EddieB Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 How the Olympics could be improved. 1. Hold them away from a working city. 2. No freebies or other junkets for politicians. 3. Make them accessible to people that live in the host country. 4. Sell the TV rights to Sky, in return for "proper" sports (i.e. those that people watch in normal times) being returned to terrestrial TV. 5. Let local businesses bid for concessions, not multi-nationals. 6. Appoint Stuart Hall as compere. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutting42 Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 ...now the rumblings are the unions may step up and invoke industrial action during the period of the games. How daft can some people get ? That really would be sad if a few curmudgeons who don't care for the enjoyment of millions can mess up an event just because they have the power to do so. As Voltaire said "with great power comes great responsibility". I have great respect for the importance of trade unions but really hope they do not choose to use the event for their political aims. I like the approach of some on here who are not Olympic fans where they just ignore it or go on holiday, at least you can realistically do this. It is what I try to do with football but as it seems to have a longer and longer season and as I live in a football town it is impossible to ignore it completely. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted March 1, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 1, 2012 I am not 100% sure that the Olympics will bring true regeneration. having seen the site of the Montreal Olympics some years ago, the whole area looked a bit shabby admitedly its only one ex Olypmiocs location I have visited and others may have fared better. I would love ot have seen the Olympics staged elsewhwere in the Uk as it would have meant less disruoption down here - even Dorset is not going to be good to visit this SUmmer as I bet the roads will be bad. I wonder if any extra trains will be run to Weymouth (or even extra units on existing services)? Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutting42 Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 How the Olympics could be improved. 1. Hold them away from a working city. 2. No freebies or other junkets for politicians. 3. Make them accessible to people that live in the host country. 4. Sell the TV rights to Sky, in return for "proper" sports (i.e. those that people watch in normal times) being returned to terrestrial TV. 5. Let local businesses bid for concessions, not multi-nationals. 6. Appoint Stuart Hall as compere. Some I agree with but: 1. Away from a big city is impossible, you need accommodation, transport links and facilities that would not be possible in a greenfield area. You would have to build everything and apart from the cost being even higher you would be basically building a city! 2. Hear hear 3. Well they sort of are but the rules from the IOC are to provide a regulated number of tickets globally which inherently limits the number available locally where the demand is highest. I do agree that far too many were pre allocated to industry and travel companies. 4. Don't feel particularly strongly on this, sport is entertainment for most, if you want to see it, it will cost you whether it is through attendance in person (ticket and travel cost) or by subscription to pay for the sport. Terrestrial channels still have to pay for it, it is just spread out across many more people, many of whom do not care about sports as can be seen on this thread. 5. Comes down to cost, bigger companies can make savings by spreading cost over many events where a local company has to charge the local rate. Therfore the overall cost would go up even more. I actually agree with you and would love to see more locals involved but the realities of economies of scale make it expensive. 6. No brainer, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
10800 Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 having seen the site of the Montreal Olympics some years ago, the whole area looked a bit shabby admitedly its only one ex Olypmiocs location I have visited and others may have fared better. I *think* that Montreal 1976 was the last Olympics to make a loss (whatever that actually means) and subsequent games were forced to become more commercial to avoid saddling their citizens in permanent debt over it (Moscow 1980 probably doesn't count in this context). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 I *think* that Montreal 1976 was the last Olympics to make a loss ... It took the city about 30 years to pay off the debt. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mallard60022 Posted March 1, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 1, 2012 Whilst I admire greatly the level of fitness and skill of the competitors I'm afraid that I really can't be ar*ed about the main stream competition in general as none of it (other than the sailing at Portland which is a good idea and maybe some football - is that going out and about) is 'outside' of the London area and surrounding 'home' counties. There is a fantastic cycling facility in Manchester and a great water-sports set up in Nottingham with huge amounts of accommodation available locally due to the Uni's. Sadly not to be used other than maybe for training. They could have done the Equestrian stuff elsewhere too (Burleigh park?) and used surplus, reasonably up to date Military Accommodation at (say) Cottesmore (then handing it over to the Government for social housing afterwards). My main thoughts are on the lack of use of existing facilities across the Country which would have brought the so called people's games within reach of so many more people and some investment in areas other than London Boroughs. I shall take more interest in the televised Paralympics as there really is something to admire about that wherever it is held. Mr Grumpy @ 36E Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Ah, yes. Portland. Where the signs reading "Welcome to Portland" could only be read if you were leaving Portland..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Grafarman Posted March 1, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 1, 2012 As a resident in one of the "Host Boroughs" we were promised all sorts of things in lieu of all the disruption when the Games came like free tickets and access to the venues before and after for sporting events etc...nothing came of that; I put in for my tickets with everyone else to be told they'd sold out only then to see said tickets come up for grabs on a TV phone-in show!! I don't tolerate unfairness in any walk of life; these games have been unfair to those most interested and/or affected since they were announced and I'm afraid have sullied the whole experience for me...I feel sorry for the athletes who will be caught up in the inevitable to-ing and fro-ing of the press regarding cost/impact etc... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisf Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 The Sidmouth Alternative Olympics has always been better than the "real thing"! Ed That's true. I came fifth [out of five] in the discus - sorry, hub-cap - in 1980. Sadly the Israeli dancers, all of slight build, literally wiped the grass with the scratch tug of war team. Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Sorry, but if ANYONE really imagines there is going to be a "Legacy", apart from a very big financial hole to be filled over the next few years by London CT payers, perhaps I can do you a deal on Tower Bridge? The Houses of Parliament? Buck House? No.10, Downing Street? A Big fat Zero from old cynical me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baby Deltic Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 In a word? S**t! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Lamb Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Bit of a curates egg as I see it. It will regenerate parts of East London but will the local boroughs have any extra money to maintain the area for let us say the next 50 years? The accomodation will make some very nice homes. I just hope that the sale of the flats is conducted in a better way than was the case in the sale of the tickets. It seems that we are paying for it but the IOC are calling the shots. We should have told them that we will run the games on our terms. Let's try for starters to go back to the same events as in 1948. The same venues for that matter where they still exist. Herne Hill cycle track would be much more fun than The Pringle. Why do we have to put up with that word Velodrome. Track cyclists riding in a Velodrome. No. Track cyclists ride on a cycle track. Veloists, or whatever the correct french word is, ride in a Velodrome. As for this nonsense about one person per country and equal events for men and women. Words fail me. Some medals will be much harder to win than others under the new rules. One down side is that the governing bodies in certain sports are only interested in Olympic events rather than the promotion of the sport as a sport. Cycling being a prime example of this. A fraction of the 40 odd million to 'buy' medals spent on 'educating' London cyclists and training kids in general would be of far greater all round benefit. It's getting very East German to me. Security and the cost of it is another thing that gets my goat. The only point on which I ever agreed with the Thatcher woman was her stance that we would never give way to terrorism. Sadly we have. How large is a large camera? Are they going to check that your lunch pack qualifies as small and that your bottle of drink is not a ml over the allowed 500? I wish them well but will be keeping right out of it. My daughter got most of the tickets she applied for but is thinking of not going and hiring out her flat in NW London for the duration. Bernard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Torper Posted March 1, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 1, 2012 Really ?? I bet 'e aint doin' it for nothin' - oh i know - so cynical eh ?? He ain't. On my understanding Coe gets £365,000 pa plus £1000 for every meeting he attends. We must be barking....... DT Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormbringer Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 I couldn't give a toss about the Olympics. I have reservations about any worth the country will get out of them long term and wonder if all the investment that has gone into them wouldn't have been better spent on the NHS and infrastucture projects, including the railways. I'm by no means anti sport but the Olympics is just one giant, corporate shindig designed to make money for multinational companies like Coca Cola. Additionally, it only 'benefits' a small part of the country too, the area that has the most money already. Thankfully, I no longer work in London and can only wish good luck for those who do for the time the fiasco, event, is happening. ^^^ What he said 0/10 Pete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyB Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Ah, the big ask! Would have liked my children to have been able to see it but just couldn't get tickets. Was interested to hear that there is some kind of event (cycling?) at Hadleigh, very close to where I grew up. Rather surreal knowing it as a place the family went blackberrying and it'll host a major sporting event. I'd have liked to see more of the business opportunities coming to British companies. I'm forced to ask how much of the merchandising will have been made in the UK and how much was just imported. (The products my family's company makes sport the Union flag.) Will I watch it on TV? Probably some events. 5/10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold chris p bacon Posted March 1, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 1, 2012 I'm not much of a sports fan but I'll go an 8/10. Having been to college in West Ham in the 70's it needed Nuking then, so it was about time that some money was spent there rejuvinating the area, so what is now the athletes village will be some pretty reasonable housing afterwards. The area was toilet and needed huge amounts spending on it, the Olympics has brought that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baby Deltic Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I like some of the events: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Fisher Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 For the money grabbed from BIG lottery to be repaid in full and to allow it to be spent where it was being spent many years ago.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Reid Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Sadly often what happens on the track and field (pool and gymnasium) etc. gets lost somewhere between the large opening ceremony (often to me cringeworthy at best) and the even more elaborate closing ceremony... Sadly tainted by the thought of the amount of money being pocketed by individuals and corporate bodies as a result. Big hand for the athlete's (in a country where support is at best "selective" - though others will be quite happy to cash in on any success)! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poggy1165 Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I am reminded of school Sports Day in my youth - enjoyable for those who liked it, indescribably tedious for everyone else. For me the Olympics are just a glorified school sports day and it is outrageous at a time when drastic cuts are being made to services that actually matter - because, we are told, such cuts are essential - that untold millions are being poured into this vanity project. The Olympic Movement may have had some merit in the days of Chariots of Fire, but it has become yet another bloated and corrupt corporate monster, run for the benefit of the dubious characters who have possession of it. Sorry, 0/10 for me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 .....Having been to college in West Ham in the 70's it needed Nuking then, ...... The area was toilet.... Not as big a toilet as Dalston. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glorious NSE Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Not as big a toilet as Dalston. True, but Stratford had under/un-used land readily available which wouldn't have been the case with Dalston unless it had received that nuking The transport potential is better too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
'CHARD Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 True, but Stratford had under/un-used land readily available which wouldn't have been the case with Dalston unless it had received that nuking The transport potential is better too. Fair comment. There was only really the Square at Dalston. There are also some fairly vocal local community associations in that part of the borough. Meanwhile Newham's then Mayor, Robin Wales, was incredibly pro-Olympics, and is also a very pro-rail animal - which may have had a bearing on the developments through that part of town. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Churchill8F Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Really not keen on the Olympics, feel it's a load of tripe. Even the mascots seem to represent this. 2015 sounds much better, the Rugby World Cup should be a good one. Not to mention two venues (the Ricoh Arena and Welford Road) aren't too far from myself. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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