To think we are all idiots for allowing the Olympic bid in the first place

[Ryoko]

£2,012 for a ticket to the opening/closing ceremonies, that sums the whole thing up in a nutshell really it's blatant profiteering.

Only 50% of tickets are for the serfs, you need a visa card to buy em anyway and you will not be told for months if you will be getting any tickets by which time it would be too late to book a hotel and you can't cancel the things, corporates can buy block tickets but the serfs are limited to 4.

Tax payers money to build stadiums that will be sold off to football clubs and any other profit driven company after the games, so all those MPs and others on 6 figure salaries involved can pocket the money from infrastructure we paid for. Tax payer money for policing and road projects that will be pointless once the games are over.

Everyone who supports the Olympics in London is a mug, except people like Lord Coe who are laughing all the way to the bank, while the tax payer cleans up all the mess afterwards.

you don't have to pay by visa - you can go to lloyds bank and get a form there are it gives you other payment options - can i ask if you have ever watched any olympic games on tv and if so why do you think it ok for other countries to put it on but not us

Well I just hope our sewage systems are going to be up to the task of keeping up with all that extra refuse, yuck! I heard it may cause problems. Also, as a resident of London I am not looking forward to the extra overcrowding and the extra bus loads of tourists who will be getting under my feet as I try to commute.

Already making plans to temporarily let my property and go on holiday for the duration of the games

It's lovely to read a post so supportive of our young athletes and demonstrating such pride in our country in these cynical times.

We are cutting things left right and centre, the government telling everyone to tighten their belts, now is not the time for such things.

plus it's well cataloged that tourism drops before a games and many countries are still paying for the things for years after, with derelict or decaying infrastructure that no one wants.

Add to that the fact we have an excellent history in this country of fucking things up big time, so they go sprawling over budget and just don't work and are rubbish.

So far everything about this has laughing stock written all over it, the Wackaday logo, the VTs that made people feel ill, the broken countdown clock, the stupidly designed ticket buying system, the mascots that look like tellybots, the stupid bus at the 2008 closing ceremony, the whole lot is cringe worthy.

I'm looking forward to it. Gymnastics and cycling for me - not all the tickets are overpriced and of course they have to do the block corporate stuff - that's a big part of how they've been financed.

Do you really think MPs are going to be pocketing money from the infrastructure? Really? How does that work then? Are you quite sure? There's no chance you're being a tad hysterical or anything, is there?

Well it's only sport, hogsback; the type of sport that exists more for entertainment reasons than anything else.
The benefits to infrastructure & the economy could be huge, though, probably a good investment in that respect.

We should be supportive of our athletes but at the same time I am in agreement in some ways with the OP. There is a lot of corruption and back handers with these kind of developments and you just can't help feeling it's all as fair as it should be.

You want to support young athletes?

Use the money to pay for decent infrastructure for them to train in so they can be world class without having to go abroad to train in other countries better facilities.

I am not an idiot
You don't sound very happy OP, perhaps some gentle exercise might help

[head tilt]

Ryoko
Have you ever seen the facilities in Sheffield - they ARE world class and they have produced Jess Ennis
Have you seen the velodrome in Manchester - the indoor arena in Scotland and Birmingham
The indoor and outdoor facilities in Manchester and Leeds and at Brunel and Bath and Loughborough and St. Marys etc
do you actually know what you are talking about

When Manchester held the Commonwealth games I was cringing in the lead up to it as I thought we were going to cock it up big time but I have to say they did we really well.

they did it really well I meant to say !!!!

I will be supporting from a distance, possibly the same distance as London to Jamaica.

LDN..I shouldn't laugh but I can't help it! :)

More space would have been better.
People have had their homes demolished to make way for the olympics.

mollymole

Thats quite a distance to travel, only the lucky will get anywhere in this world or those who have money.

doesn't really help the poor with aspirations but not the cash to travel to other ares of the country does it, like London for example where we have fuck all that isn't falling apart/over priced and increased council tax to pay for this shit.

Besides Sailing and Cycling and the like are hardly the sports of the masses, where are our decent facilities for the working class and minority preferred sports like Boxing, gymnastics, hockey etc

Madam Well said!

Paisley Also well said! That's kind of what I was saying in my first post, about the corruption etc. When Developers get going they knock down anything in their way. No regard for residents, it's all about the money.

Wasn't just residents there was 500 businesses in a industrial park on the site that all got kicked out, thats 100's of permanent jobs lost or disrupted to make way for a few thousand short term jobs.

how does that help redevelop the area?, if the stadium does become a football ground then that really is the last nail in the coffin of the area, all the areas I know of with football grounds are as they say deprived areas, shit holes as no one really wants to live near a football stadium due to the regular disruption, drunken fans etc.

Bah Humbug!

I think it's just FAB we are getting the Olympics. Personally, I can't wait. While I can't afford the tickets for the good stuff like the 100m and will probably have to settle for watching International Knitting or some other such fringe event, I think it's a great opportunity for everyone. Yes, there will be cost and resource implications, but isn't there with everything worth doing?

Ryoko you make ample points as to why it was not a good idea. I know many people who agree including myself.

And I also think it would have been much better to hold it outside of London in a place that would have benefitted much more from it in terms of economic growth and te creation of jobs, short term or not. Especially as Lonodn is overcrowded all ready and it has caused and will continue to cause so much disruption here.

Minority prefered sports?

Explain?

The disruption is going to be massive, 4 lane A roads reduced to 2 lanes from 7am-11pm for the special lanes.

I'm not a driver but I live next to the A406 and got a consultation letter about it, it's a ridicules idea.

I don't think 'minority preferred sports' is the right term but I get the meaning.

Sailing and cycling are incredibly expensive sporting hobbies to maintain and I do not know anyone from my background who can afford it. I used to fence as a child in my private school but sports like the above are not readily available through state schooling or easy on the pocket.

Most of the young people I know are members of a boxing gym or/ and play football regularly. I will definitely be sending my children for boxing lessons, great discipline and something they can do with DP. One child session costs about £1-2, an adult being around £3-5 so it is very accessible for everyone. The other sports are not.