London skylines change, costs soar
With its outstanding score on Beijing medal's table, the United Kingdom has shown it is ready for the 2012 London Games. The GB team has harvested one of its best crops since 1908 with some 47 medals, including 19 gold ones. They were hoping to improve on their performance in Athens and land the 8th position on the final score board but and in the end they shot up to 4th.
Chris Hoy, a cyclist and triple-gold medalist, has become the UK's star athlete. The 14-year old diver Tom Daley has also shown that a new generation of UK sportsmen is ready.
In London, Olympic sites are changing the city's skyline. London taxpayers are glad to see the construction is on schedule but aren't quite so happy to see the spiraling costs of the operation. Initially costs were estimated at 4.2 billion. Today, costs have reached 11.7 billion euros.
“If we succeed, it’s because we invested in the Games.”
It's really surprising the UK scored so many medals in Beijing! Admittedly, the British don't value their sportsmen much. We're quite a pessimist bunch. So it's clear that we're glad we won 47 medals.We succeeded first of all because the government allocated a lot of funds to sports such as cycling or swimming. And this shows you need to invest to win. It's clear it is important to invest in your own delegation if you are hosting the Olympics. We need athletes who succeed. It's good for the country in general, good for tourism too.
They have started building the new Olympic Stadium but nothing is visible yet. It's surprising because the construction work has started. The bill is growing but you can't see anything yet on the site! However, I don't think Londoners are stingy. I believe those who saw the Beijing Games will think it was really a good idea to invest heavily because they were really fantastic.
It's sure though that London will do its best to offer some beautiful games. They'll be very different though, because the Beijing Games represented China. We will work on an event which represents us, our identity and our qualities - like our great food! Only joking... I hope these Games will include everybody, represent our multi-cultural traditions. I hope nobody will be left out."
“Organising the Olympic Games is stimulating.”
Bernard Amsalem, president of the French Athletics federation, says hosting the Oympics has a boosting effect on athletes.
British sportsmen have shown their gusto this time. The Olympics Games have a boosting effect on sportsmen when they know their own country is hosting. And that's true for all types of sport. That's viewers could spot high-flying British athletes in almost all the events. Too bad France didn't get the Games for 2012. It would have had the same affect on French athletes.That is why France should bid for other events such as world or European championships. Hosting these events would improve our chances of landing the summer Olympic Games. We must bid for the winter or the youth Olympic Games. This is a necessary strategy.
The British will find it difficult to trump Beijing when it comes to organising the Olympic Games. The Chinese have loads of workers. Nobody can rival with them. In 2012, the Games will be more typical, more like Athens or Sydney."
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