So just what benefit is the olympics going to be for UK PLC

So today its anounced babies want be allowed in if they dont have a ticket even if they where not born when tickets where ordered,

despite large parks around london town no camping will be allowed,

The cost of the security operation is going through the roof, while Mrs Jones still gets mugged for her pension,in another part of uk plc

Heathrow airport is bulding a temporary departure/arrival lounge,at huge cost,

Huge amounts of money are being spent on new buses and road lines for the two weeks,along with thousands of multi lingual signs

Paramedics are being transfered there from round the uk just incase a foreigner is ill, while Mrs Jones somewhere else has a heart attack and has to wait for one to arrive,if there are any available,

Fianlly all the sports stadiums that are currently branded need all branding obliterated for the duration.

What a huge waste of cash, we could have thousands of miles of cycle tracks,more academy schools,and better public transport in the rest of the uk plc.

But just perhaps some peeps might like the idea of a giant costly school sports day for 2 weeks.

how dare you question our masters, the olympics will bring benefits to the UK, all the politicians have said so, so it must be true.

The nearer it gets, the less i care about it. I might go abroad when it is on.

at least the tour de france is on at the same time.

Paramedics are being transfered there from round the uk just incase a foreigner is ill, while Mrs Jones somewhere else has a heart attack and has to wait for one to arrive,if there are any available,

They’re all going in their own time and have to take annual leave or go in their time off, so normally services won’t be effected.

It’s OK, it’s not like they chose to host it in the farthest corner of the country or anything…oh, hang on.

Noe at all outsie the south east – and then the costs in terms of congestion and so on are horrendous.

Scotland has had is sports / lottery funding cut to pay for the olympics

The whole idea is to show Britain off to the rest of the world and generate tourism, but if that is the attitude of a typical Brit I might get them to stay away.

Yes it could have built lots of thing, I love cricket, golf, rugby and cycling it would have helped those sports massively. It will and has had an effect on cycling. Cycle to work being the main one that is obvious.

It is costing a lot but hopefully we will get a return on that investment.

matt_outandabout – Member
It’s OK, it’s not like they chose to host it in the farthest corner of the country or anything…oh, hang on.

Well more people do live in the S.E than any other are of the country so it is a lot more central and accessible in terms of population than you make out.

Look on the bright side – great time for a holiday?

Remember, it’s the London Olympics, not the UK Olympics. No other city in the UK would have won the right to stage it and all the events (save football and yachting?) have to be in and around London.

So why isn’t London paying for it?

Subsidy Junkies?

I would love to see the real figures of how much extra £££s in tourism it generates versus how much it cost. Obviously if those figures are negative we will never see them.

So, if it’s supposed to be a regeneration project, why wasn’t it held somewhere that’s depressed, like the Midlands who have lost a lot of heavy industry, or South Wales, where the steelworks shut down (and the mines) etc. There would be more room away from crowded London, which needs less help than other parts of the country. It would be easier from a security point of view too.

FFS, getting to work is going to be a nightmare. As for showcasing the UK, HELLO, London is only a small part of the UK and anyway, do visitors really want to see traffic jams and CCTV cameras?

i’ve never been less interested in the olympic than this time, right load of corperate bolloxs.

Well more people do live in the S.E than any other are of the country so it is a lot more central and accessible in terms of population than you make out.

Oh yeah, I forgot that the SE doesn’t have overcrowded public transport, roads or airports. And of course it doesn’t absort more than it’s fair share of funding for transport, sport, development etc.
/sarcasm mode off

Thank god the world is not populated by narrow minded individuals who can’t see past there nose.

London is the capital and the biggest draw for tourists, who you never know might decide to visit some other parts of the UK. The part of London that has been regenerated was a very run down area, other areas in the UK may have been more deserving and do need help but please embrace something that hopefully will have a positive effect on the whole country for a good few years.

Nothing ventured nothing gained.

right load of corperate bolloxs

IOC is just as corrupt as FIFA. I find the whole thing hugely distasteful, the government spunking all this cash for the spectacle of people running in circles, throwing bits of metal and jumping into pools of water. I understand how huge it is for the athletes, but really, who watches athletics at any other time, it’s a minority sport.

Great for Britain they tell us. Is anyone convinced by this?

Yes, I am. Sporting heroes, aspirations, pride – all that is worth it. My issues are only on how much we feel that we ‘have’ to spend, and once more it is a SE favouring thing.

How much money has gone into cycling because of the success of the British Cycling team? I would say biking has been a massive winner of the investment in our elite athletes. They have a chance to showcase their ability and skill on home soil and who knows maybe just one kid will be inspired and go onto to great things.

If you don’t like it don’t watch, don’t go, go ride your bike. I promise not to come and whine at you riding your bike whilst you could be doing something different.

The olympics don’t necessarily generate tourism. People assume everything will be booked up, busy, and twice the usual price. So they stay at home.

Tourism in Greece actually dropped during their olympics, even in the islands that were completely unaffected.

Oh yeah, I forgot that the SE doesn’t have overcrowded public transport, roads or airports. And of course it doesn’t absort more than it’s fair share of funding for transport, sport, development etc.
/sarcasm mode off

This point is a separate point to you first point, your jumping from one point to the next. I was challenging your implied idea that the Olympics should be placed geographically centrally for a maximum number of people to visit.

Heathrow airport is bulding a temporary departure/arrival lounge,at huge cost

So they are building extra facilities to accommodate extra passengers – presumably these passengers are paying fares? And hence will bring in more money?

Anyone know what the TV rights for the Olympics are worth? It’s only the biggest TV event in the entire world (possibly – might be the second 🙂 )

I imagine a lot of people will come to see it, and they’ll be spending a lot of money whilst they are here.

Great for Britain they tell us. Is anyone convinced by this?

Of course not, but I do have an open mind, unlike apparently some on here, and I will wait for the figures before making a judgement.

Some people of course like to make judgments so much they don’t wait for figures and evidence.

Of course they should have been more central. Manchester would have been a much better proposition but the UK government with its south east bias refused to get behind a Manchester Olympics bid.

As it is the whole of the UK is paying for London to have this and will be no benefit only minuses outside of the south east. Scotland has lost a huge chunk of its sports funding to pay gr this

Its an embarrassment. Its going to be a bit crap as well – thats obvious Look at the logo and the mascots

Populus central, not geographical. The more populous central would probably be somewhere like Oxford or Northampton.

As it is the whole of the UK is paying for London to have this and will be no benefit only minuses outside of the south east. Scotland has lost a huge chunk of its sports funding to pay gr this

Separate point. There are lots of other points for and against the Olympics but I am talking about location for maximum number of people to have access. So populus central, not geographical.

Did Manchester prepare a bid? I can’t see how they’d have won. And anyway regardless of geographical location London has far better transport links than anywhere else in the UK. It’s one of Europe’s major air hubs for a start.

And I’ve explained about 10 times on here why the logo and mascot are the way they are. But you’d all rather have a great big WHINGE than do any thinking.. how sodding British of you 🙁

Heathrow airport is bulding a temporary departure/arrival lounge,at huge cost
So they are building extra facilities to accommodate extra passengers – presumably these passengers are paying fares? And hence will bring in more money?

If it is like vancouver 2010, they built a temporary terminal but that was more for the purposes of handling the extra baggage that comes with the athletes and all the tv crews, etc. there the temp terminal was used the day after closing only.

And I’ve explained about 10 times on here why the logo and mascot are the way they are

Have missed that, please can you explain again?

Molgrips – manchester wanted to bid a few years ago but got no significant backing from the UK government so failed badly

So why are the logo and mascots so crap then molgrips – ‘cos they are – they are embarassingly crap.

There are two possible reasons for a Manchester bid not getting govt backing:

1) their bid was rubbish
2) It’s a conspiracy against the North!

Re the mascots – remember they are meant to appeal globally. I’d imagine that they decided Europe and North America wouldn’t give two hoots about these things, but Asian countries would be really into them so they designed them with a few billion Asians in mind.

It’s just a guess mind, but it would explain why a country stocked with design talent made something looking like that.

There are lots of other points for and against the Olympics but I am talking about location for maximum number of people to have access.

Populus central does not meen more accessible – the issues with transport and increased cost of accomodation are barriers.

Manchester (twice) and Birmingham (once) bid unsuccessfully. After Atlanta, it was made clear that only world cities would get the games so London was our only option if we were to win.

Tourism does go down often and West End Theatre are very worried about next summer, whether it is a good thing or not, I have no idea and we will never have any decent data to evaluate.

London taxpayers have paid for part of it because it has been included in the Mayoral Levy added to our council tax, approximately £1billion.

Mefty – those bids got no significant support from central government.

Scottish taxpayers have paid a part of it as well and will receive no benefit at all

As long as the spin is in full force and London is making all the profit, with the rest fighting for leftovers, that is good enough for me. Just don’t ask me to pay for the extra.

Miserabilists really do need to get a grip of reality. The Olympics are going to be fantastic. The atmosphere will be great, the legacy of facilities and feel good factor will be great, the regeneration is already amazing. I do worry about bad weather and terrorism but if they do not materialise (too much in the case of rain)then all will be well.

As for the people who think it should be in Manchester, FFS, get a life. Manchester is not a world city like London, Sydney etc and was never a runner.

Oh, and its going to help lift us out of the economic slough of despond as well.

As usual you miss the point, post Atlanta, only a “world city” can win it, London is the only one in this country that meets this criteria, whether the other bids failed through lack of support is an irrelevance.

Londoners have paid for it twice, first through National taxes, like everyone else and then again through the council tax.

London is making all the profit

If a London business does well, the tax on their profits and wages goes into the national pot. Did you not know this?

hh45 – so I should celebrate the fact that Scotland is paying for something that will bring no benefit anywhere near to Scotland and indeed has already caused lasting damage to Scotland grass roots sport an will continue to do so for years?

Legacy? None here bar cuts
Feel good factor – get real
atmosphere? riiiiiiight

Oh, and its going to help lift us out of the economic slough of despond as well.

Can I have some of what you are smoking?

has already caused lasting damage to Scotland grass roots sport

Are there no Scottish people in the Olympics then?

Scotlands grassroots sporting budget has been cut significantly to pay for this junket.

Thats less playing fields, less training course for coaches, less coaches, less opportunity for people to partake in sport. thats major damage to sport in scotland

At last some people who hope that it will be a wonderful spectacle.

I don’t believe that none of the visitors to the Olympics will not use their time here to visit other parts of the UK.

Maybe they will go home and tell their friends how wonderful and welcoming the country was and how they want to come back and that their freinds should join them on a fortnight jaunt around the UK taking in all the best bits.

If I can I’ll tell them to avoid the north because all it seems is a lot of whining from up there.