- 1 Jul 08, 04:54 PM
In just a few weeks London Mayor Boris Johnson will be handed the Olympic flag to signal the start of the Olympiad in Britain. But is the country ready and willing to embrace the Games in 2012?
What does the London Olympics mean to you? Are you excited or do you feel detached? As costs spiral, is your region losing out? Is it a Games for London or for the whole of Britain?
Now's your chance to speak directly to the people in charge and tell them exactly what you think.
On Monday night on 5 Live Sport from 1910-2030 BST, Lord Sebastian Coe and Olympics minister Tessa Jowell join Brian Alexander in the studio and will be ready to take all your questions on 2012.
It is also being streamed live on the BBC Sport website.
You can call in on the night on 0500 909693 or e-mail the programme anytime at FiveLiveSport@bbc.co.uk
In the build-up to the show, we want to kick-off the debate here on the Olympics blog and hear your stories on how the London Olympics is affecting you right now.
Do you have a personal or business project being hampered because Lottery funding has been diverted to the Olympics?
Or maybe you feel strongly about the amazing legacy this event could provide the country?
Get your thoughts on this blog, or save them for the show on Monday.
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I feel that the Olympics show that we do not have a media that subjects claims made by the authorities to rigorous testing. The budget was full of holes, as could easily have been exposed during the bidding process if the media had deployed financially literate journalists. But we were duped, and right now I feel that we are just being taken advantage of by the IOC, which designs the games in such a way that they are ludicrously expensive. We should scrap the Olympic village (ever heard of hotels, IOC?), the media centre and most of the security (if you're too afraid to travel then don't). Grass roots sport, the arts, and heritage are being wrung dry to fund this monster, and I am already sick and tired of the hype. What is the Olympics in any case? A collection of championships in sports that almost everyone ignores almost all of the time. Please IOC, make Athens the permanent venue, and stop taking advantage of the credulity of candidate cities.
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2012 means that I for the 1st time and he last time in my life I will be able to witness the cream of the Worlds athletes striving for victory. I will be retired so will be free to choose my days and my sports. Pity cricket is not there but I will be able to see football shooting sailing and athletics. I am saving for tickets. Hope there will be agencies that I will be able to buy tickets. I am so excited to see the premier showpiece of athletes in my own country and not on television
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Sadly the Olympics mean absolutely nothing to me.
This is purely a London event, and yes I know its London 2012, but there has so far been no attempt to include the rest of the country in the games - well except the paying for it!
I bet my parents house on the fact that travel companies, train fares, and every other means of transport will quadruple their prices meaning that its going to cost an absolute fortune to get there.
2012 is a perfect chance for a keen hockey player like myself to experience the top class games...but there is no doubt in my mind ill be priced out of that opportunity, which is a shame but im sure Coe and his cronies wont care.
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London 2012 is a plaything of Coe and his cronies. This bid was never about the people, it was about regenerating London and massaging already overinflated ego's. Just look at the people associated with the whole project Coe, Woodward, Holmes, Redgrave all very successful in their ow right but completely detached from mainstream Britain.
I am annoyed that something as potentially great as the Olympic games was conceived in such a deceptive and noninclusive way. No doubt the entire British public will still be paying for the games long after Coe and his cronies have cashed in their options and walked away.
We won't even have the benefit of new sports stadias, like most countries that host the games. The Olympic stadium, which is going to cost £500m will be pulled down after the games, no doubt to make way for luxury apartments (I wonder who will benefit from that?). The only facility that will remain will become property of the Armed forces once the closing ceremony finishes.
No the only legacy the British public will be left with is a huge debt (only god knows what the final figure will be) and the ability to watch Coe's crew swan around with their peerages telling us what a great job they have done without telling us how much they got paid to do it!
One thing I would like to say to Coe is that, he may get constant commendations from his circle of cronies, but the fact that support for the games is sporadic at best tells me this project has failed from the start to the end. The Olympics is meant to be about involvement, from what I have seen from London 2012, this Olympics is about Lords, Knights and Dames being given large amounts of money to tell "laymen" how it is and how it is going to be. I don't like this classist approach to running what is meant to be a public project.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
What does the 2012 Olympics mean to me?
Nothing, it's purely a London event that will not benefit me or the majority of the rest of the country.
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London 2012 will last for 16 days, yet we are having a 7 or 8 year build up for it. We are spending billions on an event that will only last just over 2 days, when most of that money could hav gone to charities and they could have just had an olympic games at stadiums that were already built. Sebastian Coe has said it would benefit everybody, but i cant see how london 2012 is going to benefit people outside london in this country, or even most people in london. For me the games in london is more unbeneficial then it is beneficial
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All the 2012 Olympics mean to me is another opportunity to show the world that the English government / sports authorities can't successfully orgainise anything. The Millenium dome, wembley stadium spring to mind and unfortunately the Olympics seem to be heading the same way. I really hope I'm wrong but i fear not.
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correction- last just over 2 weeks and 2 days, i blame suyang for dat tvf
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There are numerous aspects discrediting the Olympic movement as a whole, not least is the truisms that a hosting-bid HAS to miss-lead both the IOC and the host-population in order to prevail; deliberately under-estimating costs, over-estimating benefits etc.
Now that the TRUE costs, problems and practical logistics are coming to the fore (all of which were totally predictable to those who were prepared to see) the result is nothing short of a scandal.
As for the London 2012 project being a shot-in-the arm for UK grass-roots sport. . PLEASE!! How many grass-roots sporting venues have been confiscated and given-over to elite training since winning the bid? How many small sports-clubs have had grants with-held to boost the London Olympics coffers? They say that this is not happening, but my direct experience tells me otherwise.
Yes, it will all take place. Yes, hundreds of hours of TV will be successfully filled, and many egos will be massaged. But will the UK be a fitter, better place? I doubt it.
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Where to begin on what the olympics mean to me...
To me, the Olympics signal how truely and utterly focused the powerful in this country are focused on our "capital". When Manchester and Birmingham launched Olympic bids no attempt was made by the wider country to encourage it and they were both subject to ridicule in the media.
A few years later London fancies its chances and i cant get away form the London Olympic bid, Coe's constantly ramming it down my throat and theres always footage of some "event" taking place outside Buckingham palace etc to bolster the bid. When the new Wembeley was being built, a competition was held to see which city should place home to the national football ground. Manchester won that competition, but the powers that be thought it better to place it in london. Why? To help the bid of course!
The commonwealth games were a great success for Greater Manchester but during the games, on one of my rare trips into Moss Side, i couldnt help but think that large flower pots and flags did nothing to conceal the issues or needs of the area. Of course they were removed once the games finished, so its business as usual in one of the most deprived areas in the country. But oh no wait! £4billion on regeneration in East London for the Olympics? What a brilliant idea! Lets hope the poorest areas of Glasgow get extra large flowerpots and really shiny flags when the commonwealths hit town in 2014
Then theres the budget, laughable as it was then, atrocious as it is now, astronomical as its set to become. I wonder who's going to foot the bill for that eh? Well, seeing as 95p of every tax pound i pay goes straight to whitehall it doesnt take a genius to figure out who, does it?
Fact is, I'd be quite happy for the games to come to London or any other City in this country. The fact also remains however, that the way this whole farce has been conducted is a slap in the face to those of us who live outside the "capital" and want to see our own areas prosper. These lengths would not be gone to anywhere outside London and in 2008, i think it's horrendous.
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Seb - I back the Olympics 100%. It was inevitable being the country that we are that people will moan about the Olympics, if they were not moaning about that it would be them moaning about something else - be it immigration, terminal 5 at Heathrow, the NHS, the police, the state of our society etc. The Aussie's were right when the coined the phrase of a 'whingeing pomme'.
Athens 2004 was panned before it started, but in the end it was a success when it came around and I suspect the country will get excited about 2012 as it gets closer and closer. Stick to your guns, 2012 will be a huge success.
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Can't people just rise above pure cynicism? We have the Olympics, the so-called 'greatest show on earth'. It will be here.
If some doubters could really have done a better job, then they would all quite probably be in far better vocations than they are currently. I ask who could possibly do a better job?
Who better than (Lord) Seb Coe? Who better than (Sir) Steve Redgrave? Are the journalists who condemn and criticise the costs experts in the field? No, they're journalists. Try working in the construction industry to find out how costs really work. Try estimating a value with no idea what you are dealing with yet. But that is the point - it is an 'estimate'. If you believe costs will not escalate, please go back to cloud cuckoo land.
Are there politics involved? Do fish swim?
And the pressure of getting everything ready in time etc, will push prices up and up, of that there is no doubt. But other less high profile construction works have suffered similarly.
And yes the Games are in London. Do all the other cities that hold the Games spread the events around the country? Not necessarily. It was the fact that it was based around London that got us the games in the first place.
By all means criticise, but not just because you can; do it because you want this to be successful and are simply a concerned taxpayer..
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What does it mean to me here in the north of England? Nothing.
PS: Note to the sub editors. I see you used an outdated picture of Coe in front of the old logo. Are you secretly also ashamed of the ghastly new one?
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'When Manchester and Birmingham launched Olympic bids no attempt was made by the wider country to encourage it and they were both subject to ridicule in the media.'
The IOC stated, that the only way the UK could successfully bid for an Olympic games would be if London was the candidate city not Birmingham or Manchester. You have to face facts - that is why those cities never stood a chance.
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Manchester and Birmingham launched bids in 1992 and 1996, way before the IOC said that.
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Can't wait for the games, i think they'll be fantastic and all the moaners and negatives will disappear. No matter where I'm living at the time I hope to be able to attend a lot of the events and soak up what should be a great atmosphere. Stuff how much it costs, I'm confident it will make a profit in the end and benefit this country and London in the long run.
Once every four years I spend hours in front of the television (usually in the middle of the night!) cheering on British people in obscure sports I know nothing about as well as the major ones I do, and I for one can't wait until they are here to see them live.
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Fiasco With Costing!
Lack Of Medals!
Empty Venues After!
Only thing UK should hold is Football, Rugby or Cricket World Cups……………
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It's already £230 return on the train from Manchester to London, by 2012 it will be £300. Plus the likely £100 a day tickets, that means it will cost someone from the North West in the region of £1000 to watch 1 days worth of obscure sports. Magic, that's what I call value for money.
I mean our boys in Afghanistan may be ill-equipped, but let's not forget what's important is to fritter the money away on yet another vanity project at the behest of our glorious diktat-wielding tinpot wastrels of a governing uber-communist party.
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Will all this whinging stop! The Olympics comes to a country/city maybe once in a lifetime. It's a time for celebration. So much so that I'm inclined to say whatever the cost.
London is Europe's most dynamic, most culturally diverse, most successful capital city.
It generates far more to the coffers of UK plc than it takes. The regions benefit from London's continued success with the billions generated in revenue. It has the GDP of a mid size developed country.
Cast your minds back all you whingers to the fantastic day London "won" the right to host 2012. Then the poignant earth shattering reminder the day after that there are those that wish to impose their will on us the British people.
This tragic event heightens the importance of London showing the world that peace and human endeavour will triumph.
Whatever the fiscal cost.
Bring it on London!
PS Oh the logo. It's great!
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'Manchester and Birmingham launched bids in 1992 and 1996, way before the IOC said that.'
Yeah and I suspect the IOC had the samethoughts way back then as well. Whatever you say, on a world scale London sits head and shoulders above other British cities when it comes to international recognition and was always going to be our best bet for holding the games.
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'I mean our boys in Afghanistan may be ill-equipped, but let's not forget what's important is to fritter the money away on yet another vanity project at the behest of our glorious diktat-wielding tinpot wastrels of a governing uber-communist party.'
I support the guys in Afganistan, but a number of people probably have the same view on the invasion of Iraq - it was a waste of resources and we should not be wasting billions on an illegal war.
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So many people keep going on about how it won't help the rest of the country and only London
Study Economics and then have an opinion
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"So many people keep going on about how it won't help the rest of the country and only London. Study economics and then have an opinion."
I was just having a bit of lauch with my earlier post....No-one has to study economics to understand the fact that the Olympics will lose a great deal of money for this country. It simply will not generate enough profit to pay for itself, no modern Olympics has. Has anyone ever been to the Olympic stadium in Barcelona? Looks great bit it's pretty much useless now.
We all recognise that in these times of finance and service industries the majority of wealth from those industries is generated in London. I guess most people are just a bit miffed that unless you live in London, it's going to cost a fortune to get there and stay there to watch. And you can't really deny that it's having an impact on the way lottery funding is distributed in the rest of the country.
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I am incredibly excited that the games will be in London. I'm sure there will be problems and I'm sure there will be whinging, but I can't wait for the games to arrive.
I plan to spend as much time as possible watching them in person and I look forward to supporting some of the more unusual and less popular sports as well.
If people were willing to look beyond the end of their noses they'd realise that this is a fantastic opportunity and that it should be seized with both hands.
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The idea of a UK football team should be dropped immediately. It has received no support from the SFA,FAW or IFA.
In some sports, you have people competing for Britain. But football is a sport where each country has independance and there is no sense in trying to undermine this.
There is also little or no support for this in the greater public.
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As a Londoner, I wish that the Olympics were to be held in Birmingham or better still - Paris. What soul that survived Thatcher's destruction of East London is about to be well and truly wiped out by this pointless overgrown sports day. Seb, In terms of gaining plaudits and future directorships from your money men friends, you've won. In terms of gaining respect and goodwill from real people, you've lost.
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irvtheswerv
Thank you for putting me right. I better burn my BA and Masters in Economics and leave my well paid job in London and go live elsewhere so I can complain like you
It's not just a case about revenue - costs = profit in the short run. Put down the Daily Mail and seriously pick up a text on macro-economics
Aggregate Demand will increase in the long run as well as having tangible and non-tangible benefits to some of the poorest parts of our land.
London accounts for 20% of the UK economy and 15% of the country's jobs. London attracts the best and brightest workers from around the world, draws tourists to the UK and acts as a funnel for business and capital investment to regional areas.
I would say that the Olympics was desired for political gain over economic gain at the beginning, however there are many benefits in the long run for the economy (even with all this craze over the costs)
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Awesome - I am so pleased 2012 is in London.
The Olympics is surely the greatest sporting event in the world and we should be proud to have it staged in this country.
I'm getting all the tickets I can!
I just wish that we in the UK could manage a budget properly...
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I think the question you've got to ask yourself is, "For the money its costing, who cares?".
Every taxpayer in the country is having the vast majority of their money being pumped into the Olympics. Now take all those millions of Tax Payers and ask them whether they actually care about the Olympics enough to have their money being spent on the London2012 over other uses for tax payers money.
If the London2012 commitee was limited to simply spending the taxes from people who wanted the Olympics, they'd find their budget reduced to a shoe-string.
I'm from Bolton, close to some horrid areas, nevermind the even worse areas in Manchester. My tax is going almost solely to regenerating London, and providing people who live in London (and the odd few Olympics enthusiasts who are rich enough to travel to London to see any events) with the chance to see the Olympics. Does that mean that when the Olympics are finished, the government is going to use everyones tax to regenerate Moss Side and then host the Football World Cup in Bolton? I think not.
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'Every taxpayer in the country is having the vast majority of their money being pumped into the Olympics.'
Ummm, whilst I agree that a fair amount is going there. I would suggest that the 'vast majority' of my tax money is going on paying for the NHS, UK wide road infrastructure, police, fire services, local and national government, the armed forces etc... All in all, only a small % goes on paying for the Olympics and you may find that it is London residents who are paying for a lot of the extra costs through council tax increases.
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Re 15 - I completely agree. Well said!
To everyone whingeing that they're from out of London and it's unfair it's being held there - yes you're completely right - they should have bveen held in Hull.
Get real - Olympics generally are in the biggest cities. Manchester staged the Commonwealth games not so long ago - did we hear everyone from the South complaining then? We should just be happy it's in this country.
As for it not helping the economy - that is complete nonsense - it called the multiplier effect - think of all the employment and business gains from just preparing for the Games never mind when they are on and afterwards. And i can gurantee you that some of my tax money has been used to help regenerate Moss Side - but maybe because I've never been there I should declare that an unfair use of national resources.
Finally Re 17: that is the nature of taxtation - you pay your taxes for NHS services for example- it doesn't mean you will ever actually use all of them
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The finally was to post 32 not 17
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I believe London 2012 represents a massive opportunity and I thoroughly support it.
Sport has and continues to play a huge part in my life and I want to be involved in 2012, somehow. I am not a member of any organized club so can’t comment on funds being reallocated but I do use the many sporting venues London offers on a weekly basis.
My details have been registered with the official London site since the Olympics were first awarded but I’m still waiting to hear anything back. I regularly check the official blog and website and I’ve enjoyed reading them. Suggestion for you, as you’ve already got the email addresses of those who registered their interest surely you can easily push regular email updates aswell (might help the detachment issue, get people to Crystal Palace later this month, start building the legacy now, not in a few years time etc)?
Basically, having the two sites is great, please let people know about them!
(and let us know when we can actually do something tangible rather than read about spiraling costs and negative bah humbugging all the time)
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I see the Olympics as an oportunity to showcase Britains sights to the world, unfortunately since it is only in London this is not possible, and i also thought it would be a chance for the deprived areas to be given a boost, i can not see a single change so far and theres only four years left and we the public are paying huge sums of money for something which most of us will not see
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I don't have a problem with the 2012 London Olympics and we are looking forward to having the opertunity to see the worlds top athletes in action.
It's very British to moan at everything and, for some reason, always bring location into the arguments. London is our capitial city and should have the games. We should all get behind it where ever it is being held, there are roads and railway links to London from other cities you know!!
Another reason that alot of people aren't behind it are things like the ridiculous logo, Lord Coe said that soon we'll all like the logo but it still looks rubbish, it's an embarrsssement. I would hate to see the ones that didn't get approved if that was the best one! Lord Coe swallow your pride at get a new logo.
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We have one of the largest economies in the world and yet we haven't held the largest celebration of human physical achievement in our country since 1948.
What does that say about our priorities as a nation?
It portrays us as a miserable, penny pinching lot who resent the event being held in our nation's capitol if the posts on this blog are anything to go by.
This event will demonstrate to the world that our celebrated nation of Great Britain remains at the forefront of international affairs.
Well done to this government, Seb Coe and anyone else who contributed to this achievement for all the effort they have put in.
I am Welsh, by the way and I live in the Midlands so I feel completely unbiased in making these comments.
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"Yeah and I suspect the IOC had the samethoughts way back then as well. Whatever you say, on a world scale London sits head and shoulders above other British cities when it comes to international recognition and was always going to be our best bet for holding the games."
That doesnt make a difference to my overall argument. I can readily accept that Manchester has a long way to go if its going to get where it wants to be, no one in the city would begrudge that. The point i was making that our London based media ridiculed the idea of these cities hosting the Olympics and then shoved it down down our throats when our beloved "capital" decided to give it a go.
It indicates the London centric nature our country and indicates that a change in attitude needs to be made. As i said, i'm really not against the games being held in London, what i AM against is the way London is becoming a vaccuous hole draining most of the resources our country has to offer.
And for those of you who say whats good for London is good for the rest of the uk, tell that the the family in a northern city living on a housing estate that hasnt seen any government money for years, or the council members who try and cobble together a half decent public transport budget while (to name but one example) 16(or 19, i cant remember which) BILLION is being spent to improve transport between Heathrow airport and the City of London. That amount could do a lot more for 5 different cities, but of course plans to increase the whole of Greater Manchester's pretty poor metrolink system were halted asfter 200 millino had been spent in preparation because it was estimated they would cost 500 million.
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Yes there are problems with the budget etc. but I can't help but be excited by the olympics being held in London. The current state of althletics in this country at the moment is amazing - the talent out there is phenomenal - perhaps with the most potential of any sport that Britain participates in. It will quite simply be amazing to see British people representing us, in our own country and doing us proud. This can only be good for Britain - and for the development of a sport that is still painfully under-funded and supported. Get behind those people that are actually doing some good in the country and give them all the support you can muster. I, for one, cannot wait. Roll on 2012.
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I don't live in Lodon, so the Olympics means nothing to me.
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I live in London and it STILL doesn't mean anything to me!
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Teams from all over the world will be coming, yes, to London for the actual games, but these athletes do not simply turn up the day before they compete. Countries have training camps many weeks before the games in various locations throughout the UK - therefore affecting other areas of the country. Plus tourists are likely to visit other areas of the country when coming over.
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A excuse for more cctv cameras.
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Sorry, AN excuse :)
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