Can London raise game?

Aug 24 2008 by Colin Patterson, Sunday Sun

LARGER than life he may be, but when Mayor of London Boris Johnson takes possession of the Olympic flag later today, it will come with one enormous challenge, simply . . . follow that.

The Beijing Olympics has not been without its faults, far from it, but it has been organised — literally — with military precision, and must surely go down as one of, if not the, most successful games ever staged. I had the good fortune to spend a week in Beijing, where I experienced a sanitised version of a city that can’t fail to take your breath away.

Although cynical by nature, not one of my fellow hacks was unmoved by the spectacle.

The Great Wall, the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square are all world landmarks and will forever live in the memory.

They will sit next to visions of teams of men and women on their knees at the sides of motorways plucking weeds from the embankments.

Hotel staff rushing several yards to open doors and wish you good day.

Thousands of Olympic “volunteers” marching in and out of stadiums like troops of soldiers at a passing out ceremony.

Travelling effortlessly down the fourth lane of a motorway designated for Olympic traffic only, while hundreds of drivers sat patiently in the three other congested lanes.

I said earlier that I witnessed a sanitised version of Beijing.

That was because half the population had either been shipped out, driven out or simply opted to stay indoors and watch their country perform on the TV.

They had to watch their country’s contestants as events which did not involve Chinese participation did not exist as far as the home media was concerned.

But the people’s passion for the Games could not be faulted. At every venue the chant of “Chi-naa, Chi-naa” rang out loud and clear. Sometimes they had no representation in the race, but when the noise of the crowd began to grow they felt obliged to join in too.

For the duration of the Games, Beijing ceased to exist as a business and commercial centre. Instead it became the hub of world tourism. The visitor was king.

A £4m pound global advertising campaign has been launched to promote London as a tourist destination in the run-up to the 2012 Games.

Under the banner “See the world. Visit London” organisers will attempt to match the “One World. One Dream” slogan of Beijing.

Thankfully, this country and its capital do not have the dark cloud of human rights issues — which China consistently ignores — overshadowing their efforts.

But no one can expect London to match the opening of the Beijing games. We don’t have the money. What we have in our favour is history and tradition.

But first London has to clean up its act in a much different way to Beijing. It has to take the filth of the streets.

Beijing may have smog, but London has grime to match.

Even more putrid is its crime. While in Beijing you will be greeted with a warm welcome and a broad smile, in London you have more chance of being welcomed with a sharp knife and the opportunity to hand over your wallet.

Just how far our capital has to go was apparent when I returned to Heathrow.

Tired, hot and ready for a shower and bed, I headed to the information desk to see where I could catch a bus.

I was met by a worker — I use the term loosely — slouched in his chair, who hadn’t grasped the basics of our mother tongue and obviously practised being as unhelpful as possible as if training for an Olympic sport.

You have to bear in mind that he and his like may well be the first encounter a tourist has with our country. I know not everyone is like him, and he is no doubt in a very small minority, but he still exists.

Yes, there is a long way to go, but if London does get its act together, and I hope it does, what of the rest of the country? What’s in it for the North?

Not a lot by the looks of things.

Then there are the athletes themselves. Team GB has performed miracles in Beijing. Our medal haul has surpassed even the most optimistic expectations.

This leaves one more headache. Not only must we create a memorable games, we have to give our athletes the financial backing to move on to the next level.

Onwards and upwards. As I said . . . follow that!

Olympics may be set for a virtual future

THE Olympics of the future could be a very different ball game if “futurologist” Ian Neild’s predictions come true.

Ian, 37, originally from Acklam, Middlesbrough, works for BTexact’s Technology Timeline, and he has many visions for The Games.

He said: “As humans reach the pinnacle of their natural achievement, we may see fewer records broken in popular events and the introduction of ancient sports, such as Kabaddi, along with a host of new sports.

“Biotechnology will have major impacts in the sporting world and it will also help us live longer and fuller lives. We may see a range of new sports aimed at older people, which are lower impact or even virtual.

“Just as we have the Paralympic Games, we may see an ‘Elder Olympic Games’ where the competitors have to be over a certain age to compete.

“Virtual sports remove some of the physical requisites, the expensive equipment and the need to be at fixed location to take part. So, increasingly, we may see a lot more people taking part in different sports than ever before. The Paralympic Games are also going to see massive changes in technology, advances in robotics will make it to the field.

“Prosthetics can be made with different properties and different sizes, giving the athlete longer and springier legs and so on, so it won’t be long before the Paralympians start to post faster, higher and longer records than their able bodied counterparts.

“If Paralympians with superhuman capabilities are setting new world records, then the interest in these events may even surpass that of the able bodied Olympians.”