Olympic Gold the AGITOS Sign fitted to the National Gallery

About the Project

The Agitos is made up of three asymmetric crescent shapes coloured in red, blue, and green, around a single central point. The icon symbolises motion and emphasises the role the Paralympic Movement plays in bringing together athletes from across the globe.

The symbol – launched at the Closing Ceremony of the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games – reflects the Paralympic motto, “Spirit in Motion”, which represents the strong will of every Paralympian.

About the Agitos Symbol

The Agitos is the symbol of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and was to be fitted to the columns of the National Gallery for the duration of the Paralympic Games during 2012.

The Business Challenge

Innovision Event Management selected Garmendale to deliver the challenging task of erecting and then removing the sign. The team were tasked with installing this massive sign onto one of the country’s oldest and most cherished buildings in the middle of one of the best known and heavily populated public places on the planet Trafalgar Square London.

The Solution

Sensitive to the needs of all concerned, Garmendale wrote up all of the wind calculations designing the back spine of the sign and the clamps that would hold the sign onto the Greek style columns of the National Gallery. The brief was simple there would be ZERO damage to the columns. Not only was this particular project an engineering challenge but there was also a plethora of authorities from whom the team had to seek permission to operate.

The Garmendale team are used to working under pressure, but this project was intense working within sight of the Amiga clock ticking away. They also knew that Lord Coe was going to turn up with the Olympic flame, this all contributed to raising the adrenalin within the team to unprecedented levels. With the eyes of the world on Trafalgar Square, the health and safety methodology was some of the most challenging the team had ever seen.

There are very few companies in Europe that would be trusted with this work .The team delivered Mechanical engineering, Structural design and project management, mediating between the needs of numerous interested parties.

One could say that the Garmendale team won a proverbial Gold Medal. This project like many others managed by Garmendale was delivered on time and within budget. The millions who watched on television were never aware of the effort, energy and human endeavour that the team put into what sounds like a run of the mill job. One of the team was overheard during a break saying “I am glad jobs like this only come along only once every four years”!

Accreditations & Associations