David Bennetts wrote:
"Paul Terry" wrote in message
news
In message , congokid
writes

I was in Trafalgar Square this afternoon. They're building a stage or
something for the event.

It'll be a bit of a damp squib should the decision go to Paris.

I very much hope that it will - they are much better able to fund the
likely multi-billion pound debt (I see that Toronto are still paying off
the interest nearly 30 years later, while Greece is saddled with a chain
of unused facilities that nobody wants and is trying to justify breaking
EU monetary rules by claiming that Athens was virtually bankrupted by the
last Olympics).

--
Paul Terry

I think you mean Montreal - '76 games.
I think London will have some problems in coping, particularly with
transport.

Regards

David Bennetts
Australia

I'm all in favour of the Olympics coming to London, and I very much
hope that the London bid does win - but we'll know what is to be on
wednesday.

Regarding the announcement from Singapore - it is estimated that the
announcement will be around 12.50pm UK time, and as the press release
says, there's an event at Trafalgar Square where large television
screens will show the result, as well as a similar event in Meridian
Square in Stratford, also with a large screen.

BBC London radio will be broadcasting live from Singapore, Stratford
and Trafalgar Square (on 94.9 FM).

I don't have an infinite amount of time to debate the pros & cons of
hosting the Olympics (fortunately!), but I will make three quick
points...


(1) Transport - Stratford will be served by a dedicated "Olympic
Javelin" train from St. Pancras, which will take 7 minutes to reach
Stratford via the CTRL tunnels. The transport package, which was
originally seen by the IOC as a weakness, is now increasingly said to
be seen as a strength.

See: http://www.london2012.com/en/bid/bes...mes+transport/


(2) The Montreal/Athens debt legacies - New IOC rules now demand that
cities bidding for the games have a far more detailed budget and
financial plans in place in an attempt to avoid previous problems of
overspending.

(3) The facilities and their legacy - London (and much of the UK) has
pretty poor sporting facilities (compared to equivalent countries) for
top tier athletes. There are detailed plans for what will happen to all
the facilities after the Games are over, and I'm certain that they will
not suffer from a lack of usage as has occurred on other cities. The
legacy of the sporting facilities is a real plus point (IMHO of
course!) of hosting the games.

See: http://www.london2012.com/en/bid/reg...meforsport.htm