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London gets the Olympics!

Ashles

Pith Artist
Ashles
Joined
Apr 28, 2003
Messages
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Congratulations to everyone who lobbied for it.

I just hope we can do the event justice.

I hadn't been particularly following the progress, but they came through with a very strong push at the end. And Chirac's comments must have helped. :D

Well done.
 
As a resident of New York City I just have to say

WHEW!!!

oh, and congrats London.
 
Oh yeah! Well done, London!

As Cleopatra and I will tell you, you will have to start gearing up for it NOW! Not next week, not next month, not next year, NOW!








Well? Have you started yet?

No??

WELL, GET OFF YOUR ARSE AND GET BUSY!!!
 
Zep said:
Oh yeah! Well done, London!

As Cleopatra and I will tell you, you will have to start gearing up for it NOW! Not next week, not next month, not next year, NOW!








Well? Have you started yet?

No??

WELL, GET OFF YOUR ARSE AND GET BUSY!!!
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Tomorrow first thing I promise.

Well after I get the quote for the bathroom.

And we need some milk...

But lunchtime...

Well right after lunch at the absolute latest.

Although next Tuesday might be better...
 
Well at least that will provide jobs for all the illegal immigrants and goodness help Poland if they need any of their builders for the next seven years.

And I do hope they've checked that the opening will be on a convenient day for the Queen.

Oh and how military bands do you think we'll have in the opening ceremony?

Australia's opening ceremony - a fantastic vibrant celebration
Greece's opening ceremony - a poignant and spectacular celebration linking the principles of the historic games to the passion of the modern day games.
UK opening ceremony - marching military bands and a packet of sparklers....

:(
 
HarryKeogh said:
As a resident of New York City I just have to say

WHEW!!!

oh, and congrats London.
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Has any city/country ever actually profited from hosting the Olympics? I know it brings in a vast influx of tourists but the costs must be enormous. Especially since the event is so short-lived.
 
Rob Lister said:
Has any city/country ever actually profited from hosting the Olympics? I know it brings in a vast influx of tourists but the costs must be enormous. Especially since the event is so short-lived.
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For all the attention a city gets from hosting an Olympiad, the reality is that the glory is fleeting. The Games last for two weeks. The bills can last for two decades -- or longer.

More often than not, the lingering effects of even a "successful" Olympiad are busted budgets and heightened tax burdens.

The reason is simple. Cities that win the competition to host are generally the ones that come up with the most ambitious (read: expensive) plans to build athletic facilities.
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CNN/Money article
 
Yesterday I thought it all looked so good (bad).

We'd even got Prince Charles and David Beckham to make speaches. I thought that the international community would never take us seriously once Posh & Becks had had their say.

(Devid Beckham, called upon to talk for his country. And we still won. JREF $1M prize worthy?)
 
Oh, well done! :) Just heard on the news then, so excellent! :)

In honour, I'd like to quote Billy Connolly on the matter:

"This country is in a terrible state, according to some people, and I know why. Now you've blamed it on lot of things, on unemployment and the value of the pound and all sorts of other magic things. It's because the national anthem is boring!

No, no, don't get me wrong, I'm not arguing with the lyrics. Well, I am. But not them all. I mean, I think the Queen should be saved, I think it's a great idea. And if anybody is gonna save her, God is the very chap. Who am I to rock the boat? Not I, nice person, showbusiness personality!

... No. You see, if you have been looking at the Olympic Games, we come in with the flag (hideously slowly): "Daaahhh-daaahhh-daaaahhh-daaaahhh-dah-daahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......"
We are being lapped! The games haven't even started yet!

(continues) "Daaahhh-daaahhh-daaaahhh-daaaahhh-dah-daahhhhhhhhh." The emerging nations are coming! (rapidly) Ra-ta-ta-da-ta-ta!! "We come from Jeblovia! And we don't give a *&@#! We've got a national debt of 50 squillion pounds! And we don't give a monkey's!!"

"Gooooooooooooddddddd saaaaaaaave..." All the other nations don't want us to win, cause when we win it take half an hour to get the flag up the bloody pole. "Ooooooooouuurrrrrr graaaaciousssss..." (snore)

So I think it's time for a change. And I think a refreshing change would be to use the theme from The Archers." :)
 
Congrats, Brits.

Whe thought of the Olympis in NYC gave me the willies.

And Chirac loosing. Sweet.
 
Giz said:
Yesterday I thought it all looked so good (bad).

We'd even got Prince Charles and David Beckham to make speaches. I thought that the international community would never take us seriously once Posh & Becks had had their say.

(Devid Beckham, called upon to talk for his country. And we still won. JREF $1M prize worthy?)
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I'm pretty sure Beckham was what secured the deal. I mean, any Singaporian man was aware that turning him away through awarding the games to any other country than the UK would result in his wife, sisters, mother, and daughters making his life hell for the next 7 years.
 
Australia's opening ceremony - a fantastic vibrant celebration
Greece's opening ceremony - a poignant and spectacular celebration linking the principles of the historic games to the passion of the modern day games.
UK opening ceremony - marching military bands and a packet of sparklers....
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And who produced that spectacular Greek opening ceremony?

Why, a British company of course!

I think it will all be carried off swimmingly. Fortunately I don't plan on being a UK resident by the time they have to raise taxes to pay for it.
 
Underemployed said:
And who produced that spectacular Greek opening ceremony?

Why, a British company of course!

I think it will all be carried off swimmingly. Fortunately I don't plan on being a UK resident by the time they have to rise taxes to pay for it.
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Oh its not that the British can’t be creative its just that when you have a relic like the Queen around and "Sir This and that" and "Lord Highmuck" as the "chairmen" of the various committees that will decide what the opening ceremonies will have we'll probably have a bit of Gilbert and Sullivan (their idea of "popular" music) followed by military bands and a parade of boy scouts and perhaps even one cannon firing.


(And no I'm not being cynical - I'm being optimistic if I was being cynical I wouldn’t say we'd be having a cannon!)
 
You can use the London Eye, and that big tide-control thingy down the Thames, to do some sort of "spectacular".

Darat, they should make it a rule - Get Ali G to decide who is on committees! Then you won't get Lord Sir Muckamuck, the Honourable Member for Little Snoring, with his wot-ho sparklers-for-everybody ideas. Someone more like Jamie Oliver...
 
My first thought was, Poor old Paris. If Atlanta can do an Olympics (adequately if not too well), why not Gay Paree?

Then this thought occurred to me: London and Paris aren't as far apart as they used to be. Why not have the Olymps in more than one place? It's already a huge event; why not split it up, adding more sports and parades and foofarrah, and spread it around? Swimming and rowing one place, track another, all those obscure competitions like shooting and fencing in a third town?

As it is, the French shouldn't be too unhappy. 2012 will be good for tourism all over Western Europe.
 
sackett said:
Then this thought occurred to me: London and Paris aren't as far apart as they used to be. Why not have the Olymps in more than one place? It's already a huge event; why not split it up, adding more sports and parades and foofarrah, and spread it around? Swimming and rowing one place, track another, all those obscure competitions like shooting and fencing in a third town?
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What ! and ruin centuries of cordial animosity ? Are you out of your mind ?
 
Flo said:
What ! and ruin centuries of cordial animosity ? Are you out of your mind ?
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You're right, of course. So let's build an Olympic Brasilia, a city devoted to nothing but the Olympiad. Airports, hotels, stadia, racetracks -- all purpose-built just for the event. There are several million hectares of, say, Ontario just waiting.

You say nobody would profit? Oh yes they would! It's called International Contracting, and my palm itches at the thought.

BTW, this morning I heard a quote from a man in the crowd in Paris. He said that he was disappointed, but London's a great city and best of luck to her. Admirable.
 
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