Can you believe it! The Olympics are coming here! WOW!! ;D
EJ - Hubbie's just text me at work to let me know. I think its brilliant!!! Same as you, can't believe (please - I sound nothing like Victor Meldrew!). Absolutely brilliant!
It' s excellent news. I'm glad someone else is excited. A lot of people on another forum I frequent are massively against it and are grumbling about extra expense and inconvenience. I think it's fab. Stuff the inconvenience (and possibly minor extra personal cost) - it'll be a great spectacle that will give us something to talk about for years to come.
Not such good news actually. Aside of the extra tax burden, the proposed Olympic village and stadia will wipe out some of the last remaining allotment site in the area - Hackney in particular.
I think the site featured in Rick Stein's food heroes is in danger for instance.
What would you prefer - lotties or ugly bald men in lycra?
Will it be as successful as the Dome??
Think it is good news for the country in general but it p*sses me off that Londons bid is huge news and has massive backing however when Manchester and Birmingham bid all we ever really heard was - sorry not got it again. Same old dome/wembley story again....
Bitter midlander, moi? ;) ;D
I remember quite a bit of coverage of the Birmingham/Manchester bid (and I was dahn sarf). Obviously not as much as for this bid, but then I think they learnt that they needed to really pull out all the stops to win.
The Dome never had a purpose, so was doomed from the start. Construction of the new Wembley stadium is running on time and on budget I believe. One can only hope that they can extend that to the new Olympic facilities.
Er I thought the Wembley Stadium was well behind and the company building it, in danger of going bankrupt cos of the overrun in costs?
Not bothered about the Olympics anyway, lot of drug crazed apes doing unnecessary things to themselves and/or each other, BUT better London than the b.......(insert your own epithet)French.
Well. I think it's excellent news, that we are to host the Olympics. I'm sorry about the allotments to be lost in Hackney and saddened to read the 'sour grapes' comments, especially concerning the Birmingham/Manchester failed bids and the 'them and us' attitude. London is our capital city after all, and isn't the honour for all of us Brits? (I live in E. Anglia, by the way.) Well done to the Olympic committee! Er, sorry, Paris. There y' go. ;)
YES WE GOT ITÂ Â Â WOW, WONDERFUL.
Stuff the miserable french,and there food.
Well I think it's GREAT news and we (as a family) are already looking forward to being able to witness what should be a fantastic spectacle and something for our kids to look back on and remember with pride
Less of the sour grapes....let's CELEBRATE!! ;D ;D ;D
Plottie
My 13 year old son came home really excited and I think that is wonderful as he will be 20 when it happens and will enjoy going to see the events, he said lots of people at school were really pleased - I think it is great that they are showing an interest, there are lots of worse things to be interested in these days!
Sorry..
Hate to be the sole killjoy here, but we the taxpayers are paying for a billion pound gravy train for big business.
It will more than likely be an embarrasing fiasco just like the Dome and Wembley too.
And for what....a month jamboree of corporate entertainment, commerciality, and rip off prices.
Id rather we simply put the money into sport, education, health etc.
People at the top are rubbing their hands while we all suffer extra tax, and less public spending in key areas.
Lemmings !!
Is it all funded by tax money or do the IOC put any dosh up for it?
Hoo-Haa! They're here at last!
I visited the Dome (mum do you remember? hehehehe) and I had a marvellous day out. Ok, some of it was iffy but some of it was fantastic (and I bet my bottom dollar that half the people who mocked and knocked didn't even bother going there to see for themselves) I'm gutted the twin towers of Wembley were pulled down but the new "Wembley City" is (and will be) fantastic - anybody been there lately?
As far as forking out tax contributions to fund the Olympics. The people of GB fork out tax for things left, right and centre that they do not wish to. It's all swings and roundabouts. What one person may begrudge paying for, another may not.
I'm not a particularly athletic person, I only watch specific parts of sporting events but I am proud that GB has won and I will be happy for part of my tax to go toward it (oh, hang on, I don't pay any at the moment, hehe)
People are too quick to moan and whinge at every opportunity! Tell the hoteliers, guest houses, bed and breakfasts, restaurants, cab drivers, public transport operators, guides, tradesmen, printers, advertisers to name but a few; that it's all a complete waste of time and money when their profits soar and keep them in work/business.
Tell the spectators having a ball that it's all a waste of time.
Such piffle.
Vive les Olympiques de Londres!!  (http://dingo.care-mail.com/photos/4/4125a.gif) ;D ;D
Well said YP, I agree. And the Dome was one of the best days out I have had, I expected it to be bad after all the reports I had read/heard but we all enjoyed it.
I think we need to be positive about the Olympics, it is a great honour for our country and I am happy to have my taxes go towards it. My children are quite excited about it which is brilliant.
The government were planning to spend a lot of money regenerating the area where the olympic village is to be built anyway and it will be there for everyone to use afterwards. The roads, services infrastructure will be needed anyway whatever they plan to do with the area. I am sure they must get money from the IOC too.
It will be good for London and Great Britain as a whole. And not all the events will be in London anyway so other areas will benefit too.
It is good to have some positive news for a change, so much of our news is bad these days. It is good to look forward.
sorry france
sack la blair
yeh, its good to hear.
just to put the actual facts right though. people say its goof for businesses!!! i totally disagree the only ones who do benefit are the huge businesses, usually the ones who arnt even based in the uk.
As a business studies student, if you look at the commonwealth games in manchester, they built a huge ASDA next to it, more small LOCAL businesses closed after that was built than ever before for that area. building works and maintanence work was given to big firms. traffic often gets worse, even though there are more rail, road links. Apartments have been built, nope not for mancunians, more likly to be business mean from across the world who can but the £250K one bed apartments close to the games!
It will be good for businesses big and small. Logical thinking will tell you that.
As far as traffic goes, we are talking about a one off event, not a permanent thing. I'm sure people could (should) learn to deal with it for the short time it will be around!
Londoners, of all people, will be used to such a thing.
Oooh, train of thought - the congestion charge payments will go through the roof! LOL
Know nothing about business, even less about sport, wasn't excited in the slightest.... But really excited now! No idea why, just think it's exciting, want to go cheer, wave and generally enjoy. Not going to dissect it or get jarred off cos it's in London. Just WAHAY!!!!!! Lottie ;D
All the moaners and killjoys and miserable critics should go on holiday for a month and come back when its all over.
Me and the wife have book 5 weeks in China, 3 for travelling around and 2 for the games in 2008.
Idea for new olympic sport,
digging over unused plots!. each competitor starts at on end and is giving a same size area. lots draw, so if you get a bad bit tough. pre games the site would be cut back to the ground and rubbish cleared, and then after the games see how many plots go then....lol
I even might take another on...lol
rounds could be held around the country taken the sport out to the people.
Mr CG
nice idea celtic. thye can start on mine if they wish. thats almost at that state!!!
another rule, thye have to get all the stones and the perennial weed roots out...
Just a thought - when the Docklands area (Canary Wharf; etc) was rebuilt, it was touted as a Godsend for the regeneration of a poor, run-down area. How many of the indiginous population even got a sniff at the exclusive riverside apartments? About as many as could scale all the security gates, I suspect.
And this isn't sour grapes, moaning or whingeing - hello again, Rosebud - it's cynicism borne out of seeing over and over again the promise of something being offered to people in an area in desperate need of something to hope for, only to be left high and dry - and paying - every time.
By the way, it's been estimated that all Londoners will pay for the Olympics through increases in their Council Tax for up to ten years and possibly more. Any bid supporters willing to contribute to mine? (Or, for the more philanthropically-minded, my elderly neighbours'?)
All donations gratefully received.
People who are keen to support the olympics can buy the olympics lottery tickets to help. The Government are funding a lot too which will come from everyone's taxes and the IOC are funding some of it, so Londoners are not paying for it all. I just heard this on radio 4 news.
No, dear, I didn't say Londoners are paying for it all.
I said all Londoners will pay increased Council Tax for it.
Oh what the hell, if nobody else cares about the cynical manipulation of people's hopes, why don't I just rent out my flat to some big American firm for their corporate hospitality... say, five grand a week? Ten?
Now now Amazin, ;D ;D ;D, i certainly agree with you about the Docklands area
i have 2 sisters and a brother nieces & nephews who have always lived on the ISLE OF DOGS, now renamed and rebuilt beyond anything we all knew,I only lived there a very very short time spent my time in beloved Yorkshire ( i digress),
Yes you are right they were promised so much and received so little, not even the work was shared out with the locals, all the nice homes behind gates and the shops and cafes are priced for a particular clientele`, Â But you cannot put the blame all on one persons shoulders can you now?.
PS Adam are you the same person i shared the board with on the BBC gardening?? me thinks you are  ???.
I was very pleased to hear the news. I think it will be a good thing all round for Britain to have the Olympics here. There are bound to be winners and losers but I hope in the long term it will be great for the area that is being developed. So well done London. ;D busy_lizzie
Fantastic :D :D
W'eve finally got a good goal for our kids and young athletes to aim for.
London 2012, will be the best Olympics ever
Well said, Amazon. im with you! i studied the dockland area as a case study in geography, it showed that the only people who really benefited were the wealthy FOREIGN business men! as i was saying earlier, all some things bring is trouble!
Rosebud...im on the beeb, what thread are we on about here?