London 2012

Discussion in 'The Lounge - Off Topic' started by craigie, Aug 24, 2008.

  1. craigie

    craigie Terabyte Poster

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    Not sure if you have all been watching the Olympics in Beijing or not.

    I must say it was amazing from the awe inspiring Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt to the performance by the British team (our best ever if you discount London 1908 ).

    Do you think we will get more medals in London 2012?

    Do you think that the Olympics will be 'better' in London than Beijing?

    Do you think it's a waste of tax payers money?

    Do you think it 'instils' national pride?

    Let's have a friendly debate :)
     
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  2. UCHEEKYMONKEY
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    UCHEEKYMONKEY R.I.P - gone but never forgotten. Gold Member

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    Did anyone see the medal table today? I know we got another gold medal in the womens 400 metre freestyle, but did we beat Russia or is GB still in 4th place?

    I must admit i thought Team GB did very well and I'm proud oif their efforts!8)
     
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  3. Arroryn

    Arroryn we're all dooooooomed Moderator

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    Okay :)

    The performance by the British athletes has instilled me with pride in them - not necessarily the country. Some of the athletes have achieved their medals without funding or support from the government or the sports council. These individuals have shown an incredible amount of mettle and dedication to get where they have.

    Certainly, some sports have benefited greatly from national assistance - such as the cyclists, with the funding and the amazing velodrome that was created for the Commonwealth games.

    But as I said, this doesn't instill me with "national" pride, as the national support for these people (with regards to assisting their sporting endeavours) is very lacking. That being said, my heart swelled, and I was brought close to tears on hearing some of their interviews post-events.

    How so?

    More organised? I certainly hope so. Better, definitely in the respect that I will have a chance of going, and it will help bring tourism revenue to the economy, for that year at the very least (though I'm not sure of how that will be offset against the obvious chaos it's going to bring to our lacking transportation systems).

    There's also the fact that a lot of it just isn't going to be held in London. The cycling, for example, as already mentioned - we have a fantastic velodrome in Manchester that should really be used, instead of creating another building in London. It will be interesting how the construction develops.

    The best ever medal haul by a British team was when the Olympics were last held here. The haul was so massive, because a lot of the events only had UK entrants - I believe these included tug-of-war amongst other events.

    I really hope that we can surpass the haul this year. If you think that we will have Daley - who was only 14 this time round, and didn't win a medal - he is a real prospect. We disappointed massively in track and field events. We missed great opportunities in the 4x100m relays with favourite squads dropping the baton left right and centre. Unfortunately we became embroiled in that too.

    We should always be consistent in events such as rowing, cycling and boxing. I loved the fact that we came through with the swimming this year, and take nothing away from Rebecca Adlington, but I virtually fell in love with the young chap that did the 10km race to take silver. Especially on his post race interview, where he said he was basically delerious in the finishing stages of the event - and despite not finishing in style (did everyone else see how far he veered off course?!) he still finished to take an Olympic silver - and he's only 19 (or 21) so another huge prospect there.

    If the funding isn't buggered up by the myriad of sports councils and lottery funded organisations, as well as our beloved government, then I think we can surpass the efforts shown in Beijing. And I truly hope we do.
     
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  4. zebulebu

    zebulebu Terabyte Poster

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    Meh.

    All the lottery money should go on Education and/or the NHS. Why should I give a sh1t whether we win any medals or not? I'd much rather the money went where it was needed than on the off-chance that the country might get a bit of a good feeling about someone winning a medal at Synchronised Darts.
     
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  5. UCHEEKYMONKEY
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    UCHEEKYMONKEY R.I.P - gone but never forgotten. Gold Member

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    WTF mate!:ohmy are you kidding more money going to the NHS?? They waste too much money as it is!!:rolleyes: They spend far too much money on consultants:biggrin I know I have to work with them, arrogrant little gits who drive around in Porsches or Audi R8.
     
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  6. onoski

    onoski Terabyte Poster

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    No pun intended as I too work in the NHS and think most of the consultants do a good job and are worth the money then to throw it in a two week sport of fame. Runs:)
     
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  7. Arroryn

    Arroryn we're all dooooooomed Moderator

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    You don't count - you support Spain :rolleyes: :tongue

    In all honesty though, I do appreciate that sports aren't for some. But one good thing about the 2012 being here is it MAY finally assist in the complete lack of publicity and attention being given to the obesity epidemic (other than that being afford by Jame Oliver Twist. Please sir, can they have some more vegetables?)

    Hopefully kids will have seen the achievements by athletes this year and be inspired to take up a proper sport. ie, not couch-potatoing.
     
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  8. David S

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    I don't think it's a waste of money but a lot of the country is paying out for next to no benefit.
    David
     
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  9. twizzle

    twizzle Gigabyte Poster

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    Hey dont knock the synchronised darts!! Do you know how much practce goes into throwing 3 darts with a team mate in sync? not to mentione the lifting of pints to help with that elbow movement??

    Seriously, i reckon lottery money could be better spent elsewhere. Most of it wont go to the athletes to help thme train, but to tourist ideas to improve London for teh games. I have a friend, whose daughter is hoping for a place on teh Judo team in 2012, however they have little money, and rely on friends and family when she has to travel to international contests now. She gets no lottery money to assist in that, and so suffers for it.

    Me? I'm hoping they make arm chair farting an olympic sport, then, according to my Girlfriend, i might get a gold!
     
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  10. craigie

    craigie Terabyte Poster

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    Funnily enough, I was talking about this exact subject with my father over the weekend.

    This may not be 'PC' (no pun intended), but we realised that there was only one maybe two fat kids in our schools when we where between the age of 4 and 16.

    Nowadays, there just seems to be lots of fat kids, munching on crisps and choccies!
     
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  11. NightWalker

    NightWalker Gigabyte Poster

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    Thats true. You would sometimes see a fat kid 20 years ago, or the odd fat adult out and about. Now they are everywhere. I'm not sure hosting the Olympics will help motivate overweight people to get active and do something to loose the fat, they are just as likely to buy in a crate of beer, a takeaway every night and lots of chocolate so they can sit on their sofa and watch the Olympics on their plasma telly.
     
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  12. zxspectrum

    zxspectrum Terabyte Poster Forum Leader Gold Member

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    Well ill stick with Zeb on this one. As for the NHS it gets some very bad press, some of which is not deserved, ive been in and out of hospital for a year now with kidney failure and if it wasnt for the NHS , theres a good chance id not be here.

    As for the olympics, did you hear what good old Boris Johnson said, and hes going to be the face that everybody sees on the run up to this event, what will that say to the whole world.

    I also think the money for it could be spent on education in wanring people that if they eat crap then they areent going to have a good quality of life.

    As for tax payers money, we will always waste it, look at wembley, honestly i preffereed the millenium stadium.

    Ed
     
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  13. GrumbleDook

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    As someone who has trained with Olympic competitors I have nothing but pride for the fact that they are out their competing, no matter what medal they get, as long as they give their all ... and so many of Team GB did that this games.

    If having the Olympics in London can get some people up and participating, either in the games themselves or in other more local activities, then I think it could be a boon to adding a sense of community back into many areas.

    I am disappointed that it will only reach out so far from London as the epicentre ... but to some extent I think it is up to each community to be active in the run up for it all.

    I will be volounteering (can't register until 2010 though) and hope to do my bit to help it run well.
     
  14. zebulebu

    zebulebu Terabyte Poster

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    Yep - and I thought that the Olympics in Barcelona (I'm actually Catalan heritage, not strictly Spanish, just ask Delorean) were a giant cluster-**** as well. Seriously - if you ever do any real examination of the the 'benefits' to the host country you'll find that they actually have a negative effect in real terms in most cases:

    None of the 'thousands of jobs' created are 'real' jobs (i.e. they don't last more than six months and most aren't full-time even for the duration of the 'festivities')

    The displaced community from around the site of the Olympic Village and main stadia are often shunted miles from where they grew up, with no chance that they will ever have a 'community spirit' elsewhere

    The stadia are all immense white elephants - because they're so grandiose that they are only ever used about five times a year (Chumpions League finals, MOR concerts, evangelical rallies etc)

    Local people resent the games because of the amoutn of disruption they bring, and the fact that they have to pay more taxes for what is, in essence, a four week advert for Nike

    People from further afield in the country hosting the games resent them because they get absolutely zero benefit from them - and still pay increased stealth taxes

    Transport links are put in that benefit a tiny minority of people at the expense of links that are desperately needed elsewhere (there is absolutely no need to put a fast rail link between Stratford and Central London - they already have TWO links as it is - whilst they are STILL uhmming and aahhing about a link between South-East and South-West London - something that has been desperately needed for around forty years now)

    Stupid and completely unsustainable numbers of hotels and restaurants are built for the duration of the Olympics - with no hope of ever making a profit and leaving them empty afterwards - so far from it being a 'boom' time for the hospitality industry, the Olympics often lead to recession in hospitality and associated trades.

    The firms that 'pay handsomely' for the privilege of sponsoring the games are, in effect, making at least ten times the amount they shell out in revenue from the free advertising they get. And who the hell decided that McDonalds were a fit corporate sponsor for a sporting event anyway?

    There are hundreds more arguments against the games and, so far, the only single non-refutable 'good' argument for hosting them is that they will make British people feel proud. Therefore, the question for me should be:

    "Do i want to have my taxes spent on funding what amounts to a succession of drug-addled ****wits competing against each other for endorsements with Nike?"


    The answer, somewhat predictably, is 'No'.
     
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  15. BosonMichael
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    I've payed attention to the results and medal counts and the occasional news article... but to be honest, I haven't watched a minute of the Olympics coverage.

    I'm quite sure the UK will. More of your native countrymen will be able to participate for very little cost.

    If anything, it'll be less "faked". :D

    I don't think it's a waste. It can be done profitably, and when it's all over, you'll have a LOT more infrastructure, all paid for. The 1996 games in Atlanta cost $1.8 billion, but used no taxpayer money (other than for security), and made a $10 million profit. And on top of that, they've got dormitories that are now used for Georgia Tech and a new baseball field for the Atlanta Braves, as well as a slew of other modernizations: Wiki link

    It does for me, though I'm a 'Merican, and we're just wired that way.

    Props to London. I hope they end up making you proud. :)
     
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  16. UCHEEKYMONKEY
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  17. UCHEEKYMONKEY
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  18. NightWalker

    NightWalker Gigabyte Poster

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    Do you think it will all end up like the millennium dome after the Olympics is over, empty and unused, then sold to a mobile phone company so they can make a fortune out of it (yes, our government could have been making that fortune from the millennium dome).
     
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  19. Arroryn

    Arroryn we're all dooooooomed Moderator

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    Isn't that basically what they did in China?

    Seem to remember a Paul Merton documentary in the dark recesses of my brain... they knocked down shanty towns full of people and chucked up loads of massive skyscrapers to 'impress the foreigners' but these places were so expensive that they all stood empty... and possibly still do...
     
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  20. Modey

    Modey Terabyte Poster

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    Was I the only one who thought the London bit of the closing ceremony was utter pants (the bit with the dancers + bus) when surrounded by a stadium full of people who had just performed an amazing show? Then to make it even worse we had Boris Johnson of all people representing Britain to a global audience. Dear oh dear ...
     
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