Four thoughts on Two Years To Go

A day of travelling in East London courtesy of a garishly-pink London 2012 bus - part of a fleet taking the media and officials around the Olympic Park - is followed by a day in the office thinking about some of the lessons from the "Two Years To Go" celebrations. Here are four for starters.

1. The London Olympic Park has the 'wow' factor. For much of London's Olympic journey there's been a spot of British pessimism that has assumed Beijing would win hands down in terms of buildings and venues.

It's still the case that the Bird's Nest Stadium in 2008 was a piece of brilliance. But viewed collectively, London has come up with a great Park. The people on the tour yesterday loved the velodrome and the aquatics centre; they saw the potential of the basketball arena, which can be illuminated in a similar way to China's Water Cube; and they were knocked out by being inside the main stadium, where you can already imagine the atmosphere there'll be for a big day of athletics.

The landscaping of the whole site is starting to happen, with trees and 'wild' flowers alongside the waterways. And we shouldn't forget the range of other venues ready to come into play - from Wimbledon and Lord's to Horseguards and Greenwich. This adds up to a reason for pride not embarrassment.

2. Organising the city and the transport during the Games remains a huge challenge. It's daft to extrapolate from an avowedly rough-and-ready day yesterday, but wandering around St Pancras Station looking for a Javelin train to the Park led to wrong turnings for Londoners despite the volunteers in red t-shirts - and it will be even more tricky for the Chinese, Namibians and Peruvians who'll be here in 2012.

I've written before too about the need to get the media buses right - not because journalists should have better treatment than other people but because their writing about a bad experience (see Atlanta 1996 and Vancouver 2010) can cloud some of the bigger successes.

Yesterday had a forgivable example when the buses became jammed in the Olympic Stadium and there was an edge of tension building among some of the crews - but it points to the need to get it right down to the last detail. Seasoned Olympic observers remain worried about the transport in London in 2012.

3. We will go into the Olympics with views still polarised about whether they should be happening here at all. The evidence from the BBC London poll is that support in the capital is still growing and the national polling has always been favourable too.

This is a more united host country than many at a comparable stage. But I came across Mark Littlewood's piece online and some will still feel as he does, though it's extraordinarily unlikely that his wish for half-empty stadiums and low TV audiences will come true.

What is important for the BBC is that we reflect all shades of UK opinion, and I was pleased to hear some tough questioning in our output from the Olympic Park. We have to maintain the focus on the legacy of these Olympics.

In the time I've been doing this job I've come to like part of London I never knew before: Newham, Tower Hamlets and Hackney. The promises made to the people living there, in some of the most diverse communities anywhere in the world, should be delivered.

4. Audience interest is growing, though it remains at different speeds. We had a strong response to the launch of the BBC London 2012 website yesterday, and I was delighted with the BBC News coverage from Breakfast and the main bulletins through to the afternoon special with Sophie Raworth and Jake Humphrey. 5 live was on top form, too; and anecdotally, people are already liking "World Olympic Dreams". I've seen some of the debate on Digital Spy and you won't be surprised to know I agree with wizzywick more than stevvy1986 but we've always been conscious that we have to tread a line between delivering content now for people who want it and not banging the drum too early.

I'd never claim we're perfect, but I've no doubt a significant landmark like Two Years To Go deserved the kind of airtime it got yesterday. And that includes applause from me for Newsnight, for proudly saying it would remain an Olympic-free zone.

So there are my four thoughts for today. As ever, I'd welcome yours.