The 2012 Legacy Failure - "Wicked" and "Negligent"

The 2012 Olympic legacy has been “a failure” thanks to "wicked and negligent” politicians http://t.co/lf6X3g1Wn1 pic.twitter.com/jQwj9XXm83

— LondonLovesBusiness (@LondonLovesBiz) July 6, 2015

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Was The Olympics Worth It?

Allegedly, if a survey carried out by ComRes for the BBC of 3,218 adults is to be believed, then more than two-thirds of the UK public believe the £8.77bn cost of the London 2012 Olympics was worth the money.

That's all very nice and dandy, except that the cost of the Olympics was in fact £12BN.

Given that the survey is based on an inaccurate cost figure, why on earth should the result be seen as in anyway credible?

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The Olympics Boost?

A report, for the UK Trade and Investment department (UKTI), said that last year's Olympics resulted in:

• £2.5bn "additional inward investment", 58% of which was outside London
• £5.9bn additional sales following Olympic-related promotions by the Foreign Office and UKTI
• £1.5bn high value overseas contracts - such as helping to design venues in other host-nations

A grand total of £9.9BN.

The figures are of course unprovable, as there is no way of knowing what would have happened without the Olympics.

Additionally, the cost of the Olympics was around £12BN.

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The Olympics Legacy

West Ham United have until March 2013 to seal a deal for the Olympic Stadium after being selected as “first-ranked” bidder.

As to whether a deal is agreed remains to be seen, as some doubt West Ham's willingness to stump up a "fair price" for the stadium.

Boris Johnson displayed some public doubts, and applied some pressure yesterday. The Telegraph reports that that he said that he will pursue a “Plan B”, that does not involve football, if a deal cannot be struck.

It is ironic, is it not, that the taxpayer having spent millions on a state of the art athletics track the legacy will most likely be a football stadium that will earn the football club (not the taxpayer) millions?

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The Real Legacy of London 2012

As James Pearce has said, Replacing G4S personnel with personnel from the armed forces made London 2012 friendlier and safer.

Thus proving the old adage that every cloud really does have a silver lining!

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Coe Appointed Olympics Legacy Ambassador

Lord Coe has been appointed as the UK's Olympics legacy ambassador.

Quite what that means, and how much he will be paid for this undefined role has yet to be clarified.

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Newham's Social Cleansing

Wherever the Olympics is held, those deemed "undesirable" and a potential threat to the "brand image" of the host city are always moved on.

Step forward Newham Council in East London, where this year's summer Olympic Games will be held, which has decided to cleanse itself of its less "desirable" inhabitants by trying to move 500 families to Stock -on-Trent.

A spokesman for Newham told The Telegraph that the new housing benefit cap of £400 a week had made it difficult to find private homes for low-income families.

"Newham – along with other London councils – is under significant pressure.

We are doing everything we can to ensure we have good quality, affordable housing which is fairly distributed. 

 Alongside a number of other London councils, we are also exploring the option of working with housing associations outside the borough to house people with an immediate need in the private sector, when there is no other alternative."

The solution for Newham is simple. All they have to do is ask one of their councillors, Ayesha Chowdhury, to help out. She has financial interest in a string of properties in Newham.

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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The Olympics White Elephant

The white elephant of the London Olympics, ie the stadium, will cost the hard pressed British taxpayer a further £2M on top of the current Olympics "budget" of £12BN.

For why?

It seems that the stadium is not up to Premier League standards, and that the pitch will need to be ripped up (it doesn't have under-soil heating) after the games and replaced at a cost of £2M.

Locog et al keep banging on about the "legacy" of the games.

For sure there will be a legacy, specifically:

- one very large white elephant (the stadium), and
- a large bill (currently estimated at around £12BN plus)

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Olympic Vandalism In Greenwich

Nothing will stand in the way of the Olympics, as evidenced by these photos of the vandalism and destruction of the Blackheath Gate in Greenwich Park.

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Mascot Problems

Locog are investigating allegations that soft toy versions of the London 2012 mascots (Wenlock and Mandeville) are being made by poorly paid workers in a Chinese factory.

Golden Bear, based in Telford, has a licence to produce them. However, an inquiry has been launched after media reports about the pay and conditions of the workers making the toys at a factory in China.

AFP reports that Golden Bear and the London organisers, LOCOG, said they were taking "seriously" the allegations that workers making the mascots were working for more than 11 hours a day for as little as 26 pence an hour.

Locog are quoted:

"We have asked our independent monitor to carry out a comprehensive investigation and review of these allegations.

The outcome of this investigation will be made public as soon as it is concluded.

We have contacted all of our licensees to reiterate to them the importance we place on the sustainable sourcing code they have each signed up to."

Golden Bear said it was also conducting an immediate investigation, but confirmed that the factory in question had passed inspections by the International Council of Toy Industries (ICTI).

Golden Bear are quoted:

"Golden Bear is extremely concerned about recent reports that a factory involved in a small amount of the production of the company's Olympic product could be in breach of workers' rights.

We are a family-run business that takes these issues very seriously indeed and has in place certificates of compliance at all factories used to produce our products.

We are therefore in the process of conducting an immediate investigation and will be able to comment on these findings as soon as they are known to us."

In March 2010 I wrote the following:

"Olympic chiefs are keen to emphasise the legacy of the London Olympics 2012.

What they haven't specified until now is exactly which country's legacy they mean.

This question has now been answered, it is China's economic legacy that is being underpinned by the London Olympics.

That at least is the conclusion to be drawn from the announcement that a Chinese company has been picked to make special lapel pins for the 2012 games, British companies claim that they were denied the chance to even bid."

It is a pity that Locog did not heed this warning, had it done so it might have saved itself some embarrassment.

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Boris Fails To Walk on Water

The Olympics has been used as an excuse and target for many politicians and organisations to push for their pet projects to be funded, completed and be publicised.

Sadly for Boris Johnson his plan for a £60M floating "River Park" (which should have been opened in time for the Olympics)  has been blocked by the Port of London Authority (PLA).

The public park would have included eight linked pavilions on pontoons, running along the north bank for more than half a mile from the Millennium Bridge to the Tower of London, along with a lido and a new jetty for Thames ferry services.

The PLA believes that this would have created a navigation hazard, and as such the City of London Corporation are now reviewing the scheme.

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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It's Not a Wrap!

 In August I wrote about Dow Chemicals wrapping the London Olympics stadium in some form of plastic sheet, and displaying its logo on the wrap.

"Dow, the chemical company with an "interesting" history, will be allowed to promote and display its logo on certain sections of the Olympic Stadium after winning the right to produce the £6M "wrap" that will cover the exterior of the stadium."

People have finally woken up to Dow's controversial past.

The Indian Olympic Association has announced that it will be holding a vote next month on whether or not to boycott the London Olympic Games.

The Indian government is still pursuing Dow for £1.1BN of compensation for the victims of the Bhopal disaster (Dow purchased Union Carbide 16 years after the disaster).

Pressure is mounting on Locog to abandon its deal with Dow.

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Corruption, Football and Sport

How "surprising" to read that football, that bastion of ethics and philanthropy, has mired itself in yet another scandal, this time involving the Olympics stadium.

The Telegraph reports that a second man has been arrested in connection with police investigations over the Tottenham Hotspur bid to use the stadium after next year's Olympic games.

The arrest follows allegations that investigators working for Tottenham Hotspur illegally obtained private telephone and banking records during the stadium-bidding process.

Spurs deny this.

The arrest comes on top of reports that accountants PKF, the company hired by Tottenham to carry out investigations during the Olympic Stadium bid, have admitted passing on copies of Karren Brady’s illegally obtained telephone records to The Sunday Times.

Allegations of corruption in football and sport, who would have thought it?

I dare say the white elephant of the stadium can be used as a prison after the games, if anyone is found guilty of these allegations.


Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Stadium Deal Collapses

West Ham United's deal to take over the Olympic Stadium in Stratford has collapsed.

The stadium will remain in public ownership after the games, and be leased out to a tenant following a new tender process.

The cost of transforming it after the 2012 Games will be met by the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC).

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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The True Legacy of The 2012 Olympics

Westfiled Stratford Centre  opened today in the deprived area of east London where it will act as the gateway to the 2012 Olympics.

It has the dubious distinction of being Europe's largest shopping centre, with over 300 shops, 70 restaurants, a 14-screen cinema, three hotels and Britain's largest casino.

Lucky Stratford!

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics
 
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Spurs Granted Judicial Review

The High Court have granted Tottenham Hotspur permission to ask for a judicial review into the awarding of ownership of the Olympic Stadium to West Ham after London 2012.

Mr Justice Collins, a High Court judge, ruled there are sufficient grounds for a review into the process by which West Ham were unanimously chosen as the preferred bidder to take over stewardship of the arena by the Olympic Park Legacy Committee (OPLC).

The hearing will take place in the High Court on October 18.

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Stadium Decision Upheld

The BBC reports that an independent investigation by Moore Stephens has upheld the decision to award West Ham the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Games.

The review concluded that there is no reason to re-open the bidding process.

However, irrespective of the outcome of the review, it appears that Spurs still want a judicial review and are due to present evidence at an oral hearing at the High Court on Wednesday.

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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It's A Wrap!

Dow, the chemical company with an "interesting" history, will be allowed to promote and display its logo on certain sections of the Olympic Stadium after winning the right to produce the £6M "wrap" that will cover the exterior of the stadium.

Seemingly once the games are over the "wrap" will be "repurposed", whatever that means in plain English!

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Ooh The Irony!

I am gemused to read that, despite the attempts by the authorities in London to clear the streets of the homeless in time for next year's Olympic Games, some people still understand the concept of "inclusivity".

Therefore my compliments to the thousands of fans have joined an online campaign to get a elderly tramp from Bournemouth to carry the Olympic torch.

The Mail reports that Gordon Roberts, 82, has got the support of 4,500 people who plan to nominate him as their 'inspirational member of the community'.

The question is, will he be allowed to carry the torch in London?

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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The True Legacy of The Games

The Brighton Argus reports that, in order that London is made to look all shiny and pristine for next year's Olympics, homeless people are being "cleansed" from the streets of London and are now heading to Brighton and Hove.

Charities claim that homeless people are being "harassed" (under the guise of "Operation Poncho", a joint council/police initiative) in order to meet the Olympic target of zero homelessness on the streets of London in 2012.

Moving a problem elsewhere is not a solution, merely a cosmetic enhancement.

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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