It's (somehow) 10 years since the 2012 Summer Olympics were hosted in London — a proud moment for the capital indeed, but also one which photographer Simon Roberts says was a period reminiscent of the 1948 Olympics held in London, known as the austerity games.
"London 2012, it was widely claimed," says Roberts, "presented an opportunity for the British public, and indeed much of the rest of the world, to momentarily forget the economic gloom that surrounded us."
Roberts was offered comprehensive access to the Games, and invited to create an 'alternative, artistic' take on this holy grail of sporting events.
He came up with The London Olympiad, a photo essay which focusses not so much on the individual sporting spectacles, but the relationship between the athletes, judges, broadcasters and the public — the entire mise en scene.
On the 10th anniversary of Roberts' work, the photographer has released a number of photos previously never-before-seen by the public — including the 10 here.
As with the rest of Roberts' London Olympiad series, crowds, technical setups and the built environment are at the heart of these photos. It's like pulling a wide-shot on magical sporting moments, and experiences everything in a wider context: the camera crews, the adjudicators with their laptop screens, the fans up in the nosebleed seats of the Aquatics Centre.
With stunning opening and closing ceremonies, an ingenious transformation of some of London's best-known landmarks — and at one point, three British athletes winning gold medals within 44 minutes — the Games certainly played their part helping the country cast off its woes.
As for whether or not the efficacy was long term, says Roberts: "London 2012 feels like an event from a different time altogether, whilst the promised legacies of that summer (with its eye-watering price tag) are still being debated with opinions very much divided."
Check out more of Roberts' 2012 Games images on Artimage.
