Don't mention the Olympics London 2012 (discussion of the organisation and logistics

[Mark]

don't mention the Olympics | Herald Scotland (http://www.heraldscotland.com/comment/tom-shields-on/dont-mention-the-olympics.17581409)
Apparently mentioning Olympics or 'London' or 2012 is verboten.

So in that spirit I would like to say Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics Oympics 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London London

[Brown, Jon Brow]

Oympics?

[SGWilko]

Ha ha. We shall be holidaying in the Borders during the Olympic fortnight. The capital city can have it's snarl-ups, olympic lanes, crowded tubes and overpriced everything and keep it to itself while we are enjoying being away from it all!

[Dave B]

I'm looking forward to the games themselves, but the more I read about the bid process and the money being thrown at VIPs and corporate sponsors the more I'm convinced that the whole shebang is a moneyspinning exercise for the few.

Billions are being spent on venues, many of which are to be torn down after a few weeks even though we were promised legacy. Low cost housing has already been sold to the Quatari royal family, despite assurances it would benefit ordinary Londoners. The public will be prohibited from taking their own food and drink, instead being forced to buy from "partners" - for which read companies like Coca-Cola and McDonalds (official restaurant of the Olympics, even though they're the antithesis of healthy eating). VIP lanes throughout the capital will be turned over to those involved while tourists and residents can go hang; the situation at Heathrow will be the same even though the airport is already a national joke. The expenditure runs into billions and yet people are being asked to volunteer for free in the middle of a recession and mass unemployment. Small businesses have been threatened with legal action for acts so innocent as using "2012" in promotional material, others are facing disruption or closure, despite assurances that this would be great for the economy. The police are being augmented by private security, which never ends well, including armed guards for the precious corporate sponsors. Missiles are being situated in residential areas, apparently ready to shoot down planes which pose a threat - presumably some thought has been given as to where all this debris would fall. The ticketing system is complicated and unfair, and requests for transparency have been stonewalled by the organisers.

I'm sure that for the athletes concerned it will indeed be the pinnacle of their careers, and I genuinely look forward to the sporting action, but everything else about the whole process can go hang.

[Big Ben]

I've never followed the Olympic Games too closely but there is one thing I'm really looking forward to... can Usain Bolt beat his records again? (though the first quetsion would be.. will he try?)

[J4MIE]

What Dave said.... :s

[BDunnell]

Best description so far is surely one carried in the Independent a few weeks ago: 'An £11 billion taxpayer-funded advertisement for some of the worst companies in the world'.

[anthonyvop]

Best description so far is surely one carried in the Independent a few weeks ago: 'An £11 billion taxpayer-funded advertisement for some of the worst companies in the world'.



London Olympics Worldwide Partners:

Coca-Cola
Acer
Omega
Dow
GE
Macdonalds
Panasonic
P&G
Atos Origin
Visa
Samsung


Oh those evil watch makers at Omega!

[Dave B]

McDonalds market junk food directly to children, Atos are making millions out of flawed and widely criticised medical assessments of sick and disabled people in the UK, Dow have a terrible record of environmental abuse and refuse to pay out to victims of Bhopal.

As far as I know, Omega make decent watches.

[MrJan]

I agree with Dave...although I'm not looking forward that much to the sport. Athletics is tedious imo (although I'm interested in seeing what Usain Bolt can do), and it's ridiculous that sports like football and basketball can be involved...even road cycling is a bit questionable. To my mind the Olympics should be the pinnacle of any sport, if it isn't then don't bother. Football has the world cup, basketball has the NBA and cycling has the classic tours and world championships (obviously the velodrome stuff is diffierent), so why hold some sidebar at the Olympics? And as for the money that's been wasted on it... :angryfire And that doesn't even include this ridiculous 'cultural' games or whatever it is, the highly funded arts programme for bull**** stuff to be paraded around.

[MrJan]

Oh those evil watch makers at Omega!

TBF they do charge upwards of £2k for a watch that's unlikely to cost anywhere near that to make.

[Dave B]

TBF they do charge upwards of £2k for a watch that's unlikely to cost anywhere near that to make.
That's the free market though, most name-brand clothing costs peanuts to make and sells for a hefty mark-up. If people exercise free-will to buy an overpriced tacky watch that's their lookout.

[schmenke]

I have lost much appreciation for the Olympic games ever since professional athletes have been permitted to compete :s

[Mark]

I agree with Dave...although I'm not looking forward that much to the sport. Athletics is tedious imo (although I'm interested in seeing what Usain Bolt can do), and it's ridiculous that sports like football and basketball can be involved...even road cycling is a bit questionable. To my mind the Olympics should be the pinnacle of any sport, if it isn't then don't bother. Football has the world cup, basketball has the NBA and cycling has the classic tours and world championships (obviously the velodrome stuff is diffierent), so why hold some sidebar at the Olympics? And as for the money that's been wasted on it... :angryfire And that doesn't even include this ridiculous 'cultural' games or whatever it is, the highly funded arts programme for bull**** stuff to be paraded around.


Completely agree with that. The pinnacle of a cyclists career would be winning the Tour de France, not the Olympics. A tennis player wants to win at Wimbledon, not the Olympics. Football they don't even field the proper teams, it's U21.

There's plenty of other sports without duplicating like this.

[schmenke]

Completely agree with that. The pinnacle of a cyclists career would be winning the Tour de France, not the Olympics. A tennis player wants to win at Wimbledon, not the Olympics....

True, but there are many amateur athletes whose career highlight would be winning an Olympic medal.

[MrJan]

That's the free market though, most name-brand clothing costs peanuts to make and sells for a hefty mark-up. If people exercise free-will to buy an overpriced tacky watch that's their lookout.

Tacky? TACKY?!! Rolex make tacky watches, Omega make beautiful watches :D


True, but there are many amateur athletes whose career highlight would be winning an Olympic medal.

But they don't get a chance to because the sports are open to professionals.

[A.F.F.]

Back in the early 80's I was an innocent child and lived in a bubble where I thought all athletes won gold medals because they ate porridge and trained hard. I wanted to be a world's best runner. Boy was I shocked when I heard our national hero got caught of using anabolic steroids. A couple of years later, Ben Johnson, who was supposed to be pure and won Carl Lewis got caught..... suddenly the bubble started to crumble. Novadays I'm only interested of sports where the use of doping is minimal and the success depends on the level of skill for instance..... hmm.... let's say rallying ;) That could in both, summer and winter Olympics.

Anyway, how com they just won't allow the use of doping since everyone is doing them. The winner is usually the one who won't get caught :mark:

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[Dave B]

As if to illustrate my point about the corporate bloat surrounding the event, here's a comment from the Telegraph website:


My tickets arrived this morning. Sent by Special Delivery at a charge of £6, a rip off in itself.

Each ticket came accompanied by a 9 zone Travelcard for the day, despite the fact that I live in the same zone (4) as the venue and can get one bus all the way there.


Along with the tickets came a glossy advert for Lloyds Bank.


There was also a large leaflet advising:
No water allowed in venue
No food allowed in the venue (its an all day event so we will either have to starve to death and dehydrate or buy wildly over-priced "food" (McDonalds et al) and bottled water). Apparently the public drinking fountains in Greenwich Park will be turned off "for health and safety reasons".
No smoking in the park under any circumstances.


Once inside the park, we are stuck there all day as there is no re-entry to the park once you leave (so none of the established food outlets around the park will make any money).


This is certainly going to be a day to remember - but, I suspect, not for the right reasons.


Greenwich Park itself is a public space but has been basically turned into private land. There was also a leaflet advising us of its environmental sensitivity so we "should be careful where we walk" - despite the fact that the park has more or less been bulldozed to accommodate viewing stands and the cross country course.


And all for the self-aggrandisement of that Slug Coe and his cronies.

Source: London 2012 Olympics: third of latest Games tickets remain unsold - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/9290802/London-2012-Olympics-third-of-latest-Games-tickets-remain-unsold.html)

Farce doesn't begin to cover it.

[donKey jote]

or rather... dislike it :dozey:

[MrJan]

No re-entry is a complete joke, especially given what the tickets cost.

[Gregor-y]

Can I say just how happy I am Chicago did not get the 2016 Olympics?

[Mark]

To be fair about the unsold tickets they are mostly for football where we have vast stadiums to fill for matches that nobody cares about. Football is probably one of the least prestigious Olympic competitions.

[donKey jote]

No re-entry is a complete joke, especially given what the tickets cost.

I'd say not allowing even water is even worse. Water should be free.

[gadjo_dilo]

I'd say not allowing even water is even worse. Water should be free.

Couldn't they drink water from toilet room? ( from the washbasin, of course :laugh: )

Where I live it's ( still ) drinkable.

[Mark]

Agreed water is completely excessive. That's a safety issue.

Presumably medication will be allowed? Then you'd have to buy a bottle of water in order to take your drugs?

What about a bag of sweets? To most people a snack, to a diabetic, life or death.

Oh and it's £7 a pint apparently.

[SGWilko]

I agree it is all way too OTT and FUBARed. However, I vote with my feet, and will be enjoying a quiet life in Scotland while all the wallahs who bought tickets pay through the nose for everything and find out just how shyte our public transport really is! ;)

Mind you, I'm buggered for the Paralympics, as we live 10 minutes from Brands Hatch, and the area will no doubt be locked down in a security/HSE complete wet dream of overkill.

[SGWilko]

For those in the UK, last weeks Question Time mulled over the Olympics briefly. Griff-Rhyss Jones made a very good point.....

[janvanvurpa]

Agreed water is completely excessive. That's a safety issue.

Presumably medication will be allowed? Then you'd have to buy a bottle of water in order to take your drugs?

What about a bag of sweets? To most people a snack, to a diabetic, life or death.

Oh and it's £7 a pint apparently.

There would be a REVOLUTION in any civilised country...

The outrageous degree of greed allowed makes me wonder where is your Government? Or has Corporations overrun all levels of Government in England, too?

[MrJan]

I read in the paper this morning that you are allowed to take in an empty bottle and fill it from drinking fountains inside the stadium.

[donKey jote]

That's Ok then, unless they charge you for the fountains too :p

[Alexamateo]

...... Novadays I'm only interested of sports where the use of doping is minimal and the success depends on the level of skill for instance..... hmm.... let's say rallying ;) That could in both, summer and winter Olympics.......

What about nitrous oxide? :D

[Mark in Oshawa]

I don't know, the Winter Olympics in Vancouver had it's issues, but we didn't as cynical here as you lot. That said, the Olympic "movement" (is that like a bowel movement?) has a lot to answer for, and a ton of people make money off the games, but the people of the country do not. AT least in Vancouver, the folks out there paid for most of the games themselves, and voted to do so. They like taxes I guess.....but I am thankful on so many levels the idiots in Toronto never got those 96 games. It would have been fun watching Donovan Bailey win the 100m in his home turf but the cost overuns, stupidity and scandal would have made it a short lived party.

I am a fan of the Winter Games, not so much the summer games..until the start and I ignore the crap and enjoy the athletes.

[Mark]

There would be a REVOLUTION in any civilised country...

The outrageous degree of greed allowed makes me wonder where is your Government? Or has Corporations overrun all levels of Government in England, too?

We have a Tory government just now, which by definition is in the pockets of the corporations.

[wedge]

basketball has the NBA

The NBA is the equivalent to European club football/Champions League.


Completely agree with that. The pinnacle of a cyclists career would be winning the Tour de France, not the Olympics. A tennis player wants to win at Wimbledon, not the Olympics. Football they don't even field the proper teams, it's U21.

There's plenty of other sports without duplicating like this.

Personally I'm not too keen on the Olympics but it does have its place and is regarded as an accolade for most athlete's CV. For instance without it who would give a toss about cycling? The only time cycling gets coverage is the Tour de France but because Britain has a 'golden generation' coverage is now far greater.

The IAAF World Championships are every two years. The Olympics, like the football World Cup, is every four years so winning back to back Olympics is much harder.


We have a Tory government just now, which by definition is in the pockets of the corporations.

And the Labour government wasn't?

[Mark]

Personally I'm not too keen on the Olympics but it does have its place and is regarded as an accolade for most athlete's CV. For instance without it who would give a toss about cycling? The only time cycling gets coverage is the Tour de France but because Britain has a 'golden generation' coverage is now far greater.

There is a lot of interest in the Tour de France already. Most of the Olympic interest is in the track events, which are different entirely.



And the Labour government wasn't?

True, but the Tories are by default in the pocket of business, whereas Labour is in the pocket of the unions ;)

[MrJan]

The NBA is the equivalent to European club football/Champions League.

You've missed my point. The NBA is the pinnacle of basketball, ask Luol Deng or LeBron James which they'd rather win then they'd almost certainly say the NBA.

It's not enough for athletes to simply be proud of it on their CV, it needs to be at the very top. With cycling, tennis, golf etc. it simply isn't for the big guys, because there's the Tour, Grand Slams and the Masters instead.

[Mark]

Same with football. Ask a footballer which they'd like to win and the Olympics will rank behind the World
Cup, European Championship, Champions League, Premier League and many others.

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[race aficionado]

The Olympics should be the pinnacle for the amateur sportsman that will later, if he chooses, look for the higher platitudes in professional sport.

:s mokin:

[wedge]

You've missed my point. The NBA is the pinnacle of basketball, ask Luol Deng or LeBron James which they'd rather win then they'd almost certainly say the NBA.

It's not enough for athletes to simply be proud of it on their CV, it needs to be at the very top. With cycling, tennis, golf etc. it simply isn't for the big guys, because there's the Tour, Grand Slams and the Masters instead.


You've missed my point. The NBA is the pinnacle of basketball, ask Luol Deng or LeBron James which they'd rather win then they'd almost certainly say the NBA.

It's not enough for athletes to simply be proud of it on their CV, it needs to be at the very top. With cycling, tennis, golf etc. it simply isn't for the big guys, because there's the Tour, Grand Slams and the Masters instead.

Agreed. Certain events aren't fit for the Olympics.

Cycling is an odd one. Like motorsport there are a number of disciplines and specialisation. Ask Sir Chris Hoy how important the Olympics are? Does track cycling have blue riband events?


Same with football. Ask a footballer which they'd like to win and the Olympics will rank behind the World
Cup, European Championship, Champions League, Premier League and many others.

South American countries take it rather seriously.

Uruguay won the first Olympics football sanctioned for pros which set the template for the World Cup.

Brazil has never won a gold medal.

[steveaki13]

South American countries take it rather seriously.

Uruguay won the first Olympics football sanctioned for pros which set the template for the World Cup.

Brazil has never won a gold medal.

This is correct.

They always send as strong squad as they can. This time Brazil will probably send Neymar for one, who is not a second rate player.

Also on Uruguay they won those earlier Olympic tournament and firmly regard them as World Championship victorys in all but name.

To there credit the South Americans take any tournament they play in seriously. I hope one of those two win the tournament.

[MrJan]

Cycling is an odd one. Like motorsport there are a number of disciplines and specialisation. Ask Sir Chris Hoy how important the Olympics are? Does track cycling have blue riband events?

Indeed, that's why I differentiated between road and velodrome in my original post :) Track cycling has a world championships, however it's my impression that the 'lympics is the one they want.

South American teams may take it seriously, but do they really take their strongest squad? I'm not sure on the rules of the Olympic tournament but shirley there is still a second rate element to the team? I mean, there may be seriously good players involved, but not all 11 will be of the standard that they send to the WC?

[race aficionado]

The Olympics should be the pinnacle for the amateur sportsman that will later, if he chooses, look for the higher platitudes in professional sport.

:s mokin:

My guess is that many of you were too young to have experienced the Olympics in the days where it was for amateur athletes. The all pro's started in 1992.

Before that the only "professionals" were mostly the the Soviet block athletes, where according to their political system, the professional athlete did not exist.
So according to saint Google, The soviet system would provide a very comfortable living for these athletes, but since they were not "paid" they were still classified as amateurs.

And even though there was a great differential in age and experience between, for example, a boxer from Cuba and a boxer from my home country Colombia,
It was always a treat to see if our man could knock the lights out, or actually survive the bout with the experienced contender.

This of course happened in other sports
So for Basketball for example, we were bringing college kids to face guys 5 - 10 years older who were bigger, strong, and more experienced. It was never a level playing field.

So I blame the Commies. ;)

so I should stop bithin'. I'm getting to be an old geezer, it is what it is, and I still enjoy the competition.

And this year we have the added bonus of olympic golf :p :

:s mokin:

[wedge]

South American teams may take it seriously, but do they really take their strongest squad? I'm not sure on the rules of the Olympic tournament but shirley there is still a second rate element to the team? I mean, there may be seriously good players involved, but not all 11 will be of the standard that they send to the WC?

The Olympics falls in the middle of WC qualification - which is different format which us Europeans take for granted. Instead of groups the S Americans qualify in a mini league.

In effect its a no brainer for the S Americans send a strong squad because the Olympics works as a stepping stone for the WC.

You're allowed 3 over-age players for the Olympics - dependent on willingness of the clubs. In Beijing Argentina had Mascherano and Riquelme

[GridGirl]

Personally I'm not too keen on the Olympics but it does have its place and is regarded as an accolade for most athlete's CV. For instance without it who would give a toss about cycling? The only time cycling gets coverage is the Tour de France but because Britain has a 'golden generation' coverage is now far greater.

I suppose it depends what sports you enjoy watching. We like cycling in our house and watch coverage of races four or five days a week. To be fair, we dont always watch the full days stage due to their length and us haveing to watch them after work but we'll probably watch the last 50km at least. Yesterday I watched the time trial stage of the Criterium du Dauphine. It was won by Britains Bradley Wiggins who is also currently winning the race and holds the yellow jersey. He also has two bronze medals, one silver and three gold olympic medals from the last three Olypic games. Coverage is out there, I suppose its up to each individidual as to whether its something they like and whether they actually want to watch it.



Indeed, that's why I differentiated between road and velodrome in my original post :) Track cycling has a world championships, however it's my impression that the 'lympics is the one they want.

There are world championships for both track and road cycling. Mark Cavendish won the world road championship race in Copenhagen last year. Great Britain really dominated the race and there was a seriously impressive ride from Bradley Wiggins. It's quite a feat to give your everything in a world championshipjust just so some other bloke can come through at the end and take the gold medal. You dont get that in many sports. Interestingly Mark Cavendish won BBC's Sports Personality award with 49% of the votes last year. Admittedly 2011 wasn't an olympic year or a year with a major football tournament. Maybe it was an easy year for a cyclist to win it.

As far as track cycling is concerned the world championships are far more harder to win than the olympics. Due to Great Britain being so dominant in Bejing the rules were changed so that this year there will only be one entrant from each country in each race. The best two or three riders in a particular event might come from the same country. Many riders have already voiced their opinion that the world track championships are far harder to win as you are competing with the best of the best and not the person who might have been the best on a particular day when team selections were taking place.

[schmenke]

.... We like cycling in our house ....

How big is your house? :eek:

[ShiftingGears]

You've missed my point. The NBA is the pinnacle of basketball, ask Luol Deng or LeBron James which they'd rather win then they'd almost certainly say the NBA.

It's not enough for athletes to simply be proud of it on their CV, it needs to be at the very top. With cycling, tennis, golf etc. it simply isn't for the big guys, because there's the Tour, Grand Slams and the Masters instead.

From all interviews I've read I'm surprised at how much tennis players want to win Olympic gold. It seems extremely important to them.

[MrJan]

From all interviews I've read I'm surprised at how much tennis players want to win Olympic gold. It seems extremely important to them.

If you're due to play in the Olympics and an interviewer asks how important it is you're hardly going to reply "Meh, I'd rather win the NBA" ;)

[janneppi]

The Olympics should be the pinnacle for the amateur sportsman that will later, if he chooses, look for the higher platitudes in professional sport.

:s mokin:
That would be only for juniors competitors then. :)

[janneppi]

If you're due to play in the Olympics and an interviewer asks how important it is you're hardly going to reply "Meh, I'd rather win the NBA" ;)

Especially if you're a tennis player. :D

[Garry Walker]

If you're due to play in the Olympics and an interviewer asks how important it is you're hardly going to reply "Meh, I'd rather win the NBA" ;)

All tennis players, especially guys like Federer and Nadal put immense importance to it. If you followed tennis more closely, you would know it.

[MrJan]

All tennis players, especially guys like Federer and Nadal put immense importance to it. If you followed tennis more closely, you would know it.

Why would I pay more attention to a sport that I find tedious?

[ShiftingGears]

Why would I pay more attention to a sport that I find tedious?

So you don't come across as ignorant when offering opinions about it, for one.

[MrJan]

So you don't come across as ignorant when offering opinions about it, for one.

I didn't think I came across as particularly ignorant. I didn't say (or intend to say) that no one in those sports cares about the olympics, I was merely pointing out that it isn't the most important part of their year. For example, if there was another prestigious track & field event at the same time as the olympics then you can safely assume that the majority of athletes would opt for doing the olympics rather than the other event. If there was one of the major tennis tournaments at the same time as the olympics then I don't think you can say with so much certainty that the majority would choose the olympics.

As I said, the Olympics should be the absolute peak of a sport.

[ShiftingGears]

I didn't think I came across as particularly ignorant. I didn't say (or intend to say) that no one in those sports cares about the olympics, I was merely pointing out that it isn't the most important part of their year. For example, if there was another prestigious track & field event at the same time as the olympics then you can safely assume that the majority of athletes would opt for doing the olympics rather than the other event. If there was one of the major tennis tournaments at the same time as the olympics then I don't think you can say with so much certainty that the majority would choose the olympics.

As I said, the Olympics should be the absolute peak of a sport.

My apologies. That is fair enough.

[Mark]

Today they are touting that the games are "£500m under budget" as they 'only' spent £1.5bn of the £2bn contingency..
Erm, that means they are £1.5bn OVER budget!!

[schmenke]

I guess the spin they’re trying to put on it is that they had allotted the entire 2B as an expenditure, but have now saved the taxpayer 500M :mark: .

[Dave B]

Today they are touting that the games are "£500m under budget" as they 'only' spent £1.5bn of the £2bn contingency..
Erm, that means they are £1.5bn OVER budget!!
Are the accounting for the security budget being massively increased - once they realised the original budget was inadequate? Or the increase to the budget of the opening ceremony once Danny Boyle's ego got involved? Some of these targets seem remarkably elastic and I'm sure there's a column marked target=actual on their spreadsheet.

[Dave B]

Do you know what gets my goat most about these games? In spite of the several billion pound budget, and a time when there's rising unemployment especially among the young, almost everybody working at the events will be a volunteer. We couldn't use this vast pot of money to provide a few weeks' paid work for locals who desperately want it?

Even McDonalds have got the decency to pay the workers in their garish on-site calorie dispenser the minimum wage to shovel fat into the mouths of kids attending an event designed to encourage grassroots sport, but security will be provided by people expected to work for free or - in many cases - lose their jobseekers allowance.

[MrJan]

£500m under budget means that the boys at the top get a lovely big bonus.

[Mark]

Of £500m?

[BleAivano]

no olympics thread is complete without Python's silly olympics: Monty Python - Silly Olympics - YouTube (http://youtu.be/BzrI15uw92k)

[race aficionado]

"Survival"

That's all I know.

en español:

tiraMillas, la web de ocio de MARCA (http://www.tiramillas.net/2012/06/28/musica/1340884832.html)

[Dave B]

Workers were out in force last night marking out the "ZIL lanes" which will whisk VIPs and sponsors around at the expense of ordinary road users. I expect mass civil disobedience is being planned even as we speak.

[odykas]

Dave B is the number 1 fan of Olympics :p :

I agree that the special treatment of useless VIPs is irritating but on the other hand it's a privilege for 1 month only so you can live with it.

In Athens, the funny thing about the Olympics VIP lanes was that they were visible even 5-6 years after the games. What kind of bloody material did they use? Regular lines fade out in just a couple of years :p :

[Dave B]

Dave B is the number 1 fan of Olympics :p :
That's the thing: I really enjoy the games themselves, just not all this faff!

[N4D13]

London Olympics: Lord Coe's astonishing sponsors outburst - The Daily Record (http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/2012/07/21/london-olympics-lord-coe-s-astonishing-sponsors-outburst-86908-23910798/)

Not that I'd follow the Olympics much, but come on - this is utter b*****it. I'd just like that to be a case of poor journalism rather than actual facts...

[Mark]

The Zil lanes start today. I pity the fool who drives near London - any time really :)

[Mark]

London Olympics: Lord Coe's astonishing sponsors outburst - The Daily Record (http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/2012/07/21/london-olympics-lord-coe-s-astonishing-sponsors-outburst-86908-23910798/)

Not that I'd follow the Olympics much, but come on - this is utter b*****it. I'd just like that to be a case of poor journalism rather than actual facts...

I hope this games acts as a watershed in realising that sponsorship has gone too far. Why go to these lengths? Most sporting events are sponsored, do they have to use such stupid measures to 'protect' their sponsors? Of course not, it's completely unnecessary. If a business wants to associate themselves with the games then that should be seen as a good thing!

[Malbec]

The Zil lanes start today. I pity the fool who drives near London - any time really :)

Thats ok because the Zil lanes are in London, not near it ;)

They are annoying but they are only on the main routes to/from Stratford and even then not along whole routes, for example much of the North Circular doesn't have them despite being on the way from Heathrow to the site.

Its swings and roundabouts because thanks to the Olympics we've had much needed repairs and extensions to the road network where I live, if having these lanes (which don't affect me in the slightest) is the price then I'll happily pay it.

[Malbec]

How to make friends and influence people, Mitt Romney style... Have to say I like David Cameron's putdown.

Oh, Mitt: those Romney gaffes in full | World news | guardian.co.uk (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-news-blog/2012/jul/26/mitt-romney-britain-gaffes)

[Dave B]

Yes, Mitt, we may bitch and moan about the run-up to the Olympics but dammit man these are our Olympics and if you knew anything about Britain you'd know that this is what we do: we whine and criticise but once the event itself starts we're pretty much all right behind it.

Go away and read "How to Win Friends and Influence People", you tool. :laugh:

Mind you, our politicians aren't much better at avoiding gaffes. The man in this video is our culture minister (at least for a few more weeks):

Jeremy Hunt almost hits woman with Olympic bell end - video | Politics | guardian.co.uk (http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/video/2012/jul/27/jeremy-hunt-olympic-bell-video)

(Much respect to the Guardian for slipping the phrase "bell end" into their headline ;) )

[Bezza]

The Olympics haven't really started yet and I'm already bored. To be fair, I was actually bored of them around 2007, just after they were announced. The media and the papers have been insufferable with their glorification of "The Games" and "Team GB" for the last 500 years (sorry, 5, but it feels like 500). London, London, London, London, London is all I hear about. How great it will be for LONDON. I don't particularly care about London, I don't live or work there. And £11 billion for 4 weeks of tedium does seem excessive, for all the corporate sponsors and executives to have a jolly.

I won't be watching it, I saw 3 minutes of the GREAT BRITAIN (not Team GB) football game and it was the most horrifically bad atmosphere I've ever seen at a football match.

I'll be watchng the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday and then hiding for two weeks. Wake me up when it is over!

[Dave B]

"London, London, London, London"? You do know that the match you briefly watched was in Manchester, don't you? :p

[Rollo]

BBC Radio 4 news and current affairs programs have been geoblocked for the Olympics.

Well done. :angryfire

I blame the IOC.

[Dave B]

BBC Radio 4 news and current affairs programs have been geoblocked for the Olympics.

Well done. :angryfire

I blame the IOC.
Do you pay a licence fee? Well stop whinging then :p

[Brown, Jon Brow]

Biggest show on earth. Really?

The FIFA World Cup would have been a much bigger deal for the UK to host.

[Mark]

The Olympics have started now. So it's time to stop complaining.

[race aficionado]

We will get it in the USA in prime time (8:30pm) TV.
Pre recorded. :(


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[race aficionado]

Enjoy!
:)

[Tazio]

I read that the UK is expected to pick up 4th place in total medals! Even as the Host that would impress the hell out of me. :beer:

[D-Type]

I read that the UK is expected to pick up 4th place in total medals! Even as the Host that would impress the hell out of me. :beer: We finished 4th in the medals table at Beijing - it's a high target for our team to live up to.

Last night I sat down to watch the start of the opening ceremony, resolving to go and do something else when I got bored with it. I watched it right to the end! Full marks to the producers. (BBC commentary could have been better but that's a topic for another thread)

[Dave B]

Stupid branding rules: Wimbledon has got some excellent scoreboards but because they're IBM branded they're covered up and replaced with some tiny hopeless Omega substitutes.

[D-Type]

Empty seats! :mad:

Apparently these are the free seats allocated to the various sports organisations in the competing countries (the "Olympic Family" in newsspeak) - enough said.

[Dave B]

@OlympicSeat on twitter has plenty to say on the subject ;)

[donKey jote]

@OlympicSeat on twitter has plenty to say on the subject ;)

:laugh:

[Rollo]

.

[J4MIE]

I can't wait for the Olympics to be over so I can watch the news for NEWS rather than a round up of the day's results.

[D-Type]

I can't wait for the Olympics to be over so I can watch the news for NEWS rather than a round up of the day's results.
Wrong thread - shouldn't this have been in "TV coverage"?

Having got that off my chest, I totally agree. They should have the normal news, ie world followed by local followed by weather and then have a separate special section for the Olympics. Particularly on BBC1 and BBC2 when they "Interrupt the olympic coverage for the News".

[Bagwan]

I just noticed a flagrant flaunting of the olympic rings symbol(am I allowed to refer to it ?) !

Do they go after all these athletes who get rings tatooes ?
There's a revenue stream they don't seem to be taking advantage of properly .

[Malbec]

The Zil lanes start today. I pity the fool who drives near London - any time really :)

Nearly at the end of the Olympics now and the traffic has been... non-existent. My commutes have been quicker than normal even allowing for the summer holidays.

Sadly things are too quiet it seems, footfall in Central London stores and restaurants has dropped by 30% over the past fortnight and businesses are claiming its the worst summer they can remember. I think its probably due to Londoners leaving the capital rather than a drop in tourists but those foreigners are all at the Olympics so its a double whammy.

Anyway as for the logistics and organisation everyone I know who's been to an Olympics event has been marvelling at how impressive they've all been, and its not even limited to the Olympics sites as there are volunteers helping out at all the major London tourist sites too. Time to recognise a job excellently done I think.

[Tazio]

We finished 4th in the medals table at Beijing - it's a high target for our team to live up to.


Don't look now, but y'all boyz are about to get spanked by France. Just one day to go......Governor!


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[Steve Boyd]

Don't think we ever expected to beat France on their home turf in the Olympics.

The Paralympics are looking OK though!