I was a huge sceptic about London hosting the Olympics. Now I am not so sure.<br />
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I wrote about a year ago in London Business Matters that it was a financial disaster waiting to happen, but the details of the bid have been surprisingly well thought-out. I still think it will cost Londoners much more then they currently think, but if there is a proper regeneration plan for East London, then it might well be worth it.<br />
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But I also am happy as I have grown to resent the French assumption that they were the best bid just because they have a stadium already built. If Paris were to have won the 2012 games, they would have hosted, hmm, lets see:<br />
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1998 World Cup<br />
2003 World Athletics Championships<br />
2007 Rugby World Cup<br />
2012 Olympics<br />
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Perhaps too much for one generation? I think so. London is a far more diverse and interesting city than Paris. It might cost an arm and a leg, but I think it’s time we had a major sporting event over here. I just hope we don’t have a dome or a Wembley. We need to prove that we can build stuff without cocking it up. Here’s our chance.<br />
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(Paris could bid for 2016. But they won’t get it, because it will be too soon to go to Europe again, and somewhere like Cape Town or Rio will get it. So they can wait for 2020, but then it’s Asia’s turn. So that leaves them with perhaps 2024. Hopefully they won’t have Chirac being rude about our food by then. Ha.)
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