2012 London Olympics

[Siz]

To start this off, I'll offer you this little snippet of reportage about the road cycling route (this section of which I actually ride regularly). Gamesmanship is seemingly alive and well.

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/532636/italian-women-turned-away-from-box-hill.html

I'm interested to know what your impressions are of the Olympics and what, if anything, has been reported worldwide about Londons preparations, and your perceptions of the prospects for a successful event. Also, what are the feelings from the British from outside London about the vulgar amounts of government cash being spent thereon, and how this will benefit them (or not).

I'm normally quite cynical about extravagances such as these, but the marketing team (in this country at least) has done a good job on me. I'm really quite excited about it and look forward to a great spectacle. And hopefully demonstrate that the proverbial piss-up in London brewery has been well conceived.

Go Team GB...!

[Tank]

Living in Leeds, Yorkshire (200 miles from London) I consider myself quite fortunate to be in a country hosting the Olympics, near enough to go if I wanted but far enough away to be out of the interference.  Little did we know when we won the competition to host the games how lucky we were. I think it'll be a great boost to moral in what would otherwise be a really shitty time. Us Brits do have a tendency to be moaning buggers when things are not going well and we have nothing to distract us. The Olympics has generally helped the economy here and so far it's all been done very well. The construction industry in the England was pretty much kept going during the credit crunch buy the infrastructure creation. And construction is something you can't outsource. The benefits accrue to people living where the construction happens.

So I'm giving it a big thumbs up even though I don't plan to go. But all my kids have tickets of some sort.

[Amicale]

I like watching the Olympics, they're always fun and it's amazing to see the hard work and dedication of the athletes.

There's been a lot on our local news lately about the "Road to London" that several athletes in our corner of Ontario are on. A lot of very talented people, for sure! Young local athletes have been highlighted and profiled like crazy, with their family stories being told, etc

It's just nice to see people behind them, supporting them.

Tank, it's great your kids have tickets to see the events!

[Siz]

I've mentioned before, I applied for over £500 of tickets (not expecting to have to pay for all of them...) and got none. While being a bit ticked off about it, it does indicate that there is good take-up and I hope this will give the events a great family atmosphere and some good noise for the athletes. However, if I see large blocks of empty seats because they've been given/sold to disinterested corporate jollies, I shall be very cross.

[Tank]

Olympic security exercise on board HMS Ocean

4 May 2012 Last updated at 10:43 Help

A large-scale exercise to test Britain's military capability ahead of the Olympics is under way.

A helicopter task-force is on board the Royal Navy's largest warship, HMS Ocean, to prepare for their role in defending London against any potential terror attack during the Games.

The BBC's Defence Correspondent, Jonathan Beale, reports from on board HMS Ocean.

This is the obvious stuff I bet the undercover police surveillance is reaching a peak now as well.

[Ecurb Noselrub]

I would love to be in London for the O's. I'm pulling for Jeremy Wariner from Baylor to win the men's 400 meters, and to also get a gold in the men's 4 x 400.  He did it in 2004, but got the silver in 2008. Beyond that, I have no specific favorites, except "Go USA!"

[Ali]

I entered a contest through my company to win a trip to the London Olympics, but didn't win.  Boo!  I love watching the Olympics.  I don't know why, I'm not really a huge sports fan.  There's just something about the energy of the best athletes around the world coming together that is so exciting!  Tank, how cool that your kids are all going!

[AnimatedDirt]

I'm a bit blasé about the olympics.  Some of it I find of interest while the majority of it I find no interest in.
The events usually end up cutting off some good television shows... 

[Crow]

I tried to get tickets but didn't get any. On one hand I was glad I wasn't successful as it would have cost me a fortune if I got them all, but I have always watched the Olympics without fail and think its great and really really want to go. My mate got two tickets for the mens & womens athletic finals though through work and he doesn't like the olympics (or any sport for that matter) and had no intention of going, and he is taking his damn girlfriend who just couldn't care less.

[Amicale]

I tried to get tickets but didn't get any. On one hand I was glad I wasn't successful as it would have cost me a fortune if I got them all, but I have always watched the Olympics without fail and think its great and really really want to go. My mate got two tickets for the mens & womens athletic finals though through work and he doesn't like the olympics (or any sport for that matter) and had no intention of going, and he is taking his damn girlfriend who just couldn't care less.

Perfect solution, then. Buy them off your mate and if he says no, get him good and drunk and then, uh, acquire them.

[Tank]

We had a ticket pool at work and it was for football. I don't like football. There was the outside chance there might be some F1 tickets in the future. So I said I'd opt out if I got dibs on the F1 tickets. They all said no. So when I won the football tickets (pure luck) they asked me to put them back in the pool!!! Fuck off! Was my reply. Its the only football match I've ever been to. And it was fun. But I wouldn't admit that to the others  

The F1 tickets never materialised.

[Tank]

I tried to get tickets but didn't get any. On one hand I was glad I wasn't successful as it would have cost me a fortune if I got them all, but I have always watched the Olympics without fail and think its great and really really want to go. My mate got two tickets for the mens & womens athletic finals though through work and he doesn't like the olympics (or any sport for that matter) and had no intention of going, and he is taking his damn girlfriend who just couldn't care less.

Perfect solution, then. Buy them off your mate and if he says no, get him good and drunk and then, uh, acquire them.

You're not supposed to trade the tickets. They are saying there will be spot checks on the gates and if the ticket holder can't prove they are the named person on the ticket they don't get in.

[Amicale]

I tried to get tickets but didn't get any. On one hand I was glad I wasn't successful as it would have cost me a fortune if I got them all, but I have always watched the Olympics without fail and think its great and really really want to go. My mate got two tickets for the mens & womens athletic finals though through work and he doesn't like the olympics (or any sport for that matter) and had no intention of going, and he is taking his damn girlfriend who just couldn't care less.

Perfect solution, then. Buy them off your mate and if he says no, get him good and drunk and then, uh, acquire them.

You're not supposed to trade the tickets. They are saying there will be spot checks on the gates and if the ticket holder can't prove they are the named person on the ticket they don't get in.

Oh, OK, whoops. I didn't realize each ticket was labeled like that. I never really attend sporting events, I guess.

[Tank]

I tried to get tickets but didn't get any. On one hand I was glad I wasn't successful as it would have cost me a fortune if I got them all, but I have always watched the Olympics without fail and think its great and really really want to go. My mate got two tickets for the mens & womens athletic finals though through work and he doesn't like the olympics (or any sport for that matter) and had no intention of going, and he is taking his damn girlfriend who just couldn't care less.

Perfect solution, then. Buy them off your mate and if he says no, get him good and drunk and then, uh, acquire them.

You're not supposed to trade the tickets. They are saying there will be spot checks on the gates and if the ticket holder can't prove they are the named person on the ticket they don't get in.

Oh, OK, whoops. I didn't realize each ticket was labeled like that. I never really attend sporting events, I guess.

I don't think they are normally named. But they really did want to stop people buying tickets and then selling them at a vast mark-up on E-Bay.