forum.sports-pro.co.uk

[Andy]

Maybe I should organise a whip-round for some fireworks?  Fivers in everyone?

[Hampton]

[RightJudgeIam]

[alansouthcoast]

[lochsong]

[suejoe]

I've just watched a brilliant programme which I inadvertently recorded on BBC4 a couple of weeks ago, it was called A Very British Olympics and was about how London hosted the games in 1948.

There were some amazing stories like how prisoners of war helped with the building work and had to move out of their camps to sleep in tents so as to provide accommodation for the competitors. One POW even helped coach our athletes.

Good food was so short that the athletes mothers were giving up their food rations to help feed them, one weightlifter told of how he trained in his spare room, he said the room was only 2" wider than his weightlifting bar!

It was heartbreaking to hear from a black athlete from America, he said it was one of the first times blacks could mix with whites, when they came over on the ship together, he said they even ate and slept together, then he said something like it being unheard of for a white man to stop and talk with one of the black athletes in the street in America  

During the opening ceremony someone realised that they didn't have a flag for the British team, so Roger Bannister dashed off to try and find one!  

It was a lovely programme, it should be repeated soon on BBC2, I'll put it on the Television Thread if I see it.
Black Power Salute is repeated tomorrow night, I haven't seen that.

I wasn't that keen on us hosting the games in 2012, but seeing as we've now got the job then we should provide the best facilities for everyone that we possibly can but I don't want us to go overboard with the opening ceremony, that would be money wasted in my opinion, the Olympics should just be about the sport,

Sue  

[Hampton]

[geordie_racer]

[suejoe]

[Rowan]

[kickingkyle]

Roll on 2012, may even volunteer and go and do some work. Once in a lifetime oppertunity and a spectacle that wont be in out country again.

two wrongs dont make a right but if we are going to piss money up the wall lets have stadia that can be used and a spectacle we will remember for the right reasons (hopefully)

We dont need to try a repeat Beijing (why would we want to) as we are not them.

Be positive people because its tough luck what you think. 2012 is in London
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Wolves winner 20.1.08

[Owl of Minerva]

It's brilliant that we are hosting the games and it should be embraced by everyone. Rowan, your arguments are so misguided I don't know where to begin. Another time perhaps

[geordie_racer]

I don't buy the " its only worth it if the investment is returned"  line

I think its worth giving to charity

the investment isnt returned, it's for a common good

The benefits of the olympics are non-fiscal. how do you buy a once in a lifetime sporting experience? how do you buy a "feel-good factor"?

Coe's original comments whih prompted this thread were absolutely 100% correct, and so were Rogge's (ie that the ecperience for the athletes must be preserved and in particular there needs to be room for all athletes within the olympc village)

I think everyone agrees that

[a] over-spending on spectacles like the opening ceremony can't continue.

[b] the future viability of the venues is key [hence our having an 80,000 stadium which converts to 25,000 and not a 95,000 fixed stadium like the bird's nest]

[c] neither of these will diminish the athletic experience and/or the games as games

So it comes down to whether you want our nation to have things like the olympics, the World Cup, the World Cycling championships, etc etc, or not. I vote yes. it comes with a bill, and as long as it isn't a blank cheque I think the lottery and the national tax bill are OK to pay the cost.

Come on guys... beach volleyball on Horsegurad's Parade;- Mountain Biking in Hadlegh Park [thank you Salvation Army]; shooting at (how appropriate!) the Royal Artillery Barracks and Archery at Lords instead of at the nonsensical plaStic pint-glass affair they had in Beijing

This is going to be FANTASTIC
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[FallonFacta]

The closest comparison I can see to London 2012 is Manchester 2002 - and I was there    I know it's loads smaller but it's the closest I can think of!!

The atmosphere in the city was amazing.  I still kick myself that I didn't get sorted out in time to get tickets.  I was working in a hotel which made a fortune.  I used to walk to work through the university and the joggers going past me were running at The City of Manchester Stadium later that day!

Here is the Wikapedia version of how the Commonwealth Games affected Manchester....

Legacy and impact on host nation
The legacy of the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games was widespread for the city and indeed the UK. The Games raised the reputation of Manchester worldwide, positioning it as a thriving, modern city, successfully regenerated from its industrial past.

In terms of infrastructure, the Games were the catalyst for the widespread redevelopment of the east of the city, an area which had remained derelict since the departure of heavy industry some decades before.

A new commercial centre for East Manchester, based around the stadium was created, known as SportCity. Legacy sporting facilities include the Northern Regional Tennis Centre, the National Squash Centre, the City of Manchester Stadium for football, the Manchester Velodrome and facilities for athletics, as well as shops, supermarkets and new housing. Legacy facilities for aquatics, the Manchester Aquatics Centre, and comprehensive upgrades of Belle Vue and Moss Side leisure centres serve their local communities.

Olympic president Jacques Rogge said the Games had gone a long way to restoring Britain's credibility in terms of hosting big sporting events.[8] It has since been said that the success of the games was a major factor in reassuring the UK's sporting authorities and the government that the country could successfully stage major successful international sporting events and that, without them, London's successful bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics would not have come about.[9][10]

Public houses and restaurants in Manchester reported a threefold increase in takings during the Games, and local tourism board Marketing Manchester estimate some 300,000 more visitors will come to the city each year as a result of its increased profile.[11]

It is estimated that by 2008 £600m has been invested in the region as a result of the Games and that about 20,000 jobs had been created.

And Wikapdeia is always right so what's the problem!!  

With the opening and closing ceremonys I agree that trying to attempt what China has done could all go wrong!  The stuff we do right is Live Aid, Live8 etc etc

I can see the closing ceremony now - Boris does a quick flag waving, the medal winners all get to the front of the stage and .... Oasis, Arctic Monkeys, Police reform (again), Led Zep reform (again), that years X-Factor winner shows up and jobs a good un!
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"I am a racing fan and I like watching racing, and I certainly like watching Flat racing more when Kieren Fallon is riding" - AP McCoy
Cocktails may not be the answer.... but they help you forget the question  

[geordie_racer]

FF you missed out a performance of we are the champions form whichever bits of queen are still plodding along

and the inevitable final moment when the torch is put out... and a lone voice, geriatric but still harmonious, accompanied by himself on the grand joanna begins to sing

"when I find myself in times of trouble...."

you know the rest
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"I should of known there mum was buying banana's"

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