Kentish Express Ashford & District
Games drummer recalls London pride
A personal trainer from Wye has recalled his experiences of taking part in the London Olympics opening ceremony.
Alex Callaghan, 26, was one among 1,000 drummers creating the pulsating beat of the industrial revolution in the Pandemonium scene at the ceremony on Friday July 27, 2012.
The former Norton Knatchbull schoolboy first took up the drums as an 11-yearold, and was part of the school’s renowned jazz band.
He said: “They needed more men to be drummers. I just thought, ‘well, I tick both of those boxes’.
“There was about five months of training in total, and I got confirmation in February after doing the auditions at the Three Mills Studio in Bromley-by-Bow.
“I started to rehearse there. Then we trained at the Ford plant in Dagenham, and finally inside the Olympic Stadium. It was unbelievable.
“Seeing Danny Boyle and working with Rick from Underworld, who coordinated all the music, was just inspirational, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Alex was also an athlete marshall for both ceremonies, and got the chance to bump into celebrities such as Kenneth Branagh and medal-winning gymnast Louis Smith, who signed an autograph on his blue blazer.
Alex added: “It definitely changed my life. It’s the best thing I’ve ever been involved in. I met some awesome people and still have all of my costumes, memorabilia and drum.
“After the games, I trained to be a personal trainer. One of the questions I was asked at my job interview was about my proudest achievements, and I told them about London 2012.”
Four years on, Alex is looking forward to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, which are set to begin next week.
He said that, despite fears about the Zika virus and poor planning, we would have to wait and see how Rio compared.
He recalled: “London received a very bad press in the run-up to 2012 and there wasn’t much confidence, but look how it turned out. No one will ever forget it, and it made me so proud to be involved, proud to be British.”