LHC computing (WLCG): past, present, and future

The LCG project, and the WLCG Collaboration, represent a more than 10-year investment in building and operating the LHC computing environment. This article gives some of the history of how the WLCG was constructed and the preparations for the accelerator start-up. It will discuss the experiences and lessons learned during the first 3 year run of the LHC, and will conclude with a look forwards to the planned upgrades of the LHC and the experiments, discussing the implications for computing.