Olympics London 2012

[walker 0]

Hi all

Good news for us in the UK the Olympics comes to us in London 2012

Quote[/b] ]London to hold the 2012 Olympics

Last Modified: 6 Jul 2005

Source: ITN

London has won the right to host the 2012 Olympics, beating Paris in the final vote.

The capital won a sensational victory against the odds when the final votes of International Olympic Committee delegates in Singapore were counted.

London beat Paris to the prize after months of determined campaigning which went right down to the wire.

Joy erupted in Trafalgar Square in London where thousands of people had gathered to hear the result.

Speaking in the capital, double Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes said: "It's going to change the whole country. It's going to change the face of sport in this country. It's fantastic."

http://www.channel4.com/news/content/news-storypage.jsp?id=1274113

top banana  

Kind regards Walker

[SPQR 0]

Greetings UK

The last fight was close, 54 voices for UK versus 50 for France. Some frenchs took that as a new Waterloo, but I don't care

I hope, they'll give us later a more precise count of the votes.

[walker 0]

Hi SPQR

I am sorry there has to be countries that do not win the olympic bid each time but at least it is only a short cheap journey for you to see the Olympics in 2012 as you can just hop on the train through the channel tunnel straight to the the new olympic station.

London's public transport is a lot better than it used to be, allthough I usualy cycle arround London when I am there it has good cycle lanes there now. They have started pushing the cars out of London as they were completly clogging up the streets.

The mayor secured fixed prices from the hotels so the cost for you to visit will be very low.

Any way all of us will welcome you all to London in 2012.

Kind Regards walker

[Thunderbird 0]

I'm a bit disappointed by this result , I was expecting to see Paris for the upcoming O2012 , but it doesn't matter though...

London deserves it...

they have cheated a bit ? nah ?

[Messiah 2]

I am truely shocked... in my eyes (even as a brit) i thought Paris had it.... when the stadiums for the world cup was built, they also added running tracksd around them... they already have something like 90% of the infrastructure to hold the games... London has nothing like that

i guess it will be a good investment into the greenwich area though, and finally a decent use for the millenium dome

[Guest The Cobra]

Congrats UK.

Right now on aftonbladet.se (swedish newspaper)

44,0% thinks that the right town won

13,8% thinks that the wrong town won

42,3% doesn't care

[Rikki Tikki Tavi 0]

When I visited London in early June, I was hoping NY would get it. But...I came back converted.  

Congrats London!

[Akira 0]

Congrats! Time to start savin' up!

[denoir 0]

Yepp, it's great and awful news for the British. It's a great honor and prestige, but at the same time it's bloody expensive. After it is done, you'll have a €10 bn hang over and a bunch of useless stadiums.

Still, it's a cool event to host and it will surely bring lots of improvements in London (infrastructure etc).

[the_shadow 0]

actually, to me sweden would have been a good choice... 100 years since last time the olympics was held in sweden (Stockholm 1912)

but, sweden wasnt even in the finals so.. congrats London!

[EddyBoy 0]

Yeh the increase in council tax is going to ruin me . Glad to have it tho, should clean up the poor transport in London.

[Messiah 2]

Yepp, it's great and awful news for the British. It's a great honor and prestige, but at the same time it's bloody expensive. After it is done, you'll have a €10 bn hang over and a bunch of useless stadiums.

Still, it's a cool event to host and it will surely bring lots of improvements in London (infrastructure etc).

very true, BUT alot of that investment is sorely needed... London transport and the Tube has been screaming for a large investment of money for a decade or so, this could finally get it seen to... same goes with the rail networks in and around London.

One strategy the Uk olympic committee are looking at is selling the olympic village off, apartment by apartment to hopefully get back some of the huge costs incurred... they even believe they will be the first profitable olympics... considering the olympic village will be built in the docklands and greenwich area, those sort of apartments (if made nicely) could fetch around between Å500,000 - Å1,000,000 a piece (sold my apartment in new concordia wharf, next to butlers wharf which in turn is next to tower bridge for just under Å800,000 - didnt have a view of the bridge, hence you get slightly less money for it)... thats quite a profit. The housing market in the UK being so big at the moment, but of course by 2012, things could have slumped and prices could plumet... who knows.

[cobra@pulse 0]

Whoo hoo!        

It means i dont have to travel far to see such a great event at last

[kerosene 0]

Yeah, this is great news, Å160 increase in council tax over the next seven years just for people who live in london to pay for this f***ing travesty.

Our public transports systems woefully over stretched as it is, I don't understand why the government wasn't content pissing away X number of millions on the millenium dome and the crap that went with that.

My guess is the new underground line won't even be ready for the olympics.

Quote[/b] ]very true, BUT alot of that investment is sorely needed... London transport and the Tube has been screaming for a large investment of money for a decade or so, this could finally get it seen to... same goes with the rail networks in and around London.

Yeah, and there wacking the congestion charge up, again, to pay for tube expansions over the 5 or ten years already.

[SPQR 0]

Well, Tony can continue to fight for his european rebate in order to finance all the works

[kerosene 0]

I think i'm gonna shave my head into a mohecian and buy an army jacket...

[Bordoy 0]

Quote[/b] ]My guess is the new underground line won't even be ready for the olympics.

Thats where yuor wrong. Should be completed in a few years time.

and..........

To Chirac:

[walker 0]

My guess is the new underground line won't even be ready for the olympics.

Quote[/b] ]very true, BUT alot of that investment is sorely needed... London transport and the Tube has been screaming for a large investment of money for a decade or so, this could finally get it seen to... same goes with the rail networks in and around London.

Hi kerosene

Err if you live in London you would know the new Stratford tube station and line is already built.

It is on the Central, Jubilee, and Docklands light railway lines as well as being part of the the national rail network and a stop on the channel tunnel. So you can get a train straight to the olympic vilage and never touch a road from anywhere in europe.

Kind Regards walker

[kerosene 0]

I live in edmonton, I dont pay a lot of attention that whole area to be honest, I work in central London, which is why I'm not looking forward to the whole experience.

Plus the council tax hike is what really gets me, its too much now.

And I'm wondering, is all this regeneration going to be upmarket flats? cause thats not what London really needs.

[mattxr 9]

WhooHoo i also wont have to travel half way around the world to see such great games

haha paris

[walker 0]

Hi kerosene

I have lived and worked in London most of my working life and I have never thought the council tax was out of proportion with London wages. Council tax is higher than most the rest of the country but then so are the wages.

I could never have afforded to go travelling round the world as I have, doing the equivalent jobs I do in London in the rest of the country.

I am living up in South Yorkshire at the moment looking after an ill member of my family but I am really missing the wages I earn in London. I am hoping to be back in London later this year.

With all the construction and other work associated with the Olympics there should be plenty of work and good pay. I will be happy to get back to my SE London flat. Odd to say but I am kind of missing the Elephant and Castle although I do want to move up to Hackney so I am nearer the Castle Climbing Centre and the restaurants of dear old Stoke Newington.

Kind Regards walker

[Albert Schweitzer 10]

On the one hand I think this was the little slap france deserved for the Anti-EU attitude. On the other hand I believe France currently has so many problems that the french deserve a little "success story" now more than ever.

[Messiah 2]

Curious as to what problems we're having?

Good picture though... don't getme started on Chirac

[-Ash- 0]

These problems messy?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4659093.stm

Prime target now...

[Messiah 2]

Possible terror attack?

Just watched this on the news... rather frightning