Topic: Olympics..soon

[Jeannine]

Hi,  I am not there so would appreciate some feedabck about the run up.

I guess you are all getting excited now and the country must be buzzing with pride.

I woulds love to hear your experiences.

XX Jeannine

[katynewbie]

Sorry to disappoint you, but I am dreading it. It will be on the tv constantly and all over the newspapers and I will be bored stupid within hours. I am just glad I don't live in London!

[BarriedaleNick]

A lot of people seem quite angry and annoyed about the whole thing and how corporate it has turned out to be.
Most people I know are ignoring the whole thing - I guess I'll watch some of it as I do like my sport but to be honest I've had enough of it aready.

I dont see a nation buzzing with pride at all - mostly were wondering where the billions of our money has been spent.

[ACE]

Hysteria on all the local television stations as the torch passes through their patch. Makes a change from hospital knocking and skateboarding dogs.

[Melbourne12]

The public response does seem a bit underwhelming.

I suspect it's partly because a lot of the public announcements are vaguely threatening.  "Don't travel", "Expect delays", "This road reserved for VIPs", that sort of thing.  We're travelling in to Tower Hamlets (close to the games site) to see our son and d-i-l next weekend, and fully expect to have machine guns poked in our earholes by officious policemen.

And the corporate sponsors are behaving quite oppressively.  There's been a special law passed to prevent anyone but the sponsors using the O word and a number of other words and phrases and the various logos including the rings.  Unfortunately it's been applied quite heavy-handedly, so small shops have been threatened with prosecution for having games-related window displays.  Village fetes have been prevented from having games-themed celebrations.  This does tend to dampen enthusiasm.

Sorry to sound so negative, but the organisers seem to have engendered an atmosphere of fear and resentment rather than one of joy and celebration.

[Digeroo]

Just watching the news about the Olypics.  Its all about security.  Seems they could not recruit enough security staff.   ???   Some of the teams are now arriving, not much of a welcome for them.  

You can only take in 100ml of liquid.  I wonder how much they will charge for buying water?  No umbrellas.   ???   Too difficult to buy a ticket anyway.

My OH enjoys watching the volleyball, looks like they will all be blue with cold this year.

Sorry we are all too miserable through lack of sunshine, and too soggy in the rain.

I would like to know who is getting rich because of the Olympics.

The best bit so far for me was the little lad who made a paper torch at school and sold it for charity on ebay and it has been doing the rounds raising more money.

http://www.whitedovebooks.co.uk/blog/2012/07/logans-torch/

[chriselst]

I have never been able to get too interested in the Olympics, but the current incarnation does leave a very bad taste in the mouth - and that isn't caused by the McDonald's fries which are the only chips anyone is allowed to sell at an Olympic venue.

The aggressive way they protect the sponsors, even to the extent of passing new laws, allowing the sponsors to avoid paying tax between March and November this year, changing the names of venues, pursuing products and small companies, and even grannies knitting to raise money.

The Olympic torch relay was massively underwhelming, despite loads of people where I live lining the streets to see it.  Seems they only make an effort when going to get extra press, ie if they are in a big city or have a big celebrity to run with it.  They couldn't even be bothered manning the advertising trucks when it rolled by us.

It is going to be the most expensive Olympics ever, massively over budget at a time when we have no money, and the legacy will not be anything like what they wanted it to be.

They have started using the special Olympics routes in London this morning, lanes in roads reserved for use by official Olympics vehicles.  Of course they couldn't wait until the rush hour had finished before they turned them on for the first time.

The weather is just unfortunate, but it should be an excellent games once they actually get down to the sport.

[betula]

Where I work we had a letter informing us of road closures when the torch came to town we were told not to use the logo.Thousands turned out to see the torch go past but I am seriously concerned re all this money being spent.

[artichoke]

I am afraid I am another with negative views. My daughter in Greenwich (hospital consultant) urgently needs my help with her young children when school closes this Friday. Usually she enrolls them in various play schemes but because so many green spaces are closed for Olympic events, these schemes are cancelled.

The more I look into travelling to Greenwich from East Sussex to help, the more dismayed I am by the problems. Driving and parking is impossible, and to get there by train I have to change at London Bridge (extreme security measures are said to make changing trains a 2 hour ordeal and even official advice is Just Don't Do It) and alight at Maze Hill, the eye of the storm as far as the equestrian events in Greenwich Park (also closed, of course). It's a complete nightmare.

Has anyone any local information about London Bridge? I know they had a chaotic rehearsal of security measures last week, and caused hours of delays for commuters and ordinary travellers.

I am looking into alternative routes, but they seem to take hours - and a lot of the bus routes I might use are being altered for the duration.

[Crystalmoon]

I am sorry to say this but I am seriously worried about the future of the UK after the Olympics are over.
I doubt it will generate the income that had been hoped for what with the awful weather & now all the worry about insufficient security I suspect many foreign visitors will actually stay away.
Not to mention how insane it will be trying to be a tourist in London - I imagine all the usual sight seeing will be a nightmare experience due to traffic/travel delays - so we will lose out on our usual income from tourists who want to see Big Ben etc. Our economy will slump due to UK residents not being able to shop in London etc too.
So much money has already been spent this year on things like the Jubilee etc. The events happen once but the financial cuts to our services/NHS etc will last our whole lifetime  :-\ 
My son works in Regents Street & lives at Canary Wharf they have been told to walk to work, how ridiculous is that!!!! Our transport system has been at breaking point for years just trying to move UK residents around London so it is bound to fail with all the extra bodies piling onto tubes/trains/buses.
The UK could have really benefited long term from large investment in to public transport but it hasn't happened, instead places like Trafalgar Square have had huge expensive yet hardly noticeable face lifts!
Sorry for the rant but the long term negative affect of the games really worries me xjane

[Flighty]

I have no interest in it whatsoever!
 
And this is typical of what will undoubtedly continue to happen  -  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/news/9402563/London-2012-32-mile-queue-as-first-Games-lane-opens-on-M4.html

[Flighty]

And as for things like this -

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/britain-flooded-with-brand-police-to-protect-sponsors-7945436.html

[BarriedaleNick]

I was just about to post that same link Flighty!!

Artichoke - my OH uses LB everyday and there isn't really a way round but she will be using the new overland from Shoreditch to New Cross and then picking up the Southbound LB trains but not all routes go through New Cross..
Can you not go via Lewisham DLR and bus it down to a train station on your line??

[chriselst]

And as for things like this -

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/britain-flooded-with-brand-police-to-protect-sponsors-7945436.html

Hideous isn't it?

"Olympics organisers have warned businesses that during London 2012 their advertising should not include a list of banned words, including "gold", "silver" and "bronze", "summer", "sponsors" and "London"."

So businesses trying to advertise are not allowed to make mention of the city they are in or the time of year it is.

Utterly, utterly pathetic.

[chriselst]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18856922

Only 17 of an expected 56 G4S staff turned up for work in Manchester this morning.

[artichoke]

Thanks, BarriedaleNick - I have been looking into changing at Sevenoaks or Orpington for a train to Lewisham, and then a bus along Trafalgar Road.... For all I know, it will take as long as going straight to London Bridge and changing for Maze Hill, but I am working on the timing....

How can anyone copyright the word "summer"????

[louise stella]

And as for things like this -

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/britain-flooded-with-brand-police-to-protect-sponsors-7945436.html

Never realised "summer" was a banned word........but then again it's not like it's a word we'll be using this year!

[louise stella]

Yaaaawwwwwnnnnnnn!!!!!

Pass!!!!

[Trevor_D]

Sorry to disappoint you, Jeannine, but no, we're not getting at all excited about the Olympics. Everyone I've spoken to since the day we won the bid is convinced that it's all a huge waste of public money.

When the sporting bit actually starts, people's attitude will probably change. I, for one, admire the time and dedication the sportsmen put in, and we want them to do well.

But there isn't much patriotism, or pride in our country around at the moment. Perhaps it partly the weather, but perhaps it's mainly down to the fact we all know the country is run for greed and accumulation of wealth.

[Flighty]

Well said Trevor!