The Olympics,value or not?

[syebba]

 
When the olympics where announced they were coming to London in 2012,jubilant scenes in the above photo were repeated accross the UK.
 
I will be honest i wish Paris had got it,as the governments original £4 billion pound estimate has sky rocketed,where are the estimates now £8 > £10 billion & the construction is not yet completed.
 
I remember the night i saw it on BBC news,1000\'s of peeps celebrating,my thought was oh christ,here we go again,the governments lied to us about the cost & a large majority of the population have fallen for it!
I know i\'m a little pessimistic[JETPILOT!!!!:wave],but again the cost is going to at least double,but most probably triple,do you consider this a good investment in the UK or is prestige simply worth any cost?

[captainbizzaro]

I\'d rather forego the hike in VAT at the cost of the Olympics to be honest.

[syebba]

What about the white elephants,the redundant structures after the olympics,will they fall into disrepair & be torn down,the government keeps belting on about a lasting legacy?
I understand Aston Villa or Tottenham are in the running to take over the main stadium,a condition being the athletics track is kept.The roof of the stadium is not permanent,so will most probably cost millions to rectify,but thats unlikely to be borne by the taxpayer.
I distinctly remember at the start of the olympic propaganda  Tessa Jowell announced these were "The Peoples Games" ,in simple terms affordable to all native brits should they wish to visit,now it transpires the popular events such as 100m sprint will be out of most peoples reach price wise & sold out to corporate hospitality,this also inc the opening ceremony!

[lee mills]

The only people to make any money out of this is the eastern europeans who have done the majority of the building work. So much for helping the british construction trade boils my blood:2Mad

[captainbizzaro]

There is no way this event is gonna be open to the masses anyway, by the time all the corporate seats have been swallowed up it\'ll leave a few places in row Z and the ones behind pillars no one wants!

[syebba]

The only people to make any money out of this is the eastern europeans who have done the majority of the building work. So much for helping the british construction trade boils my blood:2Mad

I did\'nt know that Lee.
I guess your maybe a builder?
The labour government & the present coalition have stated the olympics will benefit everyone in the UK,please tell me how is that possible,i won\'t see any direct benefit,will you?

[syebba]

There is no way this event is gonna be open to the masses anyway, by the time all the corporate seats have been swallowed up it\'ll leave a few places in row Z and the ones behind pillars no one wants!

I suspect your right Tim,maybe they\'ll put tv screens outside the venues so ordinary peeps can watch if they so desire?:2Confused

[Nik da Greek]

My 2ps worth is that they probably will not be the magic wand the Powers That Be would have us believe, but overall still of more benefit than not. British builders may well not be getting the contracts out of it they could be, but hopefully the actual games when they start will provide lots of employment opportunites for local communities. There\'s already a massive amount of urban renewal stimulated through the construction projects, which must be a good thing, and there are a lot of more nebulous things it\'s hard to measure like stimulated trade and tourism etc, not to mention the halo effect for the country in general of the status of holding the event.

From my own personal experience, I\'d say the effect it\'s already having on transport links through London is profound, and long overdue. It has provoked many developements in the rail links of the capital, many of which were pretty much dead in the water before the bid was approved. The awful bottlenecks at London Bridge, and on my little route at Blackfriars are being developed at massive cost, and whilst they won\'t all be up and running for the Olympics, without them it\'d probably never have happened at all. Many millions of commuters will benefit in years to come from the re-developement provoked by the games, and that alone makes them worthwhile I reckon.

[syebba]

@ Nik da Greek.
Thats a good point,the transport infrastructure is being massively improved,so should help those commuters in the future travelling in that area.This will be a lasting legacy after the olympics have left London.

[David Nock (RIP)]

Oh Oh....here\'s a thing Transport.

Leeds was turned down for a Tram System by Alistair Darling when he was transport secretary...\'Can\'t afford it\', yet Leeds is desperate for transport infrastucture. People actually work there.

London has how many underground lines (17 is it?) plus 4? cross rail links plus 6 or 7 main line stations....and more improvements going in for a few weeks of Olympics?

So no wonder the last lot got the boot, 1st class train or \'copter down to London from Scotland, to \'Run Things\' (er not), whilst closing eyes to the transport mayhem along the way. Good Riddance I say.

Oh, and back to the original question. The Olympics bid was an ego trip for some, simply that. Massive losses coming here, will dwarf Leeds\'s \'can\'t afford it\'.

[David Nock (RIP)]

Addition to post.
OK Nik, missed your comments about long term benefits and I\'m glad for you. But Leeds is a big city with buses only and 1 main line train station, effective 1 way main line as well. It\'s desperate yet gets the thumbs down...mind blowing.

[jetpilot]

I am sure it will cost us huge amounts of money, just like that waste of space, the millenium dome! I am sure our money could be spent on better things as you suggest.

However, there is the flip side as Mr Greek says, tourism, jobs, improved transport systems etc I am sure there are some people that will benefit, my brother is a commercial surveyor and he has seen an up turn in business in Weymouth as people are buying properties and industrial units. I am in Poole and the harbour commissioners are building a new marina at present and another to come, jobs, contracts and improved facilities etc

Hopefully the sporting venues created will also leave a legacy for some new and improved and up to date facilities for our athletes, which has got to be a good thing!

If your into sporting events too the pride of holding the oldest known games will be enough for the expense, whether you watch it or not!

I am not that interested in athletics to be honest and most likely will not effect me and my life, i will watch some events to be sure and hope the atmosphere will be awesome, i am sure it will.

[syebba]

Ooooop\'s:2Rolleyes
 
It is of course West Ham & not Aston Villa in the running to take over the main stadium.
 
Spurs the other contender does not want to keep the athletics track,the gov is at the moment saying this must be kept as part of the olympic legacy,it\'ll be interesting to see what happens in the future.
Ta..

[Nik da Greek]

Hahaha, West Ham will have the best stadium in the Championship, cos they\'re certainly going down this year!

[syebba]

Ubelievable!
Boris Johnson is backing Tottenham to take over the Olympic stadium,so much for leaving a legacy here then,Tottenham will rip up the athletics track.
 
Affordable housing,another olympic legacy promised,will also become a joke,either availability or price or both!
ta ra..