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| "That fare will be 1 billion pounds for the Olympic Games please." |
While I've written a lot about the London Olympics and the endless construction surrounding the same, today I'd like to blog about what locals think about the Olympics. During a recent swing through London I was lucky enough to ask Londoners what they thought about next year's games. While people who live in large cities like London can be jaded, I was surprised by the results.
Not surprisingly, the very first person I spoke to about the London 2012 Olympics was a taxi driver. Born and raised in London, he was enthusiastic about the prestige the games would bring to his city but lamented what 500,000 to 1,000,000 tourists would do to its creaky transportation system. He also thought the resulting traffic would be nightmarish. This appeared to be a common theme in my discussions with London natives. While most were thrilled about winning the games, almost everyone acknowledged it would be impossible getting around downtown London with so many tourists.
For anyone who has experienced London's subway, affectionately referred to as “the tube”, you might agree with me that the only thing keeping the system running properly is Londoners' famous good manners. Above ground, the City of London maintains an almost medieval network of narrow roads and streets. The road system gets overloaded even in normal traffic conditions let alone when so many tourists are flooding the streets during the 2012 Summer games. Underground, things won't improve much. The tube is a complex system of overlapping lines second only in complexity to the human nervous system. Although not the fault of those who manage such a complex subway system, it tends to break down A LOT. I also think that when the British were awarded the games, the International Olympic Committe glossed over issues such as London's infrastructure (one need only look to Rio winning the games as an example of the IOC turning a blind eye). For example, the Olympic Village will be located in London's East End and unfortunately there is only one subway line that goes there. I find it difficult to believe that this line will not become overloaded during the Olympics. And I am not the only one with this concern.
I do not plan to go through an inventory of people that I spoke to during my last swing through London, but here is a quick list: a bagpiper on Westminster Bridge; a French engineering student living in London for the year; an Australian expat working for the British government; a Polish waitress serving breakfast at my hotel (grrrrrr) ; a British student studying architecture; and many others. The common theme among all these people seem to be the cost. While the games were awarded at a time when it appeared Londonwas booming, since 2008 the economy has more or less been in recession and David Cameron's conservative government is cutting back. While the governments has not reduced the budget for the Summer Olympics games, austerity is in the air.
Not surprisingly, almost everyone who worked in the hotel industry seemed thrilled that the games were coming to London in the summer of 2012. Obviously these are the people best positioned to profit from a flood of tourists. However, in the list of people that I provided above it seemed that those not associated with tourism or least likely to profit from the games were most hostile. The French student for example, was upset the British government had recently decided to increase university tuition. If you have been following the news recently there were violent clashes a few months ago between student protesters and riot police in central London over the issue of increased tuition. It does seem strange that students and their families will have to pay more for university education when the government is building stadiums with taxpayer dollars. I can only imagine how it feels to have your welfare benefits slashed when again the government is building an entire Olympic Village. The incongruity is striking and not lost on the natives.
So through my very unscientific poll the results were as follows: 60% for the games, 30% against, 10% indifferent. My feeling was that while the majority of people living in London were mildly supportive of the games, a strong minority of people felt, "Why now in this economy?" I believe the games have reached a size whereby only the wealthiest countries on Earth can afford them. Unfortunately, whether the British accept this or not the United Kingdom is in a period of transition from economic superpower to perhaps something of a lesser economic power. This is similar to the situation the country went through in the 1970s. Rampant inflation, crushing debts, and high unemployment are not the best conditions for hosting the games. And the citizens are restless. Compounding the problem is the fact that the Chinese spent tens of billions of dollars on the Beijing games - financial means that the British no longer have that their disposal.
In closing, the British support their Summer games but question whether the country can afford it in a period of intense economic uncertainty. I hope you have enjoyed my somewhat rambling post. If you have any questions about Spyns London 2012 Summer games tours or would like information about London 2012 tickets or hotels, please do not hesitate to contact us toll-free at 1-888-825-4720.
Spyns is an active travel company based in Whistler, BC (Canada). For more information about Spyns and our package tours to the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, including London Olympics hotels, London 2012 tickets, and summer games VIP access, please visit our websites http://www.london-olympiad.com/ http://www.london2012-tours.com/ and http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.
