Olympics and Paralympics 2012 (and now the legacy-part one)

Well Lioned, I must admit that I thought Britain couldn't afford to host the Games ,it has gone way over Budget , already the tacky side has started,
people who were chosen to carry the torch selling it before the games have started. There was the Story of a Guy in Canada selling his Tickets and
no doubt the ticket touts in the U.K. will be making their small fortune while genuine Fans could not get a ticket.

However, watching the Helicopter flying towards Britain to deliver the Torch, literally thousands of people at 6am waiting to see the start of the relay
and all along the route I felt a lump in my throat and just hope and pray that the Olympic Organisers get it right and do Britain proud. Goodness knows
how Heathrow Airport is going to cope.

Well i have been offered £1000 for my 2 x Beach Volleyball tickets but i wont be selling them as i have been told we are not allowed to.Tickets are strictly non transferrable so they say.I dont know how they will stop that happening unless they ask for ID at the gates,i believe the tickets will have your name on,but i'm not sure really.Anyway they are not for sale as the Queen has asked me in for afternoon tiffin' afterwards.

Lioned wrote:Well i have been offered £1000 for my 2 x Beach Volleyball tickets but i wont be selling them as i have been told we are not allowed to.Tickets are strictly non transferrable so they say.I dont know how they will stop that happening unless they ask for ID at the gates,i believe the tickets will have your name on,but i'm not sure really.Anyway they are not for sale as the Queen has asked me in for afternoon tiffin' afterwards.

Aren't you the lucky one!!!! Actually it was because this guy lived in Canada that he was allowed to sell his ticket/s so the U.K,. rule did not apply. He
might be a genuine ticket holder who for some reason can't make the Games, or a chancer out to make a fast buck.

The Big Olympic Money Spinner Share
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The Big Olympic Money Spinner

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Orla Chennaoui
May 21, 2012 5:07 PM

Recommend post (0) Last night an Olympic torch was sold on eBay for £153,000.

By this morning, the number of torches offered on the online auction site had more than doubled.

Again, the top asking price was astronomical - £145,000.

Both sellers said their proceeds would go to charity.

For many others it would seem, charity begins at home.

But can we really blame Joe Public from wanting to make a quick buck from what's often seen as the biggest money-spinner in town?

A tough question, which will depend on your morals, your view of the Olympics, and whether you missed out on one of the potential revenue-earners of the Games (torch, tickets etc).

What's more clear-cut is that people can and will cash in, and there's very little, sometimes nothing, the organisers can do to stop them.

Take tickets for example.

We know a few entrepreneurial souls have been taking on the wrath of the law and the weight of the £20,000 fine it has to throw at them by selling their Olympic spots online.

But now, I've found international sellers attempting to make the most of the fertile UK market by selling, not on eBay.com, but the British version of the site.

Two tickets for athletics were posted by a Canadian seller a few days ago, for more than 2 1/2 times the asking price.

Being canny, they've gone directly to the market where demand is at its greatest. Being Canadian there's little the British law can do to stop them.

Of course, eBay will, we would assume take the posting down. But the fact is, new ones will appear in its place.

Because, while for many of us, the Olympics is one of the greatest, one of the most noble displays of human endeavour on the planet.

For others, it's just a big oul' lycra-covered honey pot.

Only some, though, are allowed to dip in without risking getting their fingers stuck.

The London 2012 organising committee had promised to deliver a watertight ticketing strategy for the Olympic Games
11:04pm UK, Saturday June 16, 2012

Foreign Olympic officials and agents have been caught trying to sell thousands of London 2012 tickets on the black market for up to 10 times their value, it has been claimed.
The corruption is widespread, according to a newspaper report, which accuses officials who control tickets for up to 54 countries of selling them to the highest bidder.

Journalists claiming to work for a Middle Eastern ticket tout were offered some of the best seats at the most sought-after events - including the 100-metre final, it is alleged.

The Sunday Times accuses the foreign officials and agents of siphoning off tickets from official supplies held by overseas National Olympic Committees (Nocs) to sell at exorbitant prices.



Hundreds of thousands of Brits failed to get tickets

As a result of the newspaper's investigation, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) called an emergency meeting of its executive board and launched its own probe.

It said it would impose the "strongest sanctions" on officials caught dealing on the black market, and could ban the countries involved from ever selling tickets again.

The Sunday title claims it uncovered 27 agents willing to sell tickets on the black market, including Serbia's official ticket agent, who offered to sell around 1,500 tickets to events for £80,000.

Yoav Bruck, the former Olympic swimmer who is authorised to sell tickets in Israel and Cyprus, is also accused of offering to sell reporters 525 top seats for £66,000.

While the report says Lithuania's official agent, Asta Zirlyte, boasted she had withheld tickets from her own country so they could be sold on the black market.

"If I take a risk and they catch me, that means your tickets will be cancelled. So you have to understand the risk," she allegedly said.

The chairman of the London organising committee (Locog), Lord Coe, had promised to deliver a watertight ticketing strategy for the Games.




But a record 1.2 million tickets were released to overseas Olympic committees, who bid for their share of the ticket allocation based on demand in their countries.

This system resulted in officials exaggerating local demand so they could get the maximum number of tickets, the newspaper claims, despite them being forbidden to sell their tickets abroad or to anyone who plans to resell them.

As a result, the black market was flooded with seats at the most sought-after events, it has been alleged.

The president of Greece's Olympic committee, Spyros Capralos, allegedly boasted he had "pulled strings" with Lord Coe to allocate his country more top tickets to the Games on the pretext that demand in the country had outstripped expectations.

But he said, in truth, demand was "very low" and few tickets had been sold there, the report claims.

It come after hundreds of thousands of Brits were left disappointed after failing to get any tickets for the major event, due to start on July 27.

Locog said any official caught selling tickets in this way would have their allocations confiscated, which would then be released to the British public and other countries.

The Sunday Times said it did not go ahead with any of the deals to buy or sell tickets for the 2012 Games.

The Olympics Committee has called an urgent Meeting to discuss the black market sale of tickets, apparently about 50 Countries involved. Undercover
interviews with an Israeli and Greek seller revealed that the tickets are selling up to 100 times their cost .

British fans are furious that they had to go through a lottery system , 40 odd thousand tickets turn up for sale recently and the apportion of tickets to
Foreign countries was much too high for some of the smaller Countries . The Organisers have apologised and hoped this will not spoil the enjoyment of
the Games. So now we have an English Garden to identify Britain and a widespread black market for tickets around the world....what next???

On the News tonight iit was reported that 4000 extra Troops would be needed for Security at the Olympics because the Security Firm could not reach it's target. There will be 17,000 troops in all and it makes me sick that our troops can go into foreign Countries and be killed and maimed and now many face redundancy , as do the Royal Navy. Yet the MOD will spend millions on replacing the Trident when Air and Ground cover . the most likely form of
attack is depleted. Another cock up by the Olympic Committee.

The Home Secretary has denied security at the Olympic Games is a "shambles" after another 3,500 soldiers had to be drafted in to bolster guard levels.

Theresa May was forced to ask the Ministry of Defence to provide more troops after private contractors G4S admitted they did not have enough staff.

The Government only found out about the exact shortfall on Wednesday and quickly had to boost the number of soldiers working on the Games to 17,000 - almost a fifth of the entire Army.

The move, which comes just two weeks before the opening ceremony, puts Olympic arrangements under fresh scrutiny and is a major embarrassment for organisers Locog.

It follows from the closure of the M4, a key Olympic route, because of a damaged flyover and amid ongoing questions about border staff levels at Heathrow Airport.

Mrs May, in a Commons statement after Labour demanded an explanation from the Government, said she knew the country could rely on troops to deliver a safe Olympics.

"The Government's overriding priority is to use all resources necessary to deliver a safe and secure Olympic Games and that's what the public and the House would expect," she said

"The security operation has been meticulously planned, it will be the largest and most complex security operation in this country since the Second World War."


Sailor stands guard on helicopter carrier HMS Ocean during rehearsals

Troops are being allocated 7,000 tickets for the dress rehearsals for the opening and closing ceremonies on top of the 10,000 Olympic and Paralympic tickets already assigned to them.

G4S, whose shares fell 4% on opening today, is expected to have its payment docked because of the problems but Mrs May said this was up to Locog, who agreed their contract.

However, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the situation looked like another "Home Office shambles" and Keith Vaz, Labour chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, described it as a "fiasco".

London Mayor Boris Johnson, speaking at the Olympic Pask, insisted: "Everybody is concerned to put the final nails in place - we always expected loads of military and I think they'll do a great job. The key thing is that it's going to be a safe and secure Games."

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond admitted increasing troop levels will put an extra burden on soldiers but promised they would be left out of pocket and would still receive their full leave.

He said: "The Chiefs of Staff recognise the importance of the Olympic Games and support this deployment, confirming that this deployment is feasible and will have no adverse impact on other operations."

The deployment comes as the Army reels from the announcement that it is losing 17 major units, including five infantry battalions, in its biggest restructuring for decades.

Assistant commissioner Chris Allison, head of Scotland Yard's security operation, has previously insisted the sporting event will be a "blue Games", despite the presence of the military and surface-to-air missiles being positioned near the Olympic Park.

Security consultant Christian Cullen told Sky News it was "completely insane" to be enhancing military numbers at this late stage - when the Games had been seven years in the planning.

Overall, a 23,700-strong security force will include a mix of military, private security guards and at least 3,000 unpaid London 2012 volunteers.

G4S said the security recruitment and training process had been "unprecedented and very complex" and admitted that it had encountered problems with its workforce.

"We accept that the Government has decided to overlay additional resources. We remain committed to keep London 2012 safe and secure," a spokesman said.

In May, the firm said as many as 100,000 people had expressed an interest in the 10,000 security jobs available and that it had already interviewed more than 80,000 for the roles.

The private security firm contract is worth £284m from a £553m security budget, A further £600 has been allocated to the police operation but the Home Office hopes to deliver it for £475m.

======================================

I really do fear for the chaos at Heathrow checking passports, it's bad enough already ....it is admitted that even taking on extra staff will not speed
things up because the newcomers will be much slower through lack of experience. To top it all the Government is re-considering having another runway
at Heathrow after all the arguments from residents in the area, the number of villages affected etc. It is rumoured that Big Business are persuading
Cameron to give the go-ahead but I hope he sticks to his decision.

Well the M4 is repaired and there will be one lane for Olympics only and if you trespass on it you will be fined £130. There does not seem to be any enthusiasm from the Public about tthe Games half saying it would benefit the economy, the other half saying a waste of money . The Weather forecast
is not looking good for the periiod.

David Beckham , interviewed at the Galaxy Football ground says he should not be considered for lighting the torch at the opening Ceremony (has he been?) and thought the Honour should be given to someone more worthy . Actually, since he now lives and works abroad , has not won any Medals for
Britain , he should not be considered anyway. I this Steve Redford is a good bet.

I'm getting more than a bit bored with the constant moaning about the Olympics now.I wish some people would change the record as its happening so get over it fgs.It will be a great event and fantastic to watch the Worlds best Athletes competing at the highest level
So our roads are cracking up and the weathers shit and the trains can't cope and the troops are going to stuff exocet missiles up the Ar$es of every muslim within 50 miles of East London.There will be plagues and famine and riots in Tottenham and petrol will go up another 10p a litre.God only knows how we're going to manage !

I just hope it turns out ok so we are not the laughing stock of the world.

Would be good to show we are good at something.

Your'e not gonna believe this....apparently Russell Brand is supposed to be singing at the closing Ceremony.!!!

Also, Lioned is gonna love this, because it is likely to be quite cold, the Females in the Beach VolleyBall team are likely to be wearing leggings to the
dismay of all the Guys .

That has to be a joke about Russell Brand isnt it!

cherry1 wrote:That has to be a joke about Russell Brand isnt it!

Morning cherry1, I was half watching the Andrew Marr show and the guests were commenting on today's Papers and it was discussed but I didn't get
the name of the Paper.

Elton John is to write a song for the Closing Ceremony.

Just hope that Russell Brand behaves himself, often seems to swear, not
sure if it gives the right image of this country to the world watching.

cherry1 wrote:Just hope that Russell Brand behaves himself, often seems to swear, not
sure if it gives the right image of this country to the world watching.

I thought the presentation of the Games held in China was awesome but the closing Ceremony in the U.K. is looking more like a pop concert. The
weather is forecast to get a bit warmer though and I really do hope the rain holds off. Some of the Athletes arriving in Britain have already hot-footed
it to Germany to train because it is so cold here.

I certainly think a lot of the athletes will get a shock with this weather
in the middle of our Summer!

I think we need to deliver a bit more than a pop concert as well with the
eyes of the world on us.

Athletes Arrive in London, and Run Into a Dead End

By JOHN F. BURNS

Published: July 16, 2012




LONDON — As Olympic organizers saw it, Monday was to have been the day when things finally started to go right in a countdown to the Games that has so far been something of a public relations disaster, mostly given the fiasco over too few security guards — thousands too few — and the emergency deployment of British troops to replace them.

And in many ways, matters went swimmingly — until, as the first contingents of athletes were transported across London to the Olympic Village, they went spectacularly wrong.

By the end of the day, organizers were struggling to explain how three buses carrying dozens of athletes, officials and journalists to the Olympic Village from Heathrow Airport lost their way in the maze of London’s streets, causing one American medal hopeful, the 400-meter hurdler Kerron Clement, to post a Twitter message in desperation after four hours aboard a bus that should have made the distance in 45 minutes.

As The Independent noted, the 24-mile journey took about twice as long as the men’s Olympic marathon winner was expected to take for the 26.2-mile course on foot.

“Athletes are sleepy, hungry and need to pee. Could we get to the Olympic Village please,” Mr. Clement wrote as the driver, struggling to understand the route given by the bus’s GPS device, finally abandoned repeated forays up dead-end streets and pulled out a map. “Um, so we’ve been lost on the road for 4hrs. Not a good first impression London,” he added.

The misrouted buses episode came as thousands of competitors and team officials began arriving at Heathrow on a day that officials said was the busiest in the airport’s 80-year history. There were none of the three-hour backups that have plagued the airport in recent days, raising fears of gridlock with the Games less than two weeks away. Instead, travelers passed smoothly through passport control, many in just minutes.

The main M4 highway into London was open again after the completion of emergency work on an unstable flyover that had closed six miles of the route for two weeks, and traffic moved smoothly along the miles of “Zil lanes” — dedicated parts of the main roads across London that have been set aside for the exclusive use of Olympic officials and V.I.P.’s, named after the Russian-made limousine and the Soviet custom of reserving road space in Moscow for top Communist Party officials.

Many of the 100 Olympic venues were officially opened, and while there were glaring examples of no-shows among the private security details, troops and police officers drafted to replace them began to rebuild confidence that the Games would be properly protected. Last week, acknowledging that the private security contractor G4S was going to be several thousand guards short of its commitment to provide 10,400 for the Games, the government announced it would add 3,500 troops to the 13,500 already preparing for Olympic duty.

And then there was Mr. Clement, the American hurdler, twice a world champion and the silver medalist at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Before boarding his trans-Atlantic flight, he had brimmed with optimism. “It’s always exciting seeing other athletes on the flight to London,” he posted on Twitter. “We are all after one thing. GOLD.”

But his account at the end of his journey was far different, as the only thing he seemed to be seeking was a long-overdue meal, a bed and a bathroom. Similar dire accounts came from Australian athletes and officials, fresh from a 20-hour flight.

Damian Kelly, a spokesman for the Australian delegation, described their bus driver as desperate in his apologies when their journey to the village also ran on, for about four hours. “The driver just said, ‘I’m sorry, I’m lost. It’s my first day on the job and I’m lost,’ ” Mr. Kelly said. “We were moving, we were in the Olympic lane, and we were going places, we just weren’t going where we were supposed to go.”

None of this seemed to perturb London’s mayor, Boris Johnson. “I understand that some of our visitors took the scenic route,” he told the BBC. “They saw more of our fantastic city than they would otherwise have done. And that’s no bad thing.”

The mayor added, “What thing of beauty does not have its imperfections?”








A version of this article appeared in print on July 17, 2012, on page A4 of the New York edition with the headline: Athletes Arrive in London, And Run Into a Dead End.
.

You have to admit, this is funny.


None of this seemed to perturb London’s mayor, Boris Johnson. “I understand that some of our visitors took the scenic route,” he told the BBC. “They saw more of our fantastic city than they would otherwise have done. And that’s no bad thing.”

Now for some heartening News, the 8 strong Malawi Team are training in Gloucester, swimming in a 50 metre Pool which they had never seen before .

Another Country training in Aberdeen is treated like visiting Royalty and the children want these athletes to win.

US Security Agents 'At Heathrow For Olympics'Foreign officials are drafted in to bolster security at UK airports in the run-up to the Olympics.7:28am UK, Tuesday 17 July 2012 TSA agents will be based in UK airports including Heathrow
EmailBy Mark White, Home Affairs Correspondent

US security agents are to be based at Heathrow and some other UK airports for the duration of the Olympic‬ Games, according to Sky sources.

The Department for Transport has reached an agreement with the US Transportation Security Administration for specialist agents to be working at several UK airports.

They will arrive one week before the Olympics, and leave around a week after the end of the Paralympics.

This is an added security layer that has been done to help boost and aid the American airlines in particular that fly in and out of the likes of Heathrow and other airports.

The move is also aimed at helping UK airlines flying in and out of America.

The agents will not be allowed beyond boarding gates or onto UK aircraft.


Athletes have started to arrive in London ahead of the Games.

Olympic security is already under scrutiny after thousands of extra soldiers and police officers were drafted in to fill a gap left by private contractor G4S.

G4S has a £284m contract with the Government to provide 13,700 security guards for the Olympic Games but only 4,000 guards are trained and ready.

The Government found out about the shortfall on Wednesday, and quickly had to boost the number of military personnel working on the Games by 3,500 to 17,000 - almost a fifth of the entire army.

Nine out of 12 police forces have been drafted in to help the embattled firm.

The forces providing additional personnel include Strathclyde, West Midlands, Thames Valley, Greater Manchester and Dorset.

Athletes started to arrive in the UK on Monday, on what was Heathrow airport's busiest ever day.

I think that it maybe should off occurred to the organisers that finding 10000 semi literate moderately intelligent people in this part of the East End to work a short term contract on pretty much the minimum wage was always going to be a long shot.Apart from anything else it is well known that,in general,security personel destined for sports arenas are not the brightest nor most dilligent of people at the best of times (i've had pleny experience of that).
This is fairly basic stuff for anyone with a bit of experience in facilities management and security.Not wishing to generalise too much as there is bound to be a few people who would like some work for a few weeks and just to get involved with the games who would be capable of doing a good job,but looking at recruiting those sort of numbers by definition they will need to be fairly local at that wage you wouldn't want to be paying out bus or train fares and the majority of people who live around there now can't speak fluent English i doubt anyway.
Should have been a given that security staff employed for short term work should be for the less 'demanding' jobs and certainly not on the front line.Was always going to be sensible to recruit for that and let the Police and Army do the rest.

I dont understand why the bigwigs have to be put up in London hotels, security staff in Essex, why could they put them up/build new hotels in Newham for example, that way we wouldnt have them all travelling through London and Essex to get to Newham! There was no need to clog up the roads and do special lanes if they had all been housed in the Newham area or other East London boroughs, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, W.Forest etc.

some g4s STAFF FELL ASLEEP ON THE JOB
FOR THE SECOND DAY STAFF HAVN'T TURN UP

G4S REGRETS BIDDING FOR THE CONTRACT,STILL EXPECTS TO BE PAID IN SPITE OF FAILINGS.