London 2012 Olympics

[prettyxcool]

It is not ONLY positive. As much as I enjoyed watching the Opening Ceremony in the end the hosting of the Games doesn't affect me (and thousands of Londoners/Brits with me) positively after they have finished. We've only had a lot of problems to get into work/get home (or possible it won't be possible at all - depending on your location), UK as a whole pa*d a lot of money for it, half the city broken up/looking like crap in preparation (this again includes the travel) and an influx of people wherever you go.

The Olympic parc looks really nice, the stadium seats are very comfoy and the crowd control was handled well (it still took me 45 minutes to shuffle to the station but there really was no other way they could've done it), in all the organisation is really well. But that is mostly for the tourist' benefit. It doesn't take away from the fact that most Londoners/Brits aren't interested (and if they are they couldn't get tickets!) but only have to put up with the downsides of the UK hosting the games which includes the travel disruptions you mentioned before.

Emptying the stadium is no different than say emptying the Wembley stadium after a football match, people don't complain about that, or do they? You just go with the flow. What would be good is if they let everyone use their travelcards (which is free with Olympic Tickets) on the hi speed from St Pancras International to Stratford International for the Games taking only 7 minutes, so to avoid travelling through London and creating more congestion!

Which is why I am leaving the country on Thursday. If I can that is, with the UK Border Agency on strike.

Yeah, that's not good, they are just blackmailing the government. Hope you get away ok.

[raj101]

The Olympics is one of the few things I still hold sacred, its all good for me.

The marketing and bullshite attached to it is cripplingly depressing for something so pure in its Classical origins, and it gets worse with each next Games.

[canadian_turtle]

It is not ONLY positive. As much as I enjoyed watching the Opening Ceremony in the end the hosting of the Games doesn't affect me (and thousands of Londoners/Brits with me) positively after they have finished. We've only had a lot of problems to get into work/get home (or possible it won't be possible at all - depending on your location), UK as a whole pa*d a lot of money for it, half the city broken up/looking like crap in preparation (this again includes the travel) and an influx of people wherever you go.

The Olympic parc looks really nice, the stadium seats are very comfoy and the crowd control was handled well (it still took me 45 minutes to shuffle to the station but there really was no other way they could've done it), in all the organisation is really well. But that is mostly for the tourist' benefit. It doesn't take away from the fact that most Londoners/Brits aren't interested (and if they are they couldn't get tickets!) but only have to put up with the downsides of the UK hosting the games which includes the travel disruptions you mentioned before.

Emptying the stadium is no different than say emptying the Wembley stadium after a football match, people don't complain about that, or do they? You just go with the flow. What would be good is if they let everyone use their travelcards (which is free with Olympic Tickets) on the hi speed from St Pancras International to Stratford International for the Games taking only 7 minutes, so to avoid travelling through London and creating more congestion!

I have never been to Wembley or anything quite this big to compare, but I have no complaints about emptying the stadium. Like I said, it all looked very well organised.

But that doesn't take away from the fact that the Games certainly don't just have a positive impact as the poster I was replying to implied and there are perfectly valid reasons for people to complain about how it impacts their every day life when they're not attending a game.

[Avisute]

Why cant people understand that the Olympics can only be positive for the UK as a whole. This morning it was great to hear the positive feedback following the opening ceremony rehearsal BUT every report was punctuated with "the latest travel disruption" and general negativity. Even a reporter at Heathrow couldnt help but punctuate the positives about the athletes and official arrivals in London with "and now they begin their journey on London roads !!"

Lets get real about this....NO city that has held the Olympics can EVER hope that the whole event would not see any travel disruption (why would the travel network suddenly improve for the Olympics !)
NO city can ever hope to have a travel network - train, plane, car, tubes/metro which can take without any problems an influx of people that are expected to be in London
Stratford as an area WILL struggle to cope. The tube line platforms are cramped enough on any weekday night BUT lets get on with it and enjoy it for what it is - for many of us the ONLY time in our life time we will see such an event in this country

GO TEAM GB !

Hear, hear! Just look at the positives. The Olympic Stadium seats 60,000, it was cleared in an hour after the show, even with the lack of the Central Line last night. The organisation involved in such a grand scale, has to be credited. If people can just take it as part and parcel of the whole experience, and go with the flow, it will not be that stressful. Unfortunately, the London Ambassador I sat with was negative from the start, kept complaining about this and that, wouldn't p*y to come, is that all they can offer, what an embarrassment, only 2 hours to go and I can go home! Wonder why she signed up to be an LA and got tickets... anyway, by the end of the evening even she was wowed!

By any chance this LA wasn't a female around 50 who was well spoken...?

[lisapip]

can not wait, seen the touch.

[andrew.falconer]

can not wait, seen the touch.

Lol, I assume you mean the torch :-p

[lisapip]

and signed up to take part in this.......

http://www.allthebells.com/home/

[ejwrank]

Glad to read the glowing write ups of the Opening Ceremony. We are really looking forward to our Olympics! Of course there will disruption but it will be great for London. When walking back on Saturday from seeing the torch in Hackney one of my neighbours was scathing about us bothering to witness such a thing. She is one of the miserable ones about but we didn't let it dampen our enthusiasm. She said she hoped the experience would 'sustain' us for the rest of our lives in a most sarcastic way! Well, I thought seeing the flame was special and I told her so. And I shall be sure to regale her of our Olympic experiences each and every time I see her in future. On second thought I may just cross to the other side of the road instead of having to talk with her!

We shall, we shall be sustained!

[Avisute]

I must admit though - getting into work is already proving interesting.....

[hugo_macedo]

I am really looking forward to this! I finally managed to get the hold of 2 tickets for the Opening Ceremony, and so reading all your comments, for those who were there for the rehearsal yesterday, I feel even more excited! It's going to be great! Anyone else from FMUK with tickets for the Opening Ceremony?