2012 promises to be an interesting year. I say "interesting" in the sense that we will be living through some momentus events - the Queens's Diamond Jubilee, the London Olympics and the US Presidential elections will be the big set-piece events, but storm clouds are gathering almost everywhere else. Syria moves ever closer to civil war, Iran moves ever closer to acquiring nuclear weapons, while Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Iraq, Bahrain, Afghanistan etc remain extremely volatile. China's advance continues.
In Europe, we can expect more austerity measures, job losses, recession, poverty and the prospect of serious social unrest as governments and the EU try to pay their debts and avoid financial and political meltdown. Protests against unaccountable, non-taxpaying political and business elites will grow. 2012 could actually be a dangerously rudderless year with key leaders in the US, China, Russia, France and Germany distracted by elections or changes at the top. And on top of all this, if you believe such things, the Mayan calendar even predicts the world will end on 21 December 2012! Happy New Year indeed....
With these happy thoughts in mind, it would be easy to downbeat about the year ahead. As far as Britain is concerned, the Jubilee and London Olympics will doubtless provide a welcome boost to national self-confidence, even if the short to medium-term economic outlook remains pretty depressing. I have to say, however, that I am not looking forward to the Olympics one bit. By the time the Games start, nearly ELEVEN BILLION POUNDS will have been spent. More than £81 million is being spent on the opening ceremony alone. There will be a huge security operation, the like of which we won't have seen since WWII - the talk is of 14,000 military personnel being used, of surface to air missles systems being deployed, aircraft carriers stationed in the Thames Estuary and Weymouth Bay, and attack helicopters, Harrier and Typhoon fighters will be in use.
And what will be showcased? No doubt London’s beggars and homeless will be relocated far from the games. It will not showcase our economic failure or the incompetence of our politicians. The TV cameras will not show our crumbling infrastructure or the long delays people suffer as a consequence of airport-style security at the Olympic venues. Nor will London’s traditional ales, pie & mash and fish & chips be found at the Games; instead the food and drink will be provided by those healthy purveyors of nourishment – Coca Cola and McDonald's (Stratford now boasts the dubious honour of the world's largest McDonald's).
While the Games themselves will take place in the relatively short period of four weeks in August, the disruption this will bring to London will be felt through many months. Starting in January, there will be numerous "rehearsal" events - in effect, dry runs for the main Games.
Then we will start to see changes on the roads. There will be over 100 miles of the Olympic route network in London - entire lanes will be dedicated to "official" traffic only, forcing huge delays and congestion onto everyone else. "Official" here relates to what is termed "The Olympic Family" - that is, governments, sporting bodies, the International Olympic Commttee and over 10,000 officially accredited sponsors. No-one else will be allowed to use these routes - expect fines of up to £1000 if you do. It is good to see that special treatment is being given to these highly deserving people. Motorbikes should be part of the solution but even on a bike I don't expect getting into and around town will be at all easy and public transport will be a nightmare. For the rest of us, London will be a good place to avoid in the summer.
Most of the events will take place a few miles away from where I live. I have not bothered to apply for tickets. Those I know who did apply did not get what they wanted. And the legacy of this monumental folly in an already bankrupt Britiain? Just look at every other host city whose costly stadium buildings stand unused and rotting, and where the displaced local communities are still poor, homeless and unemployed.
Is this really a price worth paying?
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