2012 Olympics

[Alcatraz]

dunno if ive imagined it but doesn't the Ioc guy normally say this has been the best Olympics ever during his closing speech, can't remember him saying it last night

[lost]

found it, it was the previous guy:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Antonio_Samaranch

It became a tradition for Samaranch, when giving the President's address at the close of each Summer Olympics, to praise the organizers at each Olympiad for putting on "the best ever" Games. He withheld this phrase only once, at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta where the organization had come under heavy criticism.

[Ed209]

Should also add that the London paralympics has easily sold the most tickets out of any in history and is very close to becoming the first paralympics to sell out. That's pretty amazing too

[rug568]

Bollocks!!

[Purple Monkey]

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/arts-entertainment/45-year-old-salesman-apologises-for-closing-ceremony-2012081337959

[LRW]

I thought the Games rocked.

"Hello World - This is Great Britain, and we still Kick Ass!!"

[Ed209]

Ostapchuk has had her gold stripped for 'roids use

Hard to believe I know

[bunique]

Barcelona and Sydney are generally considered to be the best two post war games, I now think you can easily add London in there too

[LondonTom]

The games were awesome, London coped well with transport and we looked pretty damn good to the rest of the world! Also big props to the BBC showing everyone why we actually need it and don't want to give all media control to the Murdochs...

Thought the closing ceremony was good at what it was for, except did we really need the fashion bit, especially with the bowie intro!!! George Michael's 2nd song, and fecking annie lennox being wheel out again!!! (Along with Jessie J doing 4 songs?!)

Apart from that light show looked great!!! Hopefully we get to keep the pixel boxes in the stands for night time games when west ham move in

Edited August 13, 2012 by LondonTom

[thetime]

How anyone could be negative about it is beyond me.

Now the turn of the paralympics from the 29th.

[grumpyhack]

Belatedly watched a recording of the closing ceremony tonight (having been away at a fest over the weekend) and was pretty impressed. Stunning lighting and fun staging. OK maybe we had a bit too much of some performers and not enough of others but on balance I reckon we had some great quirky 'British' moments at both the opening and closing ceremonies.

Each to gtheir own, but I loved Mr Bean at the opening and the nod to Del Boy's Batman and Robin at the end.

Maybe a fair few bits might have mystified audiences in some countries but, if nothing else, hopefully they would have seen a great sense of fun.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

How anyone could be negative about it is beyond me.

[Ed209]

I suppose some people would argue that the money spent on it could have been used more wisely eg increased spending on schools, hospitals etc. Just a thought - not necessarily my own viewpoint.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

The long term big picture of what these games will achieve is unknown, only time will tell,

but it might end up being worth every single penny

[eFestivals]

The long term big picture of what these games will achieve is unknown, only time will tell,

but it might end up being worth every single penny

But it's unlikely.

Both Oz and Athens expected an economic boost from holding the games, but neither got that boost. The reality was the opposite, a measurable slump caused by the games.

[Purple Monkey]

The long term big picture of what these games will achieve is unknown, only time will tell,

but it might end up being worth every single penny

Edited August 14, 2012 by Purple Monkey

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

but it was just very, very expensive escapist entertainment.

[thetime]

Could we afford it? No

Was it worth every penny? Yes

[Kowalski]

I had an amazing night at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday, the best sporting occasion I've ever been to. Mo Farah winning the 5K was unbelievable, what an atmosphere. Then the world record in the men's 4x100, Blake really flew round that bend!

Really impressed with the stadium and the olympic park, it is very nicely laid out and will be great for a wander when it re-opens to the public. Security was spot on, no queues at all to get in, and I was straight on a tube after the athletics had finished. Brilliant organisation, with so many volunteers all over London helping out, it was great to see.

It's been the best Olympics I can remember.

[AcademicPistol]

Could we afford it? No

Was it worth every penny? Yes

[eFestivals]

It's been the best Olympics I can remember.

have you been to many?

[Rufus Gwertigan]

Athens and Barcelona didn't really do anything for Spain or Greece, really, in the long term. They're hardly rolling in it these days.

Let's be realistic - the Olympics will do nothing for the economy or world unity. Like all sporting events they were just a big distraction from worrying about it, a temporary opiate which creates an illusion far removed from the reality, which is why these things are often pushed into focus by governments and world leaders as a big deal. Like when parents go tell their kids to play in the garden while the grown ups talk about important things (in our case the parents would be discussing various ways to destroy the child's education and health).

Yeah, that's probably not a popular view, I can hear the torches being lit already, but it was just very, very expensive escapist entertainment.

[kaosmark2]

It would have been cheaper to give everyone in the country a litre of vodka and a bouncy ball and just as much fun.

[fred quimby]

, but it was just very, very expensive escapist entertainment.

[windy_miller]

The games were awesome, London coped well with transport and we looked pretty damn good to the rest of the world! Also big props to the BBC showing everyone why we actually need it and don't want to give all media control to the Murdochs...