I was reflecting back on the London Olympics this past weekend and recalled one of the most amazing aspects - that I personlly experienced when I attended the Beijing and Vancouver Games - is being a member of the so-called 'Olympic Family'.  I'm not speaking about the T3 car service that you may have heard about, which enables you to go the queue of Official Cars, climb in and have the driver whisk you through special traffic-free lanes to the next sport venue on your list of events you plan to attend (which is indeed an extraordinary experience in itself); rather I am talking about the Olympic Family sections in each venue.

With all of the discussion around the billions of dollars spent on security at the Olympics, the one very cool thing at the Games is that security in the Olympic Family sections is dialed back to virtually zero.  But let me first explain what these 'best seats in the house' special sections are.  As I understand it, they are intended to allow any and all international sport federation accredited officials the ability to watch any event, i.e. a section of seats are held open in case someone shows up.  With this special accreditation, no ticket for a specific seat in the stadium is needed.  You arrive at the venue in a T3 car, enter through a special VIP entrance that leads to a lounge where you can refresh yourself with snacks, fruit or beverages (all offered gratis by Olympic sponsors, of course).  From the lounge you have direct access to the Olympic Family section of seats, within which you can sit anywhere you want.

Because there are no tickets, neither assigned seats, any member of the OF can sit whereever they want.  Because of this, you can find yourself sitting next to Lord Sebastien Coe, president of the LOCOG; behind Kate and William or Harry;  or just a row below other celebs, royalty, or sport official and his/her famiy...  It is quite amazing to have all the barriers that normally stand between people of different social/political stations removed entirely in this setting!  And adding that egalitarian aspect to the overal experience of being a spectator when an Olympic record is shattered or the host nation wins a medal makes attending the Olympic Games that much more spectacular than watching any other top-level sporting event in the world.  For a brief period, the hierarchy becomes flat and we all cheer the world's finest Olympic athletes as equals.