraced my steps I wondered what the hell I was going to do for the next few hours - did I really want to see Afrika! Afrika! or Tutankhamen's trinkets? I decided it depended on the price. If it was cheap then "Sure why not!"... It wasn't cheap. The Tutankhamen tickets were £20 for adults, £15 for children and the cheapest Afrika! Afrika! ticket was £29! Why were so many people queuing up for them!

There was always the free option of what to do - go for a walk around. Outside I explored down by the "Thames Clipper" boat dock but it got so cold that snow started to fall again and I retreated back inside for some lunch. I chose to go to the "S&M (sausage and mash) Cafe" which was reassuringly heated. Unfortunately it was one of those places the puts a lot of effort into the restaurant's decoration but not much into the food. My vegetarian sausage sandwich was pretty horrible but at least my cup of tea warmed me up. As I ate I came up with a plan - walk then cinema then Olympic finale.

Outside the snow had stopped so I set off along the Thames Path that circles the dome. I was on the look out for the Greenwich meridian (i.e. the line of 0 degrees longitude) which cuts across the site but there was only a little mile-post to mark it. It was pretty deserted outside so as I walked I sang along to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. There were nice views of Canary Wharf and I got a better look at the Afrika! Afrika! circus tents. There were signs about the environmental projects happening there but the bit round the back of the dome seemed neglected with a lot of rubbish washed up from the Thames. I'd thought I could follow the path all the way round to the entrance but saw the way was going to be a long one. The path lead round to some industrial estates and busy roads with a big blue fence separating me from the O2 car park. Eventually I found a hole in a concrete fence and climbed through some abandoned mouldy blankets and, emerging from the undergrowth, burst out at the car park junction.

The build up of people, police and organisers was getting more noticeable during the afternoon. Now some roads were closed and police were diverting people. I tried to find out what route the Olympic torch would take but the hundreds of orange-coated security workers were all pretty uninformed. I got to see the huge hangars of the "David Beckham (Football) Academy" before heading back to the O2's cinema.

My plan was to see the film "Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs 3D" at 4.15pm. I had some time to kill so I went into the "O2 Chill" - an inflated modern-day igloo-like bubble where people could sit on bean-bags and listen to relaxed music. I sat there shivering, back against the hard wall, territorially sitting on my bean-bag for about 15 minutes. Finally, my teeth chattering, I went to the film.

Sitting in the pre-film darkness listening to the odd cinema music I felt like we were all there to worship the huge cinema screen in front of us. The film started a few minutes early and everyone scrambled to put on their 3D glasses. The 40 minute film was fun and relit my desire to travel to Egypt. The gist of it was "Ancient Egypt is very mysterious but thanks to these American researchers we've learnt a lot about it...".

After the film I went out to see the Olympic torch preparations. The torch was due to arrive on a boat from Canary Wharf at 5.50pm. It was so cold outside I bought a hot cup of tea and huddled around it like a camp-fire. The torch relay had run into controversy earlier in the day with some anti-China, pro-Tibet protesters trying to extinguish the flame. Now, in the crowd at the O2, there were a lot of (mainly non-Chinese looking) protesters carrying banners against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). There were also a lot of Chinese-looking people waving Chinese flags and shouting things like "China we're so proud of you!". When the boat arrived with the torch on it the torch was taken in relay from the dock to the stage in front of the O2 dome. At each leg of the relay the torch holder was surrounded by 6 blue-suited Chinese guards. These were in turn surrounded by 20 yellow fluorescent-jacketed police officers. These were then surrounded by about 30 black-uniformed police officers. Quite a sight!

As the torch was brought in the crowd cheered and the Olympic cauldron was lit. There were fireworks and Olympic-coloured banners released from top of the dome! A few speeches from the stage - from e.g. Princess Margaret and Ken Livingston - and then it seemed like it was all over. The crowd filtered out down to the tube station - all discussing the pros and cons of a possible Olympic games boycott. What a day!