As well as supporting our alumni competing in the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, the University of Birmingham is also celebrating the success of several students and graduates who have been playing their part without having to don a pair of trainers or a swimming cap.

The Olympics opening ceremony was watched by more than 26m people in the UK alone and was helped onto the stage and screen by Drama and Theatre Arts graduates Shaun Corcoran and Holly Dover, and second year student Francesca Hey.

Shaun was Assistant Stage Manager for the ceremony and will also be involved in the closing ceremony and the Paralympic opening and closing ceremonies, while Holly was a Games Maker, performing as one of Dizzee Rascal’s dancers. Francesca was also a Games Maker, working backstage at the ceremony, an opportunity which she found through the University’s Facebook page.   

Elsewhere, English and Drama graduate Jack Nicholls has been working as a commentator for the Olympic Broadcasting Service, covering handball, hockey, volleyball, basketball and water polo while medical student Susie Beck has been working with the USA delegation at the games as a National Olympic Committee Assistant.

She has also been finding time to write about her experiences for the Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/susie-beck/

Finally a number of students are also involved in the Birmingham Opera Company’s performance of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s opera Mittwoch aus Licht [Wednesday from Light] as part of the London 2012 Festival for the Cultural Olympiad.

Congratulations to all of our students past and present who are involved in the London 2012 Olympic Games and helping to make history.

ENDS