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Comment: Now the torch comes to London
Evening Standard22 Aug 2008
As the Olympic Games wind down to their final, triumphant finale this weekend, the British team can congratulate itself on an extraordinary achievement. Britain, with 18 gold medals so far, is third in the league table of medals, behind sporting giants China and the US - but well ahead of Australia, Germany and France, countries that pride themselves on their sporting excellence and feel a good deal of chagrin at being outclassed. The feelings of the Australians cannot have been much mollified when the Mayor, Boris Johnson, in Beijing for the handover ceremony, offered his sincere commiserations that they had not done better. But in London there is genuine Olympics enthusiasm, a real feeling that this is an event in which to take pride and to become involved. There is, at last, a sense of hopeful expectation about the Games coming here and we shall see as much in the reception for the Olympic victory parade in London on Monday. The focus of public attention on 2012 has been, quite legitimately, on the ever-increasing cost of the Games, which spiralled to the present estimate of £9.3 billion from the earliest figure of around £3 billion. Now, in the euphoria of the British victories in successive events at Beijing, Londoners are starting to appreciate that the Olympics are a success story they can identify with - while keeping a wary eye on the financial implications for the taxpayer. High expectations can be a powerful motivating force for ever greater achievements. The task of the next four years will be considerable for the organisers as well as the athletes - to deliver a Games at less than half the money spent by Beijing but to make them memorable and glorious, a credit to the capital and the country. The Games marked the high point of the event in terms of expenditure; they are unlikely to come any bigger or more extravagant than these in the near future. The IOC and international spectators and athletes cannot be under any illusion that London can match Beijing in scale. Nonetheless, we must match it in creativity, vigour and wider participation. The London Games must deliver an extraordinary physical legacy to the city in the regeneration of the area around stratford - and leave the sporting facilities of the capital enhanced. The fillip provided by the medal winners in Beijing has given us all good cheer. But the bigger prize in our sights is London 2012.
Reader views (1)
As a British citizen living in the US, I was appalled at the slovenly appearance of the Lord Mayor of London as he accepted the Olympic flag at the closing ceremonies in Beijing today. It would have been more fitting had he buttoned his jacket and kept from putting his hands in his pockets.
I was truly embarrassed for us all.
- James Mcculloch, West Palm Beach, Florida, 25/08/2008 03:40
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