He’s only saying what we knew already, but Dominic Lawson is quite right to point out here what a colossal waste of taxpayers’ money the 2012 London Olympics are going to be. Not to mention the fact that, overall, they will have a negative effect on tourism.
Some years ago, the European Tour Operators Association (ETOA) produced a study which concluded: "There appears to be little evidence of any benefit to tourism of hosting an Olympic Games and considerable evidence of damage." It added that predictions to the contrary by the politicians attempting to justify the outlay of their taxpayers' money "form part of a tradition".There’s no evidence either that they will lead to any increase in participation in sport (as if that was government’s business anyway). And if you dare to complain about the whole gravy train you risk being branded as a killjoy:
But the best of all news is for the politicians and sports bureaucrats who committed us to spending £10bn on facilities for two weeks of running and jumping: they will have the grandest seats in the stadium entirely free, and will be chauffeured there in special lanes while the rest of the capital's inhabitants are snarled up in Olympic traffic jams.
Anyone who begrudges them that is clearly a killjoy, and not participating in the Olympic spirit.
