- 22 Aug 08, 04:02 AM
International Broadcast Centre, Beijing
On Sunday afternoon a global audience of many billions will watch the Olympics closing ceremony in Beijing's Bird's Nest.
A chance for China to bid farewell to the Games - probably with a huge collective sigh of relief at pulling off such a magnificent sporting show, without (so far) the feared protests, pollution and positive drug test fest, talk of which dogged the build up.
Normally, that would be it, the British media would pack up and go home along with the athletes and we'd all remind ourselves what a football looks like.
Just in case you'd forgotten, this time round it's different as for Britain it's the start of our four-year journey to host the greatest show on earth.
There will be an eight-minute segment in Sunday's ceremony (starts 1300 BST) when the Olympic flag is handed to London mayor Boris Johnson (let's hope he combs his hair), and 2012 organisers get the chance to give a little foretaste of what is to come.
On paper, the signs are not great - it's an open secret that we'll see David Beckham and Leona Lewis on top of a London bus.
But a colleague (a hard-bitten hack not prone to letting sporting authorities of the hook) who is privy to the details but has been sworn to secrecy, says the soundtrack is "fantastic" and that we'll all be pleasantly surprised.
The ceremony will be relayed live in the UK on all BBC outlets - and also shown on the network of big screens up and down the country - and organisers hope it will spark a similar sense of excitement we saw back in 2005 when the Games were awarded.
They want people to film themselves celebrating - and post the video on their 2012 You Tube site, with the best ones shown on the big screens.
Check it out - it certainly got me in the mood.
So anyway - as the focus switches to London - I'm interested to know what you'd like to know about Britain's preparations for 2012.
If you have any burning questions - about the organisation, the building, the funding, the likely stars, let me know and we'll get the answers for you.
The Games are (nearly) over; let the Games begin.
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Comments
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I’d like to see Britain start a new trend – instead of being Bigger and Better – why not Safer and Cleaner – let’s go for the environmental friendly approach – ensuring all the new complexes run on Solar power and all the transport vehicles are electric or alternative fuel – this would force our cities to provide alternative fuelling stations and give us all something worth while for the future.
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The olympics is the perfect showcase for showing the world what this country could be capable of. But it's also a showcase to get people in Great Britain playing sports.
I think every schoolchild in the UK should be given the opportunity to go and watch. So my question is this.
What assurances are there in place that Ticket prices will be made easily available and cheap? Please don't let it turn into a Premiership football match, wimbledon or 6 nations rugby match.
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Isn't it sad that this nation(UK)will be more interested in the Beckhams involvement in the ceremony on sunday? just how many times will the BBC cameras close in on mrs Beckham? here is a couple who's total involvement in the Olympic movement is 0, what special treatment will this couple get in 2012? light the torch? carry the flag? will a medal be awarded for press manipulation? will the London games go down as the Beckham games? just how sad and purile can this country get before this sad couple are ignored and London 2012 can be a spotlight on actual OLYMPIC COMPETITORS? we are Great Britain but if this infatuation with celebrity continues then 2012 will become the laughing stock of the world, do the nation a favour BBC, ignore them.
I wonder if a petition would be the way to go?
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Clearly a huge amount of investment has gone already, and will be going into the elite end of sport. Seb Coe keeps promising a legacy for sports participation in the UK. Id like to see the plan for this ahead of the Olympics - as in Australia - even after hosting the Sydney Games and Melbourne Commonwealth Games obesity is now ranked higfhest in the world amongst Australians. Im concerned that schools have lost playing fields, local sports and clubs lost lottery funding all diverted to fund elite sport. At present there is no evidence that sports paerticipation is increasing in the UK. Finally what about the advertising that goes on in sport - its oven chips in athletics, lots of sugary drinks everywhere - what about some healthier messages coming through? Come on Seb - lets have this strategy on the table - not empty promises.
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What will the 25,000 seater stadium look like and who will run it, and what will it be designed for?
Where (which city) will the 55,000 derigged seat portion go to.? Basically where will a new 50,000-55,000 seat stadium be built.? Should the organisers have a firm idea and deal in place to avoid a Millenium Done scenario where a) 55,000 seats don't find a home and a second legacy athletics stadium never materialises in the UK? An afterthought in essence!?
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I know that the legasy for shooting is often questioned as it has been decided (against the wishes of just about everyone in the sport) that there will be no perminant legasy in terms of buildings, so my question is: What is the shooting legasy going to be??
The UK doesnt have a world class shooting facitlity but the excuse that we already have one (which we technically dont) has been used as the justification that we dont need another one. I'd love to see the perons who argues that the UK only needed one olympic swimming pool, or one velodrome. the government hates the idea of more people especailly children shooting. so in 5 years how is shooting going to be better off then it is today?
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I thought there was plenty of shooting in London.
There are libraries in London where people can read books and, maybe, learn how to spell legacy.
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Why did we have to wait for today to have Claire Balding commentating on the Modern Pentathlon "show jumping" (if you can call it that)?
Today's superb ladies event has been much more interesting (than yesterday's men's excellent event) with Claire's expert comments, you've enhanced it. Well done - it's not often that I praise a commentator.
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Will the ban on the flags of nations not officially entered in the Olympics be enforced in London as it has been in Beijing?
I can see why this is a good idea re some of the world's flashpoints and Team GB (actually UK) has probably benefited and has seemed very united
Would the Olympics in London be better with the Saltire or flag of St George and if not how can this possibly be enforced?
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Is it possible for members of the public to apply to be volunteer positions in the London Olympics? If so, which positions would be available, what qualifications (if any) would be required and how would one go about applying?
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"Is it possible for members of the public to apply to be volunteer positions in the London Olympics? If so, which positions would be available, what qualifications (if any) would be required and how would one go about applying?" All you need to be is someone who is willing to work for nothing while the sponsors earn millions from the advertising of their products.
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Will we stifle all protests, field 14 year old gymnasts and tell the talented singers they're too ugly to sing on our tv screens? If not why not?
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In the school holidays I watched some lively sports hungry youngsters next door to me playing tennis, football, etc. on the front garden and across the road. No doubt their parents couldn't afford to enrol them in a sports course and were afraid of bullying at the local park. I'm disappointed at the lack of any linitiatives to give young people a chance to try all sorts of sports (FOR FREE) at a local level. I thought that encouraging the youth into sport was one of our winning points for the 2012 games. No sign of it here near Reading. Although I don't begrudge the money spent on possible 2012 gold medal participants, how can you find the gold medal prospects for the future or imbue a love of sport if all the money goes on those who are already at the top of the game (and, no doubt a lot of junkeying by the grey suits involved)?
Dissatisfied from Reading
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#12 - wombletiltheend
1..will we stifle protests? - tick
David Kelly tries to raise doubts about WMD dossier and he ended up being outed and you know the rest....
2..field 14 year old gymnasts - tick
step forward diving sensation - Tom Daley
3..tell talenled singers they're too ugly to sing on TV - tick
X-Factor does that well enough
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Haha, excellant. We are on course to match Beijing then.
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Why is it called Team GB? Why do we not compete as Team UK? I would be seriously peeved if I was from Northern Ireland and competing in a team which did not officially recognise my existence. Surely something can be done to recognise everyone who is taking part.
I agree with the suggestion of making the 2012 games as green as possible, but sadly we have probably missed the chance for that. Everything was probably designed years ago.
I think sports are not encouraged in school here in the same way as they are abroad - in the US if you are in a sports team you practice several times a week for hours on end and it also involves gym time to boost strength and fitness etc - here on the other hand I had on hour of PE per week and if I was not in a team for anything I could get away with doing nothing at all in that time. More should be done to encourage sports in school and the government should demand more time be spent exercising. Other countries can fit it in and not lose out on time for other things so why can we not do it?
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Athletes from NI can choose to participate for Team GB or for Ireland. The GB team does not, therefore, represent the UK of Great Britain and NI.
The UK should do something completely different from China. The Beckhams aside I think we can still put on a great show on Sunday.
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Re 17. Thanks for that
Is this correct?
Ireland (rather than ROI) certainly play rugby (and maybe cricket). And so outside of ROI the tricolour is not flown officially and the national anthem not sung at those games
If a NI athlete opts to represent "Ireland" in the Olympics and wins a medal there will be both the tricolour and the anthem at the ceremony so it must be ROI.
Many NI athletes may well opt to represent Ireland but only because they are doubley qualified (especially since I think the Olympic designation "GBR" pre-dates the creation of the modern UK ie GB plus NI).
And since it is not the UK was the cyclist from the Isle of Man qualified for us?
I must admit I'm not 100% about what I have just written. Can we have an official clarification as to who we are cheering for?
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The Isle of Mann (and the channel islands) are not represented in the Olympic Games. Therfore athletes from those islands are qualified to represent Great Britain.
As an aside, can we arrange for a Team GB XI to take on the English football team? I would predict Team GB to win 3-0 as the football prima donnas tire and start moaning about not being paid enough to play for England.
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Prices for the top events should be very high to keep Chavs out and maybe recoup some money. All are welcome to Handball and Archery though to keep numbers up in the stands.
I'M JOKING though. I don't know how to sort it.. although I was taking the mick, I guess you will be able to charge money for Athletics, Swimming and nothing for Greco-Roman Wrestling
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I wish people would be overly cynical and stop saying already 'well we'll never beat Beijing' and there opening ceremony. Of course we won't.
China hasn't approached these games as a massive sports event. They have targeted the entire games to be a political statement, an advert for Chinese advancement, and a catalyst for national modernization.
The Beijing games aren't just Olympics, they are a piece of propaganda, statement of intention, and a marker for future generations to see when the country became a superpower. As a result the Chinese government have given a 'whatever it takes' 'blank cheque' policy to the games.
We here in the UK just want to hold a great games and have our moment in the spotlight, we have no political agenda, we are not trying to dawn in a new age or convince the world we're superior.
And at least we get to voice opposition if we think it's going overbudget, the Chinese people didn't have that luxury
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IceGillan wrote:
"Isn't it sad that this nation(UK)will be more interested in the Beckhams involvement in the ceremony on sunday? just how many times will the BBC cameras close in on mrs Beckham? here is a couple who's total involvement in the Olympic movement is 0, what special treatment will this couple get in 2012? light the torch? carry the flag? will a medal be awarded for press manipulation? will the London games go down as the Beckham games? just how sad and purile can this country get before this sad couple are ignored and London 2012 can be a spotlight on actual OLYMPIC COMPETITORS? we are Great Britain but if this infatuation with celebrity continues then 2012 will become the laughing stock of the world, do the nation a favour BBC, ignore them."
Actully, David Beckham was a bug part of the Olympics to even come to London. He was in the campaign for London 2012 and he was at Singapore when the results came through and London got to host the Olympics.
The Olympians are getting enough fame as it is. Are you seriously saying get those Olympians to be in the closing ceremony after they've already competed numberous times and the media is already all around them?
They will get more recognition at 2012 too you know, they will probably carry a torch at one point or hold the GB flag...
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I have two questions - firstly, how will the ticketing process work - will people have to live/work in London to get a chance on tickets - one would hope not looking at how far away some of the sporting locations will be, or will there we a nationwide ballot? (or something else?)
My second question is whether the UK Sports bodies and British Olympic Committee will be looking to increase the number of British competitors across all sports, especially the team games (I understand the sporting political difficulties surrounding the football) but why don't we have a handball or water polo team at Bejing? We have less than half the number or representatives of China at this Olympics.
BTW, re: comment 11 - I thought this was supposed to be a blog to ask questions about the 2012 Olympics rather than make negative, cynical comments. Shame to reduce it to that level.
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Yesterday Sebastian Coe said that a lasting legacy for sport was the prime objective of the London Olympics.
How does he reconcile that statement with the decision to squander a huge amount of taxpayers money on a temporary shooting facility at Woolwich?
It will be interesting to see what happens to the Woolwich site after the shooting complex is demolished.
I am sure the future development there will earn a few people a lot of money.
The Olympic Games used to be about sporting excellence, and is now mainly about money.
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With cost so important we need to think about where the money goes . One example - Manchester velodrome is at the top level in te world so why build a new one ? Such duplication is counterproductive and its not the only example .
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
reply to zergon.
it means if we build another VELO we will win more GOLD..but not on track and field.
were its run by idiots.
LONG LIVE CYCLING....and rowing..and swimming..o..sailing...not the BLING EVENTS.
BUT WE WON.
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Will London allow other people to do what they can't do in Bejing? Can we shout free NI, free Scotland all over the place and let people climb up the Big Ben to hang up banners saying that the UK has poor human rights record? Could we turn the stadium into a political arena like Hyde Park Corner in the old days and debate why England invaded other countries?
I believe the answer has to be a big YES because the Brits are so tolerant and righteous over these issues. We could, as part of the opening ceremony, interrupt the torch relay in London, and proudly claim that we do this in order to protest BBC of being biased and still pretend to be neutral.
People can wait for 4 years to see the result.
I hope I do not break the house rule.
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I live near the A10 which used to be a ' Red Route ' but after London won the Games
all of a sudden all the red lines were removed and its rumoured its going to be one of the Olympic Roads - not for athletes but to allow all the Olympic Committees 26,000 aids to travel quickly by using a separate lane on a road which at some points only has two lanes - fines will be up to £ 750 if a Resident strays into it.
As the A10 does not go near any Olympic Village I cant see why they need this.
I dont mind athletes being moved about its all these hangers on that I object to.
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First and foremost the Olympics is about sport not one ceremony!
London 2012 is already a massive investment,which hopefully will be a legacy to the UK, although unfortunately will be based in a rather awful part of the UK.
London has a lot to live up to in its desire to impress the thousands of athletes and spectators who will come,but its not about some silly four hour opening ceremony we have to worry about,but the cleanliness of London as a whole. Especially the entrance by train from our major airports,depressing to say the least!
We have a rich historical heritage to parade,hopefully not some sudo modern, ethnically diverse culture mish mash,that makes one cringe with embarrassment,please.
Remember,a fantastic sporting event with great facilities for the future,not over budget. A boost for the UK as a whole and a role model to every person that sport is important in life, and so is competition!
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@22-Freddie, I know he was there but why was he there? is the UK so celebrity minded that the UK bid would only succeed if we had Beckham on board? what tosh, he was not needed and the bid would have been won without him, it was only our obsession with celebrity that had him there in the first place, that is just a travesty.
With the funding due to stay at just over 9 billion can we honestly say that the UK can put on a show? I doubt it, chances are that the X-factor winner in 2012 will be singing(gawd help us), will the spice girls reform(again), I can see the headlines now, big brother winner will open London Olympics, the entire BBC team will be replaced by Devina, with money unavailable the UK will have no choice but to pull in obscure celebs just to see us through.
Celebs will get more air time than marathon runners, if we had one ounce of integrity as a nation then all celebs would be banished from the UK for the 17 or so days but as we don't then I only see headlines stating BECKHAMS SON WATCHES GAMES SPORTING NEW HAIRCUT and the last paragraph under the headline will read- GB win gold in new world record- in very small letters.
Can people honestly say that this will never happen or do we as a nation live in cloud cuckoo land?
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The organisers want people to film themselves but the terms and conditions for the Visa party in The Mall say no video.Will we be able to bring a camcorder or camera?
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Why have the hippies been allowed to take control of this magnificent world event? Everyone whines about 'money that could be put into the NHS' and 'Global Warming!!'
Firstly, the NHS has had 70 years and over 6 governments to improve, it hasn't, and it won't. We seem to be so puritanical in this country that even at the idea of enjoyment, flamboyance or celebration, we run and hide behind our (saftey-railed) sofas!! Wouldn't we benefit for just one month, to celebrate, enjoy ourselves? Or have we become so used to the dreary and hopeless news that occupies our tvs that we would be lost without it.
Secondly, no one really cares about global warming. We'd be criticised at first, as was China, but then when they see what a ceremony the host nation puts on it is all forgotten, because people want that one month in four years to be special, worth remembering!
It is an event that we may never hold again in our lifetime! and we want to throw that away to old ladies refusing planning permission, the green-beans, and live up to our name as the 'most boring nation in Europe'??
I don't want that!!
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I'd like to know why David Beckham is being used to represent UK sporting achievement?
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It is a British trend to always look for negatives. So whatever happens on Sunday, or in four years time, will we learn our lesson to actually take something good out of an event, rather than search for negative?
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The olympics is holding in Britain in 2012. I would like to see a massive investment and think about environmental
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Could someone explain why Great britain is called Team GB, and is this what we can expect in 2012 ?
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I think that the biggest question indeed will be what is done with ticketing to make sure that as many people in the UK, particularly young people are able to attend and watch the olympics. Given that its London we're talking about, where the most expensive hotel prices in the country will probably quadruple for the fortnight of the games, cost is going to be a major issue for the people that will want to see these games.
On the David Beckham point, I think most people that take a serious interest in the Olympics completely agree that its a joke for us to say to the world that our ambassador of sporting excellence is not an olympian. That we can't find an olympic athlete good enough to be on that stage. Sir Steve Redgrave, Ben Ainslie (recently described by Jaques Rogue as being amongst the worlds greatest olympians), anyone that represents British olympics and sporting excellence. Footballers don't represent excellence, David Beckham spends as much time at his marketing agency as Chris Hoy spends on the track. I'm not criticising him for this, but I think there are much better ambassadors to choose. He's been selected to try and appeal to the bored masses of the British populous that don't watch the olympics because their mind isn't capable of focusing on more than just football. I say that its a terrible shame that we can't be like the rest of the world and be proud of our Olympic athlete, TRUE elite sportsmen and women.
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Will fencing be covered by the BBC NEXT time?!
In 4 years time, digital video bandwidth will be better, so hopefully.
Its really grating that if you decide to be the sole provider of Olympic coverage, you only show the popular events!
You can even put it on at 4am and it'll make fencers the country over happy.
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Is there no way that we can get out of the 2012 Olympics? We were lied to as to the costs in the original bid with a budget of 3.4 Billion this has aready escalated to 9.4 billion. The IOC chief has stated that we must do more. This is an absurd and pointless waste of money. It took 50 years to get rid of the slums resulting from the last olympics and now we are talking of doing it again at the cost of 20 hospitals. Paris must be laughing all the way to the bank
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Can you assure us that the opening ceremony will be a celebration of British culture and not a politically correct festival of every non british community to be found in london?
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I have to agree with many bloggers and ask, 'Why Beckam?'
He is neither an Olympian nor the face of GB; he is an overpaid celebrity obsessed England footballer who happens to originate from London.
Or is he angling to be the overage captain of an England Under-23 football team masquerading as Team GB?
Football had its rightful place in Beijing 2008, relegated to BBC 3, and it should not be allowed to hijack London 2012.
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I have read that Beckham (that olympic great!) going to be accompanied by a local east end girl who will be dressed in traditional islamic clothing!
Now don't get my wrong, i am far from being a racist and i think that this is great for the young girl and her family, all i want is an open debate!!! .... So what i am concerned about is, was this girl chosen because she is not white .... Britain is diverse yes ...... but 92% of its population is white ....... is this a another case of PC gone mad??
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Let see the London 2012 Olympics be totally unbiased by only having speeches and ceremonies in the language of the host nation, and the international language of English.
Why do these speeches have to be done in French also? It's so biased!
What about Italian, German, Spanish and all the other languages.
Come on London 2012 let do things the unbiased way.
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Just read about the 'celebrity slot' for UK at the Olympics closing ceremony.It seems Rock legend Jimmy Page and singer Leona Lewis will star in London's set, performing a stunning new version of the Led Zeppelin classic Whole Lotta Love, while footballer David Beckham will also be involved. I like them all and I suppose they will do good turn at the ceremony. Sure our 'international celebrities' will have a place, but please I hope this not the first signs of a 'celebrity' hijacking of London 2012!
But I fear this is how organisers might think we need to project UK to the world - it seems to me as a nation we are pre-occupied with a 'celebrity culture'. I only hope we do not try and impose such traits on the rest of the world in 2012.
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What a fantastic Olympics it has been.
The best!
Really looking forward to 2012 in London,
but I feel a little bit worried about the way 'they' plan to present 'us' British people to the world.
We already have a break dancing Lion holding an imaginary cup of tea as an Olympic logo.
Now we have a Red London bus driving around the track in the Beijing closing ceremony which will transform before the eyes of the world into........ a privet hedge!
David Beckham will be kicking a football into the crowd while an X- Factor winner sings.....
What a fantastic handover!
Can't wait! Lots of laughing and pointing!
Is this what that 'loveable' oaf Boris Johnson means by having a fun approach to 2012 Olympics?
Perhaps his idea is for the London games to replicate 'It's a knockout'!
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The official London 2012 website says a lot about them as an organisation which is not in keeping with the tremendous acheivements of our athletes.
This is one thing that must be fixed urgently.
It is limp, uninformativeand does not function well.
Nice gateway to London and the UK?
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How long will it take to get from London Heathrow to Stratford (a distance of 20 miles).
Which is the least change/ shortest journey route from London Paddington to London Kings Cross?
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Perhaps I have got it wrong but isn't 2012 also the Diamond Jubilee of the Queen. Shouldn't the events of the Olympics take place in conjunction with this very important event.
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Seb Coe states on BBC tv that some sports and athletes will lose funding because they never won medals in China, have we turned into a nation of elitists? we will do like China did and publicly shame olympians who never collected a medal? if this is what the olympics mean then we as a nation should have no part of this elitist snobbery.
Jaques Rogue stated the olympics are for the olympians, I always believed that taking part was the main ideal for all, but it now appears that the original intentions for the olympics is being thrown away in the chase for gold.
Many have publicly stated that the budget will be capped, I believe this policy will only last until the next election then in the chase for votes Cameron and Brown will state more money will be found from central gov in the hunt for London seats, by that time it will be too late to give funding to sports already dropped as they never won a medal in China.
Those in charge of 2012 have shown us just how utterly moronic and lacking in any olympic ideals they really are, they have proved that point by the inclusion of Beckham and Lewis, I hope the FA are taking notes, maybe they will ask Jordon to front the bid for the world cup(well she has heard of football)
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I have had a bit of a revelation this morning!
For months past I have wondered what the 'splodge' was on the 'Dream Number' draw on the lottery programme. This morning I have seen it full screen and it turns out to be a sort of logo for the London Olympics. I trust that this is only something temporary just for the moment and that we will have a proper logo, professionally designed, for the event itself as the one we are using pro-tem is almost unintelligible and totally unmemorable.
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What are the chances of including Pedalo events in the Olympics - with GB's record pedalling and on the water, such a combination could bring us more golds.
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Whilst it is fantastic to have the chance to stage the 2012 Olympics in London, there are 2 questions that bother me:-
1) Why are the games being funded by tax-payers, the national lottery etc where the money given is “lost” – never to be repaid. There are many ASSETS being constructed with the money and will have a huge value after the games. Adding the advertising revenue, the games should easily be self-financing. Who will own the assets after the games and who will benefit from their value?
2) With competitors and spectators arriving from all over the world, what measures are being taken to ensure that the UK will not suffer yet another mass immigration with people refusing to return to “unsafe” countries (Zimbabwe, Somalia etc) or countries where they know they cannot be returned to as the UK has no extradition treaty (China, Brazil etc).
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Following the great show from team GB I am very much looking forward to 2012. My concern is there is a lot of talk about not exceeding the budget of £9.3 billion. Boris has said they will have to move money within the total budget. I was wondering if we had taken into account the cost of gas as by 2012? Looking at the size of the flame in Beijing, I would think it will cost £9 billion to keep the flame going for the duration of the event, leaving only £300 million to cover the remaining costs.
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The London Olympics will be great for Brown and his Fascists, he will tax everyone that comes into the country, (if still in power). The whole thing will go over budget, and it will be full of free loading politicians and so called stars.
But hey, still looking forward to it.
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Is it true that David Beckham is going to represent 2012 London Olympic? I believe that the ex-England captain and its team has never maanged to qualify for the Olympic and seems not interested in attending at all. Olympic is about the people who cares about the sports and not just the money and the fame.
Is it true that GB could not find anybody better than him. It is a joke and disgrace? Though I think that he will be cheered on in the closing ceromony, but more for him as a celebrity rather than an Olympian footballer or sportsman.
A good start for London 2012 Olympic Game.....
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I'd like to know whether there is going to be the same number of empty seats at the 2012 games; if people have tickets and don't turn up, it's their choice, but it isn't fair for the athletes to have to play to a half empty stadium, and for people outside who are desperate for tickets not to be able to get inside, when there are seats available. Why don't we have some sort of system (like at Wimbledon), where people can queue for last minute tickets, if others don't turn up?
Also, we might not have the same audiovisual spectacular as Beijing, but that's not really what the Olympics are about. I'm pretty certain, having just come back from Beijing, that the sense of 'Olympic Spirit' will be far greater in London, due to the availability of outside areas and big screens, which are nowhere to be seen in China (probably because they would cause people to congregate). This will allow even people who don't manage to get tickets to participate in the Olympics in their own country, something which, I believe, didn't really happen in China.
And, the all-important question... any idea where Heineken house is going to be?
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We have a very serious financial problem facing us concerning the London Olympic Flame. Firstly will there be enough GAS ? Secondly, at the current cost per therm where on earth is that extra money coming from. Finally thousands of folks who will by 2012 be the victims of fuel poverty are not going be too pleased seeing their gas wasted by continually lighting up the skies over Hackney Marshes.
Of course, looking on the Bright side, it's a wonderful opportunity for Nu Labour to show their real colours and re-nationalise our public utilities prior to the event.
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Great performance from Team GB, a pleasure to watch. The only gripe I have is the name of the team - why Team GB when you represent the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, this is the official name of our country and is normally shortened to UK - so why isn't it Team UK. After all we have contributed three team members on this occasion, one of whom won a silver medal - it's kind of insulting to be just ignored in the team name, logo, commentary and media coverage. I hope this is changed for London 2012 as we will not only contribute athletes for the team but will also help fund the games through our taxes and National Lottery sales and I am sure we will contribute volunteers and officials to help run the games. So come on BOA - get the name right!
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How sad and utterly pathetic that a BBC reporter asks David Beckham if he will manage a GB football team in 2012, Gary Richards has now shown just how laughable BBC reporting has got, If this was meant as a joke then that would be understandable but it wasn't, and just how pathetic was Beckhams response? to answer I'm not sure tells me that he has indeed been approached to be manager, if that is the case then those involved must be stopped, this cannot be allowed to happen, this really is taking the UK to new lows, just how much more embarassing can we get, is there a way that we as UK nationals can put an end to this garbage?
I and many others will be shunning 2012 as those in charge simply have no intention of making the games for the atheletes, they are more concerned with celebrity, how sad is that.
Shame on us all.
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3 requests:
1) Please, dear god, can we do things smaller and with far less pomp than beijing? China had a lot to prove and a real desire to change our perception of the country with a massive hyped-up set of ceremonies. We don't need to do this.
2) Can we please makes sure scotland and wales and northern ireland (as well as the south west and north of england) get included just as much as south east england. It is suppoed to be the united kingdom after all!
3) And this is the most important, can we NOT use Heather Small's song 'Proud' and 'Search for the Hero inside yourself' in any way. We drag it out at EVERY UK sporting event and there must be something new and far less cliched available. Please.
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Didn't it go fast. All the big build up to Beijing then suddenly its all over and now we are thinking about the next four years until its GB's turn.
That'll go incredibly fast too.
Exciting!
Wow!
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Please,please tell me our opening ceremony in 2012 will not be anything like that rubbish that has just been shown,£2.5million for that!!!!!!!
At least there is another four years to think of something more imaginative and creative and play on our historic past,Oh I do hope so!
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I was not impressed by the use of leona lewis and the led zepplin song as i dont believe it represents anything that is british and now. i think that an artist that is critically acclaimed rather than a pop idol winner should have been used. also china embraced its own culture and subcultural groups in its ceremonies. surely britain should embrace the essence of britain- not only the multicultural britain but also traditional britain, incorporating folk aspects from british culture. we should be proud of our national identity, instead we seem to hide it, and many of the traditional aspects of our culture are left largely underfunded, which in my opinion is a disgrace along with using a 'pop idol' who has not actually proved any particular artistic merit as the part of the olympics which welcomes us to the next nation to host the games.
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Your so right, a pop idol star does not represent the UK in the least and especially not at an Olympic ceremony in front of billions!
2012 may be held in London but it is still about Great Britain as a whole, and it needs to incorporate and reflect all the diverse aspects of our cultural and historical past and present in its ceremony.
Even a group of Morris dancers wearing Grenadier guards outfits would have been better than what was shown!
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Why was the little girl who came out of the london bus a non white British representive?
Everything else represented Britain, such as the umbrellas, the newspapers, bicycles and london bus - typically British. But was she really other peoples idea of a 'typically' English child. Nothing agaisnt the girl, but what about all of the white English girls who obviously applied to Blue Peter, but were not chosen. I cannot help but wonder if this was purely because they didnt want to offended other ethnic groups. I am offended, im a white English girl of 16 and i dont feel this is right at all. She in my eyes didnt represent London.
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Don't worry,every other country would emphasis on its appeal as seen worldwide, and play on those characteristics to the full to make a very special visual event.
You know what will happen in our so ever PC country,we will endeavour to placate all as not to offend a single minority, but offend every person who comes from England,Scotland or Wales,don't you worry!
If the events are in any way managed by those who commissioned the London emblem,heaven help us!
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in addition to my previous comment (no 64) as ive been watching the welcome ceremony thing from london i am becoming increasingly more annoyed! it seems to be obsessed with 'Celebrity" culture. surely the event should focus on people's merit, be it artistic, sporting or otherwise? i don't think a single artist that has performed has actually represented britain or the focus of the games which one of the presenters (i think sue barker) said was 'youth' and 'now'. also, the songs they are playing are old pop songs from the 60s and 70s, and how that is representative of now is beyond me! and many of those singing are totally out of tune (mcfly).
i think china's closing ceremony was wonderful as the performances were coriographed to represent the country as a whole; the historic aspects of the culture, such as folk singers etc, classical music, popular music, and indeed the minority groups. i think it summed up chinese culture and their drive for perfection.
i think our obsession with celebrity culture rather than actual talent will be the ruin of us. for such a high status event it is important to get the balance right, but also to focus on actual achievement and, for that matter talent!
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Come to London everyone....
We have so much offer. We have, Red doubler decker buses, zebra crossings with lolly-pop ladies, changing of the guard, and posh city gents with umbrellas (yes, it rains !).
Now I remember why we beat Paris - all they had to offer the world was bicycling onion sellers and those funny long sticks of bread.
Please, lets leave the tired old cliches in the airport gift shops.
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Just a thought about the olympic flame!
Is it going to have a seperate meter. With the price of gas going up all the time how about a competition to guess the cost of it burning for two weeks. Wonder if the proceeds of the competition would cover the bill!!!!
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I noticed that for all sports, there were no advertising boards at the edges of the pitches. Instead there was just the words Beijing 2008 and a huge gap.
Whilst I'm usually against commercialising everything, wouldn't having advertising boards, like football have, bring in more money?
Also, whilst looking at the stadium designs a while back I think I remember that it doesn't have a roof on top to keep the top tier dry. I'm not sure about this though.
And we haven't seen what the stadium will look like after the seats have been taken out. With all this talk of 'legacy' can we have a look at what we are actually going to permanently build. Or is it too embarrassing to show?
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Britain has the quirky character to pull off a games that will be different but equally amazing to the games in china. London is a 'cool' place that people all over the world want to visit anyway. As long as we give the visitor a friendly welcoming games, and the government support our atheletes so that they can continue to give such astounding results then everything will be fine. Just one thing though, do we have to have Huw commentating? At least twice during this games he gave away surprises to the viewing audience. 'There is a surprise coming up now' makes it no longer a surprise. I certainly won't be telling him any of my secrets!
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So Britain was represented by people dropping litter at bus stops, a non- white 'typical' British school child, a footballer who won't be playing in the Olympics, a singer who couldn't (sing, that is) and a larger than lifesize portrait of Myra Hindley, it was SOME handover!
What a shambles!
Thank Heaven for Boris Johnson! "Ping-Pong's Coming Home" - At long last somebody has put it all into perspective.
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Well done TEAM GB! Great efforts Great Rewards, and you all looked smart when receiving their medals.
Shame about Boris's attire...perhaps BBC News presenters Huw and Nick could recommend their tailors!
Surely, historically GB men were wearing suits before the Chinese. Besides Boris's undone jacket, baggy trousers and lolloping stride, Beijing's Mayor won, by far, the Gold medal for best presented!
As for not wearing a tie when 'lost in admiration' at the hand-over party...what must the World think??????
On the 8 mins -- who on Earth would think London's the wonderful city it is? It should have been left to the Notting Hill carnival organisers their outfit in the Mall was outstanding, and the voices of the Last Choir Standing and We Will Rock You!!
Chinese advice was to be confident, but with on £9.3bn to play with we'll need to...
... be SMART to be confident...
i.e. use the skills of BBC and Notting Hill. Oh, and for those who have forgotten, or didn't see it, use the organisers and performers in the 2000 Dome centre-stage spectacle (what a memory tower that was with all the acrobatics and colour, my son watched it 3 times and would have happily spent all day in the arena watching each performance, if there hadn't been so much else to see!)
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I still think Paris should have got 2012. After all, we had a decent logo, not the work of a drunk four-year-old let loose on MS Paint. Don't get me wrong, I am a proud Brit at heart, I'm just sort of glad I won't be there to witness what will most likely be a complete shambles.
1. I agree with all the Beckham comments; although he is the most well-known British sports star, he's got nothing to do with the Olympics. I'm not a massive sports fan, in fact barely a sports fan at all, to be honest, but I still think it is important that somebody associated with Olympic sport is chosen as the representative of the London 2012 games, not just the most overrated, overpriced sporting celebrity possible, who gave up his position as the face of British football to go and play for the States.
2. I also agree that the M People songs are a little dated. Come on, now, it's 2012, not 1994. At the same time, is Leona Lewis really a good representative of the British music industry? She's barely been around for a year. She's got talent but I wouldn't say she should represent Britain. Even Lily Allen would have been a better choice, but still not great. As long as it's not some generic indie band, that's all I'm asking.
3. Unless I'm mistaken, nobody has mentioned the safety aspect of London 2012. Think about Britain's reputation as drunken violent yobs at football games both at home and abroad. Think about the general crime in London (I refer in particular to levdavidovich's comment: "I thought there was plenty of shooting in London"). How is Britain going to combat crime, violence and anti-social behaviour in order that London be a safe and pleasant city in which to enjoy the 2012 games?
4. There have been a few people voicing their concerns whether Britain will be accurately represented or whether it will be completely politically correct. I also am concerned about this. Of course sydmott has a point in that there is more to London than red buses and lollipop ladies; of course we should celebrate the diversity of what British culture is now, not a Mary Poppins London of bowler hats and umbrellas. However, this doesn't mean that we should force representation of Britain's multicultural status. What we need is a modern representation of London, and of course of the rest of Britain, that shows our diversity as a culture and as a nation, but that at the same time does not forget traditional British heritage. This is a chance for the UK to become United again. An end to the segregation and ghettoisation of subcultures and ethnic communities; let's all get out there and celebrate Britain together.
All in all, I do hope that things do go well. I think it would be a great coup for Britain to have a successful Olympics; not only would it be good for the economy (provided Boris's promise of staying within budget is kept), but it will be good for international relations and for Britain as a nation in itself to put aside the differences within our own land.
And if I do turn out to be right and it is a complete shambles, then oh well, I'll be here in Paris saying "I told you so".
Anne-Marie, Paris
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The girl that came out of the bus won a competition at Blue Peter, nothing to do with choice of colour or anything.
I liked the handover. I think the organisers thought the world knew a lot about London already so didn't think they needed to sell London to the world as much as Beijing was sold to the world. I would of liked all the GB sports people to get into the bus, then the bus takes off like a plane and it leaves Boris behind to learn how to conduct himself more professionly (I cringed at that flag handover).
Why don't we get a football club to build a really good olympic stadium which they get after the olympics are finished and then London converts their old stadium into a state of the art athletics centre???
It means that a company like qutar airways could sponsore a club like to build the stadium and Stamford bridge becomes a athletics stadium. No white elephants.
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Can we please lobby the IOC to hold the women's marathon as the last event because I am sure it will give Paula the opportunity to collect the gold medal in front of 80,000 screaming British fans - what a perfect way to round off the best olympics ever that would be??
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Am I the only person who was left rather cold by the London's performance in the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games? It was quite insensitive to feature a bus split wide open which was reminiscent of the 7/7 attacks in Tavistock Square. Leona Lewis' performance was surprisingly good, but I felt that the whole London segment was very two-dimensional and show London to have a stunted cultural and artistic growth instead of having a futuristic outlook. I'm aware that the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) wants to portray a youthful London to attract a younger audience, but I would like to stress that not every British taxpayer is young and so they should consider catering to all tastes - not every Londoner is interested in West End musicals, indie-rock music, remakes of classic British hits and D-list reality show winners. They should also seriously consider the embarrassing 2012 logo which at first sight resemble abstract people sodomising. The LOCOG should remember that we're hosting the world's greatest sporting event, not an Andrew Lloyd Webber production. I will be 25 in four years. I hope I get my money's worth and feel proud to be a Londoner after watching the games.
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Wow. I sat through, no, ached through, no- swooned through the 2012 hand-over convulsion with a deep sense of dissonance. Only on reflection did I realize that whatever soul-less production that was, it represented brilliantly the left-overs of a society that has been on cultural LSD for 40 years. The whole seizure of non-art, non-music, non-dance, non-culture wonderfully represented the secular british infatuation with a pluralist, value-free world of the future, made up of old stars, and new stars, and whole x-factor generation of wanna-be-stars. I thought it was a grand and global, dropping of the trousers before a world whose majority populations share nothing of the sort of vision of the future that the hyper-individualists of crabby old late modernity in the UK espouse. Well done, ye fallen gods of bond street. The whole world can now visit with no small sense of reserve your consumerist temples of lonely, self-indulgent, british individualism. I hope I am not the only one in London embarrassed by that self-representation to the world of who or what we are...
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As a Brit living in the USA I watched the closing ceremony with excitement. I was completely out of the loop so little did I know that I was in for a cringy display that I would be embarrassed about in front of my own (American) husband! I was positively blushing when Boris Johnson took the stage, jacket flapping and hands in pockets!!! Why did the UK send someone so socially inept to represent us?? I know he's the London Mayor but PLEASE!!!
Why did the little girl representing the world hand a football to the little girl representing the UK? Shouldn't it have been a set of Olympic rings or the Olympic flag? No, the organisers had to think really hard to see how they could rope Beckham into all the goings on and that was all they achieved. It would've been better without him there at all. And his kick was pretty lame too!
The whole thing was a string of stereotypes that do not show our heritage and culture but reinforce cliched and out-dated views of the UK. Some examples would be that people in the USA believe we all have bad teeth in the UK... thanks Boris for proving them right! We all drive on red double deckers and carry umbrellas too apparently!! (Well I conceed that it rains a lot but most of us tough it out without a brolly, no?) There was a tube sign for the BUS to stop at...dur! And the privet hedge... (Oh help)...I suppose that was the least annoying feature!!
What scares me is that if I was THAT mortified by the small part my home country played in the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, how much more is my skin going to crawl in 2012???? I don't want to be embarrassed about my country! I WANT to be proud of the positive display that I know the UK can give to the world. I have become more patriotic since living away from England (that's what homesickness will do to you!) so I would love to feel proud for my country instead of embarrassed and disappointed.
If anyone reading this can DO SOMETHING about the opening ceremony in 2012 please... don't be cliched! I agree with the comment that Morris dancers, although funny-looking and a little wacky, would be a better representation of our country's ancient culture and long history than what was shown yesturday. No recent pop stars should be aloud... only the tried and tested favourites that people will remember in 10 years time. No athletes who aren't current or former Olympians should be involved. No stereotypes...just what is relevent to today and historically accurate! And please, don't try to out-do China's spending; I have family in England and would appreciate them not having to live in poverty for the next 50 years after these games!
To the British athletes I would like to say well done and I wish I could've seen more of your efforts this time around. Alas, the American coverage was, of course, biased and even when I had the joy of watching Nicole Cooke cross the finish-line for gold I couldn't see her receive her medal. :( You guys; I am proud of you and look forward to seeing more of in 4 years!
Just a final note to the person who wrote that the UK should teach more sport in schools and do more after-school sports etc. to be more like the USA. It is true that the USA has a wonderful sports program for children in schools and outside of schools but as they say here, "somethings gotta give". In the USA the education system is nowhere near the UK's high standards and I believe that their devotion to sports may have played a role in that. There needs to be a balance between high academic standards and broad sporting opportunities for children.
I'm going to keep a close eye on proceedings from across the pond and I'll be there in 2012 to see what my homeland can do!! ...help!
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I must say that having watched the Beijing Olympics we have little hope of matching them in terms of venues.
Having now looked at the venues for London 2012 I feel a little disappointed that we are not making the most of London, its history, and its monuments.
We may not be able to match the Beijing Olypics in terms of the size and quality of its venues however I do feel that we could use venues with significantly more style and class.
I think the use of the Royal Artillary Barracks is a very apt choice of venue for the shooting events however I am wondering why we are not using the Tower of London for Archery.
Surely we could find some use for the Royal Albert Hall too for say table tennis !!
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My biggest question is about ticket allocation - I know it still is a long way away but as a London resident I will feel pretty cheesed off if I am not able to get tickets after our council tax is helping pay for it.
London residents should also be seen as sponsors and allocated thousands of seats, just like the big brand names. I dont think Londoners would stand for watching through fences like the Bejing residents have, and putting screens in parks wont replace actually being there.
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The only thing I have to say, is can the committee please please please make it financially viable for the every day working person to attend the games.
I am so dead set on seeing as much as I can, but am really concerned the prices are going to be ridiculous and way out of peoples budget.
I read that ticket sales will not be live until 2011, but surely you can announce a pricing structure before this time so we can get some idea of what to expect??
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I had to turn my television of yesterday as I was fed up with the continued suggestion that the 2012 games were just about London, or am I just being naive to believe that it isn't.
If so should it not then be the London tax payers who foot the bill, after all it is they who will have the benefit of the improved sport facilities and transport system.
Of course it won't be, it will be funded by and to the detriment of scheme's that have been promised to other cities and towns alike, but thats ok.
Let us push the boundaries and sugget we should only enter athlete's who were born within the boundaries of the M25 and we can change the name to Team London.
Yet again the wealth of the whole nation is being hijacked by the independent state of London.
For instance, how long will it be before the London velodrome becomes the national velodrome and disregards the facility in Manchester which has produce a record breaking team? answer - as soon as the roof is on and the paint is dry.
This is a national event funded by all the nations tax payers. Therefore the wealth and events of the games should be spread throughout the nation. All the major cities like Manchester, Liverpool etc. have modern existing sports venues which are totally adequate. This will mean more money to invest in the athlete's preparations and not the greed of London.
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when will the decision of how many cycling events will be included in 2012?
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When will you be recruiting volunteers? (Hosts, hostesses, guides etc) I’ve looked at the London Olympic’s website and found nothing. If you want to involve people then you need to be compiling an interest list at least.
Will it be possible to buy tickets on the day (if available) and will there be discounts to encourage seat filing?
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London 2012 needs to bite the bullet and get a new logo, the current one is an EMBARRASSMENT TO THE NATION!!
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Why are the British Media,thecnocrats,and government undercutting themselves by saying that and i quote "London 2012 can not be of the same scale/spectaccular of the Beijing games".For a great country to be talking like this comes as a great surprise to me,a country that ruled almost one third of the earth is now saying that they can not put on a spectaccular games,a country that defeated the most dangerous and severest wars of all time.All you guys need to do is to conduct a massive tattoo with all the past military uniforms on display,Scottish bag pipes and all, and once it is done with the pomp,pagentry and persision that the British is famous for,you can pull it off.Could you immagine uniforms from Nelson's time,Cromwell,even the Vikings,Saxs,Norwegians,Romans who invaded Britain and became a part of it,they uniforms should also be displayed.
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How is it whenever we host anything, it's all a question of money? It's all we are going to get for the next 4 years. Why don't we just concentrate on the atheletes and competetors paticipating in all the sports?
Lets just enjoy the experience, and get behind the people who are going to support Team GB!!
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So far the 'legacy' I've seen from Beijing in my sport (diving) is the continuing loss of access to facilities so that few people other than the elite can get access to them.
Talking to some of the clubs, all of them full to overflowing and with no access to additional training time or other pools due to the lack of them, they have had to turn away hundreds of people who wished to try diving have seen it on the Olympic coverage.
The Aquatics centre will have no public access to diving, unless on paid for lessons or elite training as in many other centres.
London will get just one pool, where a need for 4 was recognised in the 1980's, and we will have lost more than 4 local facilities by the time this is built.
The rest of the country? 8 counties have no diving facility at all nor do cities like Birmingham, or most of London which has plummeted from 96 to just 6 public pools with diving in the last 30 years.
Legacy yes, but not just for the elite please.
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the 2012 logo was pointed out like a much taller female (distinguishable by her hair style) works very hard on an old male to please him, even half on her knees. He is enjoyed with his head tilted back.
I hate this, can we change it to a better one?
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I hate to say I agree with No. 91. The logo is disgusting, I try my best to avoid to look at it. Could we please change it?
Another point, will our troops be back home by 2012? I hope so, otherwise will be a good excuse for people who want to boycott.
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I agree with you on that logo - it looks disgusting. When the logo was annouced in 2006, most people put in petitions and put in commets.
However you are too late to perusade the Government to change it because the IOC has already made decision on the logo as it was suitable enough for the logo to be shown around the world and Olympic committees around the world had already voted for it.
The Olympic rules means that once it has voted, the logo became a Olympic copyright meaning it cannot be changed without the permission of the Olympic committee and the London Olympic committee.
So now you are way too late for even if you are asking the IOC to change it now the IOC are happy with it and doesn't want change it so you'd better not moaning about it now.
FORGET IT AND LET LONDON HAVE A PEACEFUL OLYMPIC!
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How do you get into the 2012 loop for swimming? My dream is to swim for team GB in the 2012 olympics but I don't know how to take the step between club competitions and venues to get spotted for 2012 potential. Any help?
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I thought the 2012 bid was all about youth and sport and given the fiasco of the UK's closing ceremony performance the bid has changed tack somewhat. I really hope that any ceremony at 2012 is about promoting the whole country not just the capital and that all the counties are represented. Given that London is the home of cricket why isn't the UK leading attempts to get the sport into the Olympics. Lets at least have it as an exhibition sport at the 2012 games perhaps in the 20/20 format but why not in the beach cricket format on Horse Guards parade.
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I've just got back from ten days in Beijing and Hong Kong that included a night of track and field in the Birds Nest and the closing ceremony fireworks in Tiananmen Square. I was brought up to 'speak as I find' so in that spirit, this is what I found in Beijing:
No smog.
One person wearing a mask - this was simply because their job was to empty the litter bins in and around Tiananmen Square.
An amazing mixture of the old and the new, often right next to one another.
People from all over the world having a great time, none more so than the citizens of Beijing and 'Greater China'.
A massive police and army presence. This was simultaneously sinister and reassuring.
None of the hooliganism that goes with national and international football, not even from us Brits.
Shopping malls that make The Metro, Blue Water and Meadowhall look tired and second rate.
Restaurant and street-food to satisfy any London food critic - except, unfortunately inside the stadium where catering was absolutely abysmal.
Bars (e.g. Nuage, Stone Boat) and clubs (e.g. Lan) fit for the West End and the Kings Road.
Parks (Behai, Hou Hai, Summar Palace) to equal Hyde Park and Regents Park.
Too many empty corporate seats in the Bird's Nest when the ordinary punter was finding it nearly impossible to get tickets - please London cut this kind of stuff back to a minimum.
An Olympic Park that was far too big to be user friendly - and virtually devoid of seating or shade - learn from this London
A great night of athletics including our girls dropping the baton in the 4 * 100 m relay final, a fantastic pole vault competition culminating in a win for Steve Hooker and an Olympic record and (the absolute highlight) Jamaica (including Usain Bolt) winning the men's 4 * 100 m relay in a world record time.
I have to say the taxi driver we picked up outside the stadium ripped us off in a fashion that would have made any rogue cabbie any where in the world proud. Still, 200 yuan (£16) might be four times the going rate in Beijing but it's still good value for a ten mile ride at 1:00 am in most parts of the world.
Beijing did not get everything right - and I'm well aware of China's dubious human rights record - but if the Olympics is anything to go by it's hard to believe that modern-day China is the ogre it's often made out to be in the Western media. In saying this I understand that, given the circumstances, my stay in Beijing was hardly representative. As I said at the beginning, I'm just 'speaking as I found'.
Whenever I hear whinging about how much the Games are going to cost us I can't help but recall Oscar Wilde's words, 'a cynic is someone who knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing'.
Finally, my ticket cost all of £15 - the cheapest seats - and I had a great view.
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