Olympics essay

Is it time we took the Olympics off the shelf?
The Olympics is always a costly event, especially the London 2012 Games. The price was originally planned at £2.4 billion, but has progressed to £9.3 billion, soaring by an extra £6.9 billion. At the same time, the government is making cuts in health and education. If we were to put the Olympics in a time capsule, would of future generations be proud, knowing we spent £9.3 billion on stadiums, security and fancy ceremonies when there are still so many people in the UK living on the edge of poverty?
In 2005 we were promised by former Olympics Minister, Tessa Jowell, that the London 2012 games would cost a ghastly £2.4 billion. But promises weren’t kept, the price doubled and trebled. Then it hit the £9.3 billion mark. The government are standing firm with the cost, but are we to believe them, when they promised us the bill would be no more than £2.4 billion? Former organisers have told us another increase in the final cost. Jack Lemley, the former chairman of the Olympics Delivery Authority, resigned in 2006 admitting that the final price for the Games could hit £20 billion. As a country we cannot afford to be spending a vast amount of money on venues, security guards and everything else they have decided to waste money on. Can we really trust the government claiming the final bill has not increased?
One of the most dramatic alterations is the cost of the opening and closing ceremonies. They were originally estimated at £40 million for both. However, £40 million wasn’t enough for a few fireworks as the Prime Minister has authorised an extra £40 million to be spent on the ‘big show’. One of the organisers told the Daily Mail the events would make them ‘weep’. Are we to weep from how spectacular they will be or the fact our pensions have just been cut in half? The Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson claims that the money will be spent to promote Britain. On the other hand, surely we could promote Britain for less? Not a single member of the Foot Guards has been invited and they are a big part of Britain. Including them in the ceremonies would have reduced\ the costs dramatically.
Another extraordinary expense is the swimming pool. It was originally planned to cost a stunning £73 million. Nevertheless, it is now heading towards £300 million. £100 million alone is being spent on the roof, which is more than the whole pool was estimated at. You would think the roof contained magic gems for that price. In early December the pool needed another top up. Let’s just waste another £5 million on Chlorine, it’s not as if education is missing out. We all know £300 million is far too much to be spending on a swimming pool.
As well as the classy swimming pool and ceremonies, more figures have been reviewed and altered. At the end of November 2011, the Olympics were requesting 10,000 guards. However, after reviewing the figures, it was decided it should increase to 23,000 guards. Whoever calculated 10,000 obviously didn’t shine in maths as they were a few off – in fact, 13,000 guards off. So like everything else in the Games, lets resolves the issue with more of our money. We are spending an extra £271 million on extra guards, which totals at £21,000 per guard. But who would turn down that offer, £21,000 for a fortnights work? We are throwing £21,000 around per guard, and yet some soldiers don’t even earn that in a year, fighting for our country. They are sent away for months on end, thousands of miles away from normality. Surely we should reverse their salaries?
Nonetheless, the Olympics can’t be all negative. As a country, obesity rates are on a constant rise. Perhaps glorifying sport for a few weeks will make an impact on society’s physical exercise, especially with the younger generations. Promises were made stating the London Games would convert a million new people into participating in sport. However, Decembers NAO report shows us the truth – only 108,600 new people are taking part in sport. Once again, we have been shown another false promise from Olympic Ministers. How are we to have faith in them?
To conclude, do we really think the Olympics are worth the expense? How are we to trust anything to do with the Games, when all we have received is broken promises, higher tax prices and lower pay cheques? If the rumours are true that the rumours will hit the £20 billion high mark, what will we gain? England will gain a few months of fame and local areas will have cast-off stadiums. So if we were to put the Olympics in a time capsule, would our younger generations be proud? I truly hope not.