…the Olympics obviously. An extra £44M for the opening ceremony. I’m sure this is just the ‘first’ of the extras that we will fork out for. Glad we’re not in a shonky economic state or owt.

Sorry if it’s been done.

Yep, sounds about right.
Great that we can be so frivolous with money when we want to be.. think one of the athletes has come out and said theres no need for it already?
Dont get me started on chummy Daves pension!

I love the Olympics as a sporting spectacle, but the opening/closing ceremonies leave me cold, I think they are an utter waste of money.

Because China did a big opening/closing, we have to do a bigger opening/closing, China had to be bigger/better than Athens, Athens had to bigger/better than Sydney etc etc, the whole thing is a big ‘self-licking lollipop’.

Think they should can it and save money, let the teams parade with their flags, light the flame and crack on with the competition, stop screwing around with theatrics.

Oh and don’t forget the £37k of taxpayers money to paint a new coat of arms – what an utter waste of f**king money…

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8921578/John-Bercow-unveils-his-37000-portrait-and-coat-of-arms-complete-with-ladder-rainbow-and-pink-triangles.html#.TtPeB7GPZqQ.facebook

That’s alright, I’ve been doing my bit to help subsidize the cost of Southeastern Trains’ shiny new javelin trains which will be great for shuttling olympic VIPs around, but as much use as a calculator on a pair of rollerskates for anything else.

A mate of mine works as a disabled access consultant. Lots of projects for the disabled depend on lottery grant money – guess where most of that cash has gone over the last few years.

don’t forget the £37k of taxpayers money to paint a new coat of arms

That’s shocking. Words fail me.

Are there any (indicative) figures for Oympic costs outlay vs revenue i.e. will their be a loss or gain at the end of the day to the British economy?

Are there any (indicative) figures for Oympic costs outlay vs revenue i.e. will their be a loss or gain at the end of the day to the British economy?

Whatever it is, I doubt spending an extra £41m on the opening ceremony is going to help much.

No point arguing with me, as I’d take Paula’s opinion on this over that of anybody on here.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/16060634.stm

If I was in charge of the opening ceremony, it would be in the evening, and would consist of a very short speech from one of the athletes, the parade with the flags, 10 minutes of massive fireworks, then straight into some sport. Entry would be free. That would be plenty I think.

(Perhaps a burger van too).

Can we have sparklers?

10 minutes of massive fireworks, then straight into some sport. Entry would be free.

and everyone would get a go at at least three events

Oooh yes, sparklers.

Whatever it is, I doubt spending an extra £41m on the opening ceremony is going to help much.

Sir Martin Sorrel says it will.

Are there any (indicative) figures for Oympic costs outlay vs revenue i.e. will their be a loss or gain at the end of the day to the British economy?

Costs are 10 billion or so – I think above any income. 20 edinburgh trams, 20 new district general hospitals, 20 crossrail projects

Ach well, at least we can look forward to a wonderful legacy just like the Greeks after Athens 2004…

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-olympics/article-23920612-the-disgraceful-olympic-legacy-that-must-not-be-repeated-in-london.do

Has any olympics actually made money?

Has any olympics actually made money?

I thought LA84 was supposed to have?

TandemJeremy – Member
Costs are 10 billion or so – I think above any income. 20 edinburgh trams, 20 new district general hospitals, 20 2/3rds of crossrail projects

* cough *

oops – slipped a decimal point or more did I 😳

No point arguing with me, as I’d take Paula’s opinion on this over that of anybody on here.

I’m with aracer (and Paula) on this one. It’s an obscenely disgraceful waste of money.

A mate of mine works as a disabled access consultant. Lots of projects for the disabled depend on lottery grant money – guess where most of that cash has gone over the last few years.

I’m just going to have a wild stab in the dark here- not on projects for disabled people?

Has any olympics actually made money?

AFAIK, the only one to have positively benefitted the place where it was held was Barcelona, which enjoyed a revival of fortunes after ’92. The ‘legacy’ is indeed long-lasting, and clear to see, there. A very good job indeed.

Not going to happen here. London dint’ ‘need’ the Lympics. Shooduv head it in Birmingham or Aberdeen or somewhere instead.

It was never about Sport. It was always about a select few lining their own pockets. That was obvious from the very start.

Quite why anyone believed otherwise, is beyond me…

That’s just the start of it, wait till next year where a whole host of other increases will be required to get the games delivered on time.

Post olympics, Why can’t they use the Olympic village to home our MPs while they are in London, would save the country paying these robbing tossers second home allowances and furniture allowances etc

More or Less (Radio 4) covered this a week or so ago. LA made money as they didn’t have to build any stadiums, they just used existing facilities, – so the TV rights & sponsership etc were nearly all profit. The London Games will be a net loss of Billions…

Download the podcast if you want to know more.

I’d scrap it all, apart from the BMX.

I’d scrap it all, apart from the BMX

Thanks for that, any chance the MTB events can go ahead also, I’ve got tickets for them you see. Thanks in anticipation etc etc 🙂

any chance the MTB events can go ahead

If there’s time at the end, after the real bicycle racing has finished. 😉

Post olympics, Why can’t they use the Olympic village to home our MPs while they are in London,

Sod that; why can’t they use the Lympic Village to house some of the hundreds of thousands of people in London who do not have permanent homes, including families with young children, those with disabilities etc?

Oh yeah, forgot about the ‘Lasting Legacy’, din’t I? Which is ‘To Line The Pockets Of The Wealthy’.

Silly me.

It would be a great opportunity for GB to return to the core of the Olympics and massively scale down the O&C ceremonies. Revel in purity and simplicity….

…not a hope in hell of it happening. I see Coe occasionally {although don’t know him BTW}, so perhaps I will make a suggestion!!

So far I have:

Scrap the ceremony and everything other than BMX!!!

Revel in purity and simplicity….

…but I draw the line at naked athletics!!

I see Coe occasionally {although don’t know him BTW}, so perhaps I will make a suggestion!!

That he do the right thing and donate that £20 million he’s earning to charity, thus ensuring a furtherence of the ‘Lasting Legacy?

Self-serving scumbayg. Can you tell him that Elfinsafety off of STW does not in any way like him, please? Thanks.

Where do you get the £20m from? (not disputing, just intrigued….might ask him to buy me a coffee first, then harangue him if its true!!)

Revel in purity and simplicity…

I tried but failed, just can’t get excited about grown-ups riding kids bikes, now, if they had bigger frames and wheels…………. 😉

I thought that the village (which has been built for both able and disabled athletes) was going to become low cost housing.

In addition we have some new facilities that can be used – cycling, swimming. We are re-using lots of arenas around London – I am watching the Volleyball at Earls Court, Basketball at the O2. Tennis is at Wimbledon, archery at Lords.

There will be a legacy in improved infrastructure for East London. Agreed it may have been cheaper without the Olympics but without the Olympics it would not have happened.

(However I draw the line at the O&C ceremonies – simplify them please!)

And those people who said that if the games came to the UK it should go elsewhere – we tried that but Manchester failed miserably to get any votes.

I also think that some of the £9 Billion is coming back through ticket sales – at least from those who managed to get tickets!!

We could just have Boris saying open and Boris saying closed at the end, now thats cheap, then Boris sying goodbye as he doesnt get voted back as mayor next year.

…and he could do it in Greek (or Latin)

now, if they had bigger frames and wheels………….

24″ Cruiser Class, you mean? 🙂

Greece will (probably) shortly dissolve into rival City-States – we should honour Zeus by handing the whole affair back to them. If ever there was a moment for re-investing the Games with their original cultural/political significance, the collapse of the Greek economy is surely it… 😕

With you there teamhurtmore – this could have been the “back to basics” Olympics. Getting away from the bloated monster it has become – unfortunately the opportunity was not taken –

I bet we get an embarrassment instead – the UK simply does not do showy well -its not our natural style

With you there teamhurtmore – this could have been the “back to basics” Olympics. Getting away from the bloated monster it has become – unfortunately the opportunity was not taken

+1 – I’m sure at some point somebody claimed they were going to do that, but presumably such noble ideas have fallen by the wayside as everybody’s developed over-inflated ideas of their own importance.

Revel in purity and simplicity….