EDF Olympic Pavilion ‘The Magic of Electricity’
London 2012 Partner, EDF, is showcasing ‘the magic of electricity’ in its pavilion inside the Olympic park next to the main stadium.
Visitors can picture themselves next to a virtual Victoria Pendleton, as well as powering thousands of LED lights which form part of a dynamic light installation by using hand pedals or by showing off their best dance moves on a special dance floor.
The latest augmented reality technology allows visitors to the EDF pavilion to have a souvenir photograph with British cycling champion Victoria Pendleton or French swimming champion Yannick Agnel. The same app, downloadable onto smart phones or tablet computers, will also bring to life EDF innovations in research and development and marine turbines.
Alongside these fun ways to experience the magic of electricity, EDF will help visitors to understand what goes into ensuring that we have the reliable, safe and clean electricity we need to live our lives. They will show how each of us can play our part in managing the use of energy better and what EDF is doing to bring us more low carbon electricity at an affordable price.
Meanwhile a ‘Tomorrow’s World’-style zone will showcase futuristic energy saving products designed by some of the world’s leading research and design institutes, which could soon become part of our everyday lives.
And ‘real life’ Olympic and Paralympic stars – fresh from competing – are expected to pop into the Pavilion to talk to fans about their London 2012 experience.
EDF sponsors 36 top-class athletes from across Europe, including British medal hopes Victoria Pendleton, rower Katherine Grainger, kayaker Tim Brabants, rower Tom Aggar, and swimmers Liz Johnson and Ellie Simmonds.
Gareth Wynn, EDF’s Director for London 2012, said: “The simple flick of a switch can entertain us, connect us to our loved ones, light our way, warm our home or carry us home, all thanks to an almost magical thing, electricity.
“Electricity is so fundamental to our daily lives and yet most of us take it for granted. We want visitors to the EDF pavilion to be entertained but also to understand a bit more about the remarkable engineering, organisation and creativity that means for so many of us electricity is always there when we need it.”
Hubert Blanquefort, Director, responsible for the EDF pavilion project added; “The EDF pavilion is intended to be a real visitor attraction that will entertain, inform and inspire people. We have designed the building to be modern and sustainable and throughout the experience we have tried to make the best use of up to date, energy efficient technology.”
The pavilion will open to the public on July 27, between 9am and midnight through the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
EDF and London 2012
EDF is an official partner and the electricity supplier of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The company is also helping its customers and others use energy more sustainably through products and initiatives such as Team Green Britain, real time energy monitoring and electric vehicle research.
EDF is powering the Games with electricity backed by low carbon sources. 80% of the low carbon electricity sourced to supply the Games will come from EDF Energy’s existing nuclear fleet, with the remaining 20% coming from renewable generation assets. The company hopes that this will encourage consumers to think about how their electricity is generated and the carbon emissions associated with its generation. As Britain’s largest producer of low carbon electricity EDF Energy is committed to leading an energy change in the UK. EDF Energy has set itself some of the toughest targets for reducing carbon emissions and waste of any UK company. These include reducing the intensity of carbon dioxide emissions from electricity production by 60% by 2020 from our 2006 baseline.