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When the Olympic Flame arrives in Beijing on March 31, 2008, one woman will watch its progress through the torch relay more closely than any other. Sydneysider Di Henry is the mastermind behind the complex event that will see the torch travel through 29 cities including Istanbul, London, Paris, San Francisco, Buenos Aires, Mumbai, Seoul and Hong Kong. One of the highlights will be the attempt to bring the Olympic Flame to the highest peak in the world, Mt Qomolangma (Mt Everest), an undertaking made by China when it bid for the Games.
“So many things can go wrong – from a torch bearer having a heart attack (which happened during the Sydney 2000 Olympic torch relay), to one of my team getting ill,” admits Henry. “There are so many things to worry about that you have to not worry. You have to say ‘Well, there you have it’, and fix these things as quickly as you can.”
As befits her experience and accolades, Henry is professional and relaxed. She has spent 20 years conceiving and managing large-scale, international events and her work has been formally recognised by the International Olympic Committee, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the International Special Events Society. She has also received the Order of Australia.
Henry started the international events company, Maxxam International, in November 2000 after the Sydney Games. Since then her company, which has five full-time staff, has organised the 2002 Queen’s Jubilee Baton Relay (Manchester Commonwealth Games), Melbourne 2006 Queen’s Baton Relay (Commonwealth Games) and acted as technical consultants to the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics torch relay (Italy) and the 2006 Doha Asian Games.
“We produce all the documents and plans for the operation of an event, do the advance operation, develop the route, arrange the celebrations, security of the whole area, air transport, medical backup and torch bearer recruitment,” says Henry, who has had a team on the ground in Beijing since mid-2006. “It was very hard to win business in China. Despite all our experience, we needed a two-year campaign to get the Beijing 2008 Olympics torch relay job.”
The success of the Maxxam effort, she says, has relied heavily on support from the Beijing office of the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) for contacts, setting up meetings, translations and other important information.
Henry has personally visited 16 of the 29 cities involved in the Beijing torch relay “making sure the route is going to work, training everyone and organising the day-to-day activities”.
So back to that Mt Everest challenge, which may span three months, and for which Henry reveals a bit of sleight of hand.
“We will have four mountaineering teams, with four lanterns, tackling the mountain from different angles,” she says. “When one of those teams nears the top, the domestic relay will be suspended while that team makes a final ascent and are filmed live for television.”
The pragmatic Henry is unfazed by the difficulties involved, including the weather that will dictate the peak must be reached in May.
“If anyone can do it, the Chinese can,” she says. With a little help from one of the world’s most accomplished events organisers.
