“The whole entertainment, music and in-venue presentations were taken to a new level in London. This had a remarkable effect on the public’s experience and the television spectacle.
“In previous Games there have always been teams assigned to look after the sponsors and the media but I’m not aware that any other Olympics has had a dedicated team looking after the spectators as a client group. It’s something we identified eight years ago at the IOC, and Locog embraced it.
Payne believes other host cities will be influenced by how London brilliantly incorporated its world- famous sights into the Games — even if that meant suspending business as usual for millions of Londoners.
Payne said: “London organisers realised that a great Games was not just about delivering on transport and telecommunications — to realise the magical potential of the event you have to work with the backdrop.”
Payne added: “To pull off the world’s biggest sports event you need that partnership. You find that public and private sectors come together in a way that often is never again achieved.