The London Olympics
Something quite extraordinary has been taking place in London
over the past few years. Unless you live in east London, it has
gone on in the background, but very soon it will take centre stage
and when it does my hope is that you will join me in being lost in
admiration.
I’m talking of course about the London Olympics. As part of
the Open House weekend, I recently visited the Olympic Park with my
family. Thousands of men and women have been quietly working
against the clock to make it happen: builders, tradesmen,
engineers, architects, planners of both town and transport, police
officers, administrators, the list goes on and on and on. Their
collective effort is truly awesome - see for yourself.
(opens a new window)
The project is on time and below budget. The seats are going in
at the Olympic Stadium, the “pod” bathrooms are in the Athletes’
Village and thousands of trees have been planted. The scale is vast
but what impressed me most was the way everything is planned for
life beyond 2012 and fits the times we live in and the British
character.
The Olympic Stadium does not compete with Beijing’s grandiose
Bird’s Nest. Standing in the middle, it almost feels domestic. It
will seat 80,000 but has a sustainable future life with 60,000 sets
or less. The Aquatics Centre is an undulating beauty but with
temporary wings for additional spectators that will be dismantled
after the Games. The Basketball Arena is entirely temporary. It is
being offered to Rio for their 2016 Olympics. What a stroke of
genius to have a range of temporary Olympic buildings that could be
reused, keeping the cost down and helping keep the Olympics
movement closer to its founding principles.
We all know how great sporting events can grip the public
imagination and we know too that that the nation is deeply affected
by the ups and down of its sports teams. Well, all that will be as
nothing compared to what’s at stake in 2012. I am talking about
nothing less than national pride.
For who can doubt that, if our games are seen as poorly
organised, if there are serious failings, we will surely embark not
just on national soul searching, but the tabloid-led
self-annihilation which seems such a feature of our collective
psyche these days. No one wants that, at least I hope not. But if
the Olympics themselves are run as the Olympic Park development has
been then we should have real confidence that London will do itself
proud.
Inevitably the impact of 2012 is going to be felt in the Royal
Borough. We have volleyball at Earl’s Court; not a big sport here, I
know but globally, absolutely massive. And not all the plans for
events are completely finalised so there could yet be others taking
place down our way.
In addition we have lots of hotels, shops and the country’s best
museums, so we are bound to have millions of Olympic goers paying
us a visit. And of course the main routes in from, and out to,
Heathrow pass right through the borough so we can expect a lane
closure or two.
Inevitably this will all mean a bit of disruption and
inconvenience. We have already set our officers the task of working
out just how we’ll be affected and coming up with a plan to
minimise the hassle. We’ll be telling you about that plan in the
Royal Borough newspaper, here on our website and in the local press
too.
There’s bound to be a bit of grumbling of course and I’ll
certainly be doing a bit of my own dark muttering should I find
myself stuck in a jam as a convoy of isotonic drinks sweeps past me
in the Olympics lane, accompanied by police outriders. But that
irritation will soon pass. The disruption will only be temporary.
What’s important is that the London Olympics, Britain’s Olympics,
is one of the best ever. And if it’s going to be that, we will all
have to get behind it. We will have to support our Olympics
organisers and our Olympians. In the words of a recent former
resident: “We are all in this together”.
Sir Merrick Cockell - Leader of Kensington and Chelsea
Council
The stadium project is on time and under budget, when you
look at the history of major public buildings like the British
Library and the Scottish Parliament building, you have to ask what
went right and how can we repeat it?
Do you think that London and the borough’s tourist industry
will benefit from an influx of Olympic spectators?
How will London’s and the borough’s road network cope with
lane closures on some of roads during the Olympics?
Whether you wanted the Olympics or not do you agree with me
that the last thing we want now is to put on a bad show? As
Londoners, we have to be the best hosts yet, even it does mean some
disruption.
What do you think?
Comments sent in
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1. On 11 October Sylvie wrote:
The olympics will only really work if we
all commit to get fit. It's about sport for all and participation
needs to be active. Let's be an olympifit athleticommunity!
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