Paris stunned as London unveils huge Olympics park

[Blackleaf]

Paris and London are battling it out to host the 2012 Olympics in what is now a two-horse race. On Monday, London stunned Paris by unveiling a new Olympics Park, the largest new park in Europe for 150 years. The decision on which city will host the 2012 will be made in just 22 days' time.





Paris stunned as London bid unveils stunning new Olympic Institute Park

Posted 12:33 pm ET

Plans for the London Olympic Institute included in London 2012’s candidature file and cited as a “significant legacy project” in the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Evaluation Commission report were outlined at a London media briefing Monday.

London 2012 organizers unveiled plans to create a fantastic centre for sports medicine, science, research and various sporting bodies in the Olympic Parks after the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

The LOI will be located in the east London Olympic Park alongside the Olympic sporting venues, including a new Athletics Stadium and Indoor Sports Hall, a new Velopark, Aquatics Centre and Hockey facility already under development.

Sebastian Coe, head of London 2012, described the institute as an “exciting, dynamic and innovative” facility dedicated to advancing modern Olympic Games founder Pierre de Coubertin’s vision of building a better world through sport, culture, education, health and environment initiatives.

Among the organizations the institute would house is an Institute of Sport, which would serve as a new headquarters for the London region of the English Institute of Sport. The 2012 Sports and Exercise Medicine Centre and an Olympic Research Centre providing new opportunities for research, training and development across sport, culture, education, health and the environment, would also be based there.

The Olympic Institute is one of a number of major legacy projects linked to new sporting venues and facilities either planned or already under development in the proposed east London Olympic Park, which according to a media release is the largest new park in Europe in more than 150 years.

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[DasFX]

Paris and London are battling it out to host the 2012 Olympics in what is now a two-horse race. On Monday, London stunned Paris by unveiling a new Olympics Park, the largest new park in Europe for 150 years. The decision on which city will host the 2012 will be made in just 22 days' time.

What happened to NYC? If Europe gets 2012, that will for sure Torontos attempt at 2016, but then again Van City already killed that.

 

[GL Schmitt]

The World As The Future Olympic Host
GL Schmitt
2005



This practise of holding all the Olympic events in one country, usually in one city, is rapidly becoming counterproductive.

Along with the increased expense for the host city, and country, there is also an increased likelihood of financial disaster, if current events make international travel unwise.

Even without international complications, any large global event will attract international terrorists as well as homegrown nut cases. Added to the cost of constructing the venues and infrastructure required, a temporary demand for greatly increased security will also swell the budget.

While there is a definite possibility of a country, or at least a city in that county receiving a vast boost in visibility, and might also experience financial dividends in added revenue after their Olympic Torch has been quenched, that is only one possibility. Depending upon that eventuality is always a vast gamble.

Poor planning, unexpected system breakdowns bode ill for any hoped-for positive result.

While on one hand, too visible security will raise complaints, on the other hand, any breakdowns in security will become a lasting blemish upon the host city.

Even a perceived partiality in the judges — over which the city has no control — will be added into the negative perception of the city itself, which hosting the Olympics will foster.



In the days of the original Olympics, as well as the early years of the present Olympics, gathering together the participants and spectators from all around the world to one particular city was the only viable method available.

With today’s technology, a spectator eight thousand miles away, sitting in his boxer shorts, watching his television set, is certain to obtain as good a view of the event — and probably a far superior one — as a spectator sitting in the stands.

Since it is no longer necessary to bring all the spectators to where the competition is taking place, it follows that it is no longer necessary to hold all the competitions at the same location — not the same city, the same country, or even the same hemisphere.

To attract some Olympic visibility, a city would need only to plan for a single, state-of-the-art venue for one particular sport, choosing to erect a facility which will continue to be of use to its population after the Olympic contestants are gone.

Of course, security will remain a necessity, but without the vast swarm of all the contestants in all the sports and all their attendant spectators congregating at a single area, the problem of ensuring security will be greatly lessened as the size of the target decreases.

Money wasted upon the construction of ultimately idle edifices could then be better used sponsoring the contestants, not just those who will get to compete at an Olympic level, but in sponsoring the participation in sport all across each member country.



Perhaps I am wrong, but is not the fostering of physical fitness and deftness at sport for all citizens, from which the very best of each country is chosen to compete, really what the Olympic Spirit is supposed to be about?

 

[missile]

Given that all the above arguments are true,then let london have the damned Olympics.The English have had very little to crow about for many,many years and need the ego boost.

 

[mrmom2]

Sounds like the citizens of London are in for a huge tax increase if they win the bid I'm just holding my breath here I hope our Games are a success but having lived in Whistler before I know the weather can turn to shit there in just hours and i can see it might ruin the games

 

[I think not]

The Olympic games should be permanently held in their country of birth, Greece. Not only does it make economic sense but also traditional sense. And the Olympics have long lost their ideals.

 

[no1important]

RE: Paris stunned as Lond

What happened to NYC?

Politics I guess, Americans are not well thought of these days, especially their War Criminal Leader.

Van City already killed that.

Yep blame it on us. How many times did Toronto fail? Come to think of it Toronto never had a worlds fair either..........

Toronto needs to do something about the smog as well, you can not have Olympic events in that type of conditions.

 

[mrmom2]

And the humidity