[Closed] What your olympic billions will buy...

A better representation of Britain?

I reckon they should recreate the kind of boarded up, graffiti-strewn, desolate provincial high street that litter the country. Then get a load of the unemployed youth to come and torch it, while an impotent police force look on.

All while a bunch of champagne swilling toffs watch from a balcony while snorting with derision

Have I missed anything?

Im cringing already. But at least there will be the posibility of a BBQ when its over with that content:

"Real farmyard animals will be grazing in the "countryside", with a menagerie of 30 sheep, 12 horses, three cows, two goats, 10 chickens, 10 ducks, nine geese and three sheepdogs"

Yes, some scally running off with the goldie-looking torch.

Have I missed anything?

A bunch of whiners saying how the hate this country, standing next to them so more complaining about how it's raining and it's summer.

I love this country Drac, but I think the Olympics is a massive waste of money, and seems to be organised mainly at the behest of corporate sponsors. I think it's absolutely criminal that when we are saying we can't afford proper care for the disabled etc we can afford to spaff millions on an international willy waving exercise like the opening ceremony. What's wrong with an 'austerity Olympics' that's actually about sport not all the other crap?

I suppose that makes me a whiner.

I hate the olympics. And as for a wet summer, no complaints, what else did you expect? We needed the rain.

As I struggle through the Sussex floods I have some bad weather vibes a-building... we can expect some more 'interesting' weather for the rest of the year...

grum+1

we were at conwy when the annoucenent that london would host the games.. it was exciting and one of those where when you when moments. i'm genuinely excited my kids are busting that the torch will be coming through our village.
only downsides..
it ll rain
some folk bus drivers london underground staff seem to see it as a reason to screw thier bosses over
coca cola and the like seem to be in charge
ticket allocations were a fiasco if your lucky your going to a dozen events unlucky and you go to none.. should have been max two tickets per person and we d all have had a better look in
it ll rain

upsides
bring it on..

I think it's naive to think that the money would have been spent on health care, it would have been 'spaffed' on something else and of course it's corporate driven what big events aren't?

grum +2

I'm looking forward to it, but then I'm not a miserable git who hates whatever is put infront of them because they're either told to by the press or just because they don't like to see people happy, including 'corporations' which if you haven't noticed a hell of a lot of us are part of and fund.
I like the sounds of the opening ceremony too - it has an eccentricity to it that Brits are renowned for; that and being miserable gits who always talk about the weather.

grum +3

some folk bus drivers London underground staff seem to see it as a reason to screw their bosses over

This will be the same bosses who voted themselves a perfectly reasonable £80,000 Olympic bonus each then? Yeah... my heart ****ing bleeds for them

I think it's naive to think that the money would have been spent on health care, it would have been 'spaffed' on something else and of course it's corporate driven what big events aren't?

Well given that most of the money came from the taxpayer, and it has been allowed to go [i]massively[/i] over budget, I think the money could have been spent on something much more useful. The budget for the opening ceremony was doubled, to £80m. To put on a one-off ****ing musical? When we are constantly being told how broke we are as a nation. Kind of gives lie to the whole 'we're broke' thing really doesn't it.

It's obscene quite frankly. We could have sent a message of 'look, you can still have a great event without breaking the bank, let's focus on sporting achievement and have a simple opening ceremony'. Ooh but no we have to prove we are still big players on the world stage and not look too poor compared to China.

And why is it so corporate driven when the vast majority of the funding comes from the taxpayer? We seem to have enthusiastically bent over and taken every last whim of the corporate sponsors on board.

I know where the money came from, after all that's pretty much where most of the money spent in the UK by the government comes from but as I've said if you think they'd used it on health care your being naive.

I'm indifferent about it, it'll bring tourists and some business to the UK. The torch is due here in a couple of days and the town has embraced it. There's a little fair been running since Saturday, live music market stalls and other events. A big ceremony Thursday when it arrives and stays over night and a closing one Friday. But yeah it's a shit load of money to spank on a sporting event.

Ok so it's a bit lame but because of the Torch it's encouraged a few tourists to visit and spend money in the area that they may not have done.

ticket allocations were a fiasco if your lucky you going to a dozen events unlucky and you go to none.. should have been max two tickets per person and wed all have had a better look in

Yeah, because that would suit the families going to events, right?

FWIW, I'm waiting for Mr Fedex to deliver the tickets allocated to my family, thats 2 sets of 4, sometime today 😉

This will be the same bosses who voted themselves a perfectly reasonable £80,000 Olympic bonus each then? Yeah... my heart ****ing bleeds for them

An austere Olympics, although the corporate partners wouldn't like it, would be better by far. Scrap maccy D for a burger/kebab van and I'm there in the queue.

Real farmyard animals will be grazing in the "countryside", with a menagerie of 30 sheep, 12 horses, three cows, two goats, 10 chickens, 10 ducks, nine geese and three sheepdogs.

Well at least this has an epic possibility for things to go wrong!

Meanwhile, the home nations will be represented by Maypoles topped with a thistle, a leek, a rose and flax.

What's flax, of all the things that come to mind when thinking of Ireland (petrol bombs, nail bombs, balaclava's, potatoes, midgets in waistcoats and top hats, guniess, guiness and more guniness, and bank bailouts) 😛

not to mention that tickets are ridiculously overpriced - certainly put me off and I earn above the national average
not only do we pay for it through our taxes we have to pay again to attend and then pay to eat at the official food vendors (worlds largest macdonalds anyone?) etc etc

The opening scene of the £27m ceremony

FFS give them all some acid in a can of corporate Coke and a big mac , cheap light show, some smoke effect a few spooky noises ...sorted.
Oh hold on perhaps we can just have the organisers stash

said the show was inspired by The Tempest and would be about a land recovering from its industrial legacy.

Grum + many

Why all this countryside and Glastonbury/rural England stuff? If they couldn't have the rowing at Henley or the shooting at Wisley or the XC at an actual hillside or the horses at Burleigh because none of these places were London enough, why then is the opening ****imoney so un-Londoney?

Europe's largest bell will ring inside the stadium

I'm sold! 🙂

[img] [/img]

?

Thats a big bell but its not the biggest

Among the other features will be two mosh-pits

Yep. One for the [s]oiks[/s] middle class and one for the toffs.

£27 million!! If everyone are volunteers where is that kind of money being spent?

Here?....

[img] [/img]

Will Self +1

It'll all be over soon...