Annan Visits Olympic Stadium

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and his wife accompanied by Liu Qi, president of the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2008 Olympics visited the main stadium for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing yesterday.

Smog

Beijing is in the process of drawing up contingency plans to lessen its traffic and smog during the 2008 Olympics.

Jiang Xiaoyu, a vice president of the Beijing Olympic organising committee, said that the plans were needed to augment long-term strategies to improve road and air conditions and ensure that the Games were a success.

Lanes on some city roads will be designated for Olympic vehicles only, and cars will also be banned.

Jiang said:

"We're striving to achieve better air quality by the 2008 Games to welcome the athletes and the Olympic family."

Beijing's roads are often clogged with traffic, and a brown haze hangs in the air.

Ironically during the IOC inspectors' visit this week, there was a heavy sandstorm and the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau recorded severely polluted air in the capital.

Hein Verbruggen, the head of the IOC's coordination committee, ignored the pollution and (refering to the venue construction) said:

"You can't think of any other word than stunning."

Pathetic!

There is one constant associated with the Olympics, that can always be guaranteed, namely that the costs originally budgeted will always be overshot.

It seems that the politicians and construction companies, that get their greedy little snouts into the Olympic trough, are simply not capable of telling the truth when it comes to budgets.

It should therefore come as no surprise to learn that the costs of the London 2012 Olympics are already spiraling out of control.

The British government admitted yesterday that the cost of staging the 2012 Olympics in London will be £500M more than stated in the original bid.

Pathetic!

The cost is now estimated to be around £2BN.

Seemingly the financial "wizards" who put together the budget forgot to allow for inflation from 2004 to 2102.

Again, pathetic!

Liberal Democrat spokesman, Vince Cable, said that it showed "total chaos" at the heart of the project.

Quote:

"How they got into such a complete muddle about an important part of the costing of the Games, why they got this so wrong, is a mystery."

Seemingly the London Olympic Organizing Committee (LOCOG), which is responsible for putting on the Games, were always aware that the costs would go up.

I wonder why they didn't mention it to anyone?

Needless to say, the organisers and politicians who saddled us with this unecessary waste of money are claiming that the extra costs will be covered by ticket sales and marketing rights.

Well they would say that, wouldn't they?

As sure as eggs are eggs, the eventual costs of these games will massively exceed the current estimate of £2BN.

Olympic War Breaks Out

Politicians are never shy when trying to claim credit for something, and attach their names to what they perceive will be a success; in truth they are seeking a monument to their personal and political ambitions.

The London Olympics in 2012 offers such a monument, and both the Tory and Labour Parties have been working hard to ensure that their names are associated with this event.

The Labour Party, under the guidance of Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, exploited the Olympics repeatedly in its local election campaign. She cited the Games in a campaign email, a speech and a party election broadcast.

Needless to say, the voting public were not so easily swayed, after all the Games are costing a small fortune in increased council taxes; Labour received a total "drubbing" in the polls.

Now the Tories are making vociferous complaints about the "betrayal" of the cross-party consensus on the Games, and the use by Labour of the Games for its own ends.

A cynic might observe that is now exactly what the Tories are doing, by making such vociferous complaints.

Tight Olympic Timetable

The timetable for the preparations for the London 2012 Olympics is "extremely tight", according to submissions made to the public inquiry into the compulsory purchase orders for land in Stratfod (the London site of the Games).

David Higgins, chief executive of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), said that no building work could begin on the East London Olympic Park until all the land needed is in public control.

Many firms and residents are fighting eviction from the Lower Lea Valley. They fear that they are being ripped off, in the push to acquire the land.

Higgins said:

"There is a considerable amount of work to carry out, let alone work commencing on the major facilities.

The timetable is extremely tight, and for the facilities to be completed for commissioning and test events from mid-2011, the land must be in the control of the LDA (London Development Agency) and the ODA by the summer of 2007 at the latest."

Gareth Blacker, the director of development for the London Development Agency which must get hold of the land, told the inquiry:

"We are still negotiating with the other landowners in the Olympic zone and continuing to try and make agreements with them."

The inquiry will make a recommendation to the trade and industry secretary, who will make a decision on the compulsory purchase orders.

If they are confirmed, the LDA will serve notice on all owners, leaseholders, tenants and occupiers.

I think it fair to say that the political pressure, behind the scenes, will ensure that the Olympic juggernaut rides roughshod over the rights of the individuals who are currently objecting to the purchase orders.

The Sewage Olympics

New York has managed to host the Olympics, not the Olympic Games but the Sewage Treatment Olympics.

Four teams competed to win the 19th Annual Sewage Olympics. They performed simulated drills that included; retrieving someone from a manhole, testing air quality in a makeshift sewer, fixing a broken sewer pipe and repairing a waste treatment pump.

The event was sponsored by the New York Water Environment Association and the Department of Environmental Protection.

The winners this year were the Bowery Bay Boys.

It is good to see an Olympic event that actually adds value.

The Green Olympics

The authorities in Beijing are working hard to ensure that the 2008 Olympics will be seen to be green.

In July and August Beijing suffers from very high temperatures, and is short of flowers. That is not deterring the Beijing Municipal Gardening and Forestation Bureau, who are aiming to transform Beijing into a city "shrouded in green and wreathed with flowers".

The Bureau claim that they have developed ways to enable thousands of flowers, such as chrysanthemums, Chinese roses and other homegrown flowers, to prolong their fluorescence throughout summer.

They are also studying ways of transplanting green trees from forests in the suburbs to the downtown venues for the Olympic Games, including spraying powder to protect their roots and planting them in special containers.

The bureau is also taking to concept of green quite literally, by carrying out a "green roof" project; which involves planting green plants on the top of buildings, less than 12 storeys high, along the main roads of Beijing and beside the Olympic venues.

It is expected that 80,000 to 100,000 square metres of roofs will have plants by the end of this year; by 2008, it will be 300,000 square metres

Future of Britain's Oldest Salmon Smokery Secured

The Olympics juggernaut, never one to respect the rights of individuals, has been prevented from claiming one more victim.

The future of Forman & Son, Britain's oldest salmon smokery, has been secured after its owner agreed to move to make way for the London Olympics.

Forman & Son supplies smoked fish and other seafood to some of the world's best restaurants and hotels, from its East End factory. It has agreed to move to a site, just outside the proposed Olympic Park, on Fish Island.

The deal comes at the last minute, as a public inquiry opens today into the clearance of 500 acres in the Lower Lea Valley near Stratford; the site of the London 2012 Olympics.

The deal was brokered at the last minute as a means of saving the embarrassment of Lord Coe (head of the London Olympics) from being publicly cross examined by Lance Forman (head of Formans) in the public enquiry which opens today.

Forman and Son is located on Marshgate Lane industrial estate, which is earmarked for the Olympic stadium.

Imperial Tombs

Work on the construction of the shooting ranges for the Beijing 2008 Olympics has been suspended, following the discovery of some imperial tombs.

The tombs were found in mid April, are believed to date back five to six centuries to the Ming dynasty. It is speculated that they were for eunuchs serving at the imperial court.

Usually, during construction projects in Beijing, artifacts discovered are removed or destroyed before experts can examine them.

A spokeswoman for the Beijing Olympic organizers, Zhu Jing, said that she had no information on how the discovery would affect construction.

I wonder if the Olympic facilities now being constructed will last as long?

Chicago To Bid for 2016 Olympic Games

It is reported that Peter Ueberroth and other top officials of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) are planning to meet with Chicago's Mayor, Richard Daley, next week about a possible bid for the 2016 Summer Games.

USOC said yesterday that Chicago will be one of five cities that they will visit over the next two weeks. The other cities are; Houston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Ueberroth is quoted as saying:

"The process of bidding to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games is more competitive today than ever before.

These meetings are an important step in a new process we are following to determine when to bid, how to more effectively bid and with whom to bid."

Daley has said that he believes that hosting the Olympics could be a landmark event for Chicago.

Tokyo Bids For Olympics

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government last week submitted to the Japan Olympic Committee its bid to host the 2016 Olympics Games.

Tokyo will compete with Fukuoka, to become Japan's candidate to host the Summer Olympics, final plans and budgets will have to be submitted by June 30.

The winner will be decided by the end of August.

Manners Maketh Man

In addition to rebuilding Beijing in time for the 2008 Olympics, the Chinese are working flat out to improve the city's manners lest visitors to the Olympics form a poor impression of China.

Liao Fei, is a researcher who has been tasked with determining how to improve manners in Beijing before the 2008 Olympics. He says that public belching, pushing in crowds and talking loudly in movie theaters are too common.

Authorities are concerned that loud cell phone talkers, dog shit strewn pavements and incomprehensible public signs will leave a lasting bad impression.

Zhou Shiji, the Beijing author of Doing Instead of Knowing, said:

"If we don't change our habits before 2008 the world will look down on China."

His book "teaches people how to establish good habits" he said.

Adding:

"Many Chinese know that their habits are bad, but they don't change because everyone else is doing the same things."

It will be quite a challenge I think.

Soccer Dopes

It seems that soccer may be pushed out of the Olympics, unless it cleans up its doping rules.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has ruled that FIFA, soccer's world governing body, is not compliant with the rules of the code issued by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). WADA dictates doping policy for all 35 Olympic sports federations.

FIFA adopted the WADC at its Congress in 2004, but WADA has ruled that soccer hasn't changed its rules to be in line with the code.

Soccer is so mired in scandal (eg bungs), I am not in the least surprised that they have not "managed" to bring their doping rules up to date.

The Olympic Omelet

You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs, or so the old saying goes. That certainly seems to be the case with the Beijing Olympics.

Beijing's mayor has called for a speeding up of the demolition of impoverished neighborhoods in Beijing, as part of preparations for the 2008 Olympics.

Mayor Wang Qishan told officials and construction workers that demolishing the dilapidated neighborhoods is an essential task this year, and that the work must be accelerated.

Beijing is undergoing a thorough makeover for the 2008 Games. It is estimated that the cost of refurbishment will top $40BN. This will cover the costs of new sporting venues, new roads and subway lines and the new build of residential communities in the suburbs.

One area of reconstruction is aimed at the poorer areas known as "inner city villages", there many homes have been built illegally and many of whose residents are rural migrants.

It is reported that about a third of these areas designated for destruction have been torn down, with the rest to be finished by year's end.

Wang is quoted as saying:

"This work is full of significance in strengthening the environment, building a livable city and realizing the strategic plan of a 'New Beijing, Great Olympics'."

Quite what the residents of these soon to be demolshed homes think is not reported. I assume that the corporate sponsors of the Olympics are happy with this non reporting?

The London Levy

The row over the levy being imposed on Londoners to pay for the 2012 Olympics is heating up.

Lord Sebastian Coe, head of the London Olympics, has entered the row.

He has written a letter to Bexley Council leader Councillor, Chris Ball. In the letter Lord Coe stressed that Londoners' cash is not being used to build Olympic facilities.

Bexley has been the heart of a campaign opposed to the council tax levy imposed by London Mayor Ken Livingstone for the next 10 years, to help meet the bill for the 2012 Games.

A petition is being raised to oppose the levy, which will be taken to Downing Street.

The campaign claims the levy is unfair because it is making Londoners help pay for the Games and underwrite any losses, while the benefits will be felt across the country.

Lord Coe claims that Londoners' cash will be used to finance improvements to London's infrastructure, and provide a legacy for present and future generations of Londoners.

Quote:

"We have to plan now for the type of community which will be living in the area in 25 years.

We need to plan the infrastructure, the utilities and the telecommunications now if we are to have a modern, diverse and integrated community for our children and their children."

The anti levy spokesman, John Flunder, retorted saying that Lord Coe had not said anything Londoners did not already know.

Quote:

"The infrastructure of east London was already earmarked for development whether or not London won the Olympics.

But Londoners have also been committed to share any losses from the Games with the Lottery.

And Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell has refused to cap London's contribution, so we are facing an unknown bill at the end of the Games."

As often noted, the Olympics are not about sport but about money.