London 2012 - Skybar and News

[JDRS]

Although it would have pulled in the international tourists...

[eddyk]

Then we could win every argument over tourist visits with bnmaddict

[Zim Flyer]

Taken from BBC News Online:

Olympic Park project moves closer

The first stages of work on a new Olympic Park for the 2012 Games in London have been given the go-ahead.

A contractor has been appointed to build massive tunnels which will replace overhead power lines that cut across a swathe of east London.

The £70m project is the first phase of a £200m scheme, in which 50 huge electricity pylons will be removed.

Meanwhile, mayor Ken Livingstone has given transport and development chiefs the legal go-ahead for a range of work.

He has issued a statutory direction to Transport for London and the London Development Agency (LDA) to "do everything necessary to proceed with all early preparations" for the Games.

Builders will construct 12 kilometres (seven miles) of tunnels to replace power lines which run across the Lower Lea Valley.

The removal of pylons will free up more than 100 acres (40 hectares) of land for development and will be a crucial step in creating the Olympic Park and preparing the area for the 2012 Games.

Livingstone's statutory direction outlines further projects which must be delivered, including:


Site clearance, demolition and decontamination
Olympic Park on ex-nuclear site
Ensuring Olympic input into ongoing London Underground developments
Planning for upgrades to North London Line services, including increased frequency and train sizes
Improvements at West Ham station, to help it cope better with demands of major events.

LDA Olympic Delivery Committee Lord Swraj Paul announced J Murphy & Sons Limited as the power lines tunnel contractor.

"Undergrounding these power lines is a huge project, creating tunnels equivalent to more than half the length of the Victoria Line," he said.

"It will completely transform the feel of this area and underlines the tremendous impact that hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games will have on east London."

[Medo]

Olympic Park on ex-nuclear site

what ex-nuclear site?

[DarJoLe]

Originally Posted by Medo

what ex-nuclear site?

There was very small nuclear test reactor for some university on the Marshagte Lane site. It was decommisionned in the 1980s and removed, and has been given the all clear. It was hardly of power station size, but the media as usual is itching for a story.

[Bob]

Originally Posted by Medo

what ex-nuclear site?

Nothing to worry about. It turns out that there was some small scale university research reactor on the site quite some time ago. No trace of contamination was found by the environment guys. The first to pick up on this was the Evening Standard and even they couldn't make a sensational article out of it!

[Zim Flyer]

Originally Posted by Bob

Nothing to worry about. It turns out that there was some small scale university research reactor on the site quite some time ago. No trace of contamination was found by the environment guys. The first to pick up on this was the Evening Standard and even they couldn't make a sensational article out of it!

Wow Bob and Darjole, you both said pretty much the samething at the same time.

You two aren't twins are you?

[Madman]

Crowd hails 2012 Olympic victory

Trafalgar Square pictures
Thousands of people have gathered in Trafalgar Square for a belated party to mark London's 2012 Olympics win.
The short event saw a ticker-tape display in Olympic colours and acrobats abseiling down Nelson's Column.

Thursday's celebration also included speeches by London 2012 chairman Lord Coe and mayor Ken Livingstone.

Plans for a big victory homecoming were abandoned following bombings in the capital city, which happened the day after London won Games hosting rights.

Thursday's half-hour celebration started at 1230 BST, and included pop star Heather Small singing 2012 campaign anthem "Proud", backed by a gospel choir.

Acrobats, taking part in the first official abseil down Trafalgar Square's landmark statue, dropped a 300ft silk banner of the London 2012 logo.

Livingstone hosted the event, with Coe and Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell also making short speeches.

"Today we are showing London, the UK and the world that preparations for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games are under way," said Livingstone.

Those who were killed in the London terror attacks will not be forgotten

Olympics minister Tess Jowell
"The passion and commitment we put into the bid is now carrying through to delivering what will be the greatest Olympics ever."

Coe said 60,000 people had already offered to be volunteers for the Games, including 17,000 who expressed an interest within a week of the 2012 decision.

Afterwards, Coe said he was glad people had a chance to mark the victory.

"It wasn't appropriate the day after to start celebrating. Today was a nice opportunity to thank Londoners for their support," he said.

At the climax of Thursday's event, a big banner reading 'London Prepares' was unveiled.

A day-long Oxford Street festival is planned for 1 October as London seeks to boost tourism in the wake of the bombings.
That day, part of a scheme called 'Everyone's London' designed for residents to take pride in the city, will see the landmark shopping area closed to traffic.

It includes festivals, special days out and a series of major promotions such as West End theatre offers.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/othe...12/4198088.stm

[Madman]

Well this kind of news isnt exactly surprising...

Letter Shows London 2012 Costs Soaring
Posted 12:01 pm ET (GamesBids.com)

The Observer has obtained a letter from a senior civil servant to London Mayor Ken Livingstone which shows that one billion pounds of government money has been pledged that ministers had not previously revealed, which, according to the Observer, appears to contradict the government’s insistence that the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games would not involve any central funding and would be paid for entirely from lottery receipts and a levy on council taxpayers.

London Mayor’s chief aide for the 2012 Games, Neale Coleman, admits that the cost of land in east London where the Games will be held is set to rise, reports the Guardian. The body set up for the Games intends to buy about 20 per cent more land than the 178 hectares originally intended for the Olympic park.

Also, according to the Guardian, the money budgeted to compensate businesses whose premises will have to move are likely to be too small, as the independent land tribunals that will set compensation levels for many of the 300 firms in the area may decide on more money than London 2012 originally estimated in 2002.

Meanwhile Damian Hockney, a member of the London Assembly for the One London party, said he believes that the Games could turn into a re-run of the Athens 2004 Games when Athens went over budget.

The Guardian reports that Ministers have not publicly announced their surprise one billion pound injection, which is being used to aid the regeneration of the Olympic Park area. The one billion pound figure first emerged in a letter sent to the Mayor on July 21 from Jeff Jacobs, a senior official at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

While the letter said the money was to “support delivery of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games”, Assembly members have been told the one billion pounds is to cover “non-Olympic costs”.

According to the Guardian, London 2012 sources admit privately that some of the costs of staging the Games were deliberately under-estimated or disguised during the bid process.

http://www.gamesbids.com/cgi-bin/new...&id=1127059281

[Madman]

The article in the Observer;

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_ne...572635,00.html

[Zim Flyer]

Typical Guardian critism, always moaning, always looking to be critical or to be the first with a smart arse comment.

Who cares if the government has to spend a £billion, the effects it will have on the nations moral will be huge and worth every penny.

[Munch]

i agree... the returns, if the job is invested in and done properly, will be huge.

[elliott]

Originally Posted by Madman

The body set up for the Games intends to buy about 20 per cent more land than the 178 hectares originally intended for the Olympic park.

What's the extra land for then? Looking at plan the park looks big enough already.

[Madman]

I heard that is would be for car parks, that the LDA would then sell to developers after the games to make mega profits - well that was from a business in the area so you have to take that with a pinch of salt.

[StiffUpper]

That 20% extra probably relates to land bought up for lower lea valley regeneration not directly associated with the Olympics.

Would love to see as much as poss made into greenspace corridors, perhaps linking the park up to Victoria Park for instance.

[Monkey]

I have thought about and enjoyed London's victory every day since the 6th July. I think we should build a new square in London called "Singapore Square" to commemorate the great victory at the Battle of Singapore and in the centre should be a tall column with a statue of Sebastian Coe on top - "Sebastian's Column" of course.

[Butcher]

lol. Where we beat the French again.

[Bob]

Originally Posted by Butcher

lol. Where we beat the French again.

he he, how about the new square between St.Pancras and Kings Cross thereby keeping a smile on my face once the Paris Eurostars no long arrive at Waterloo!

[Madman]

hehe that is hilarious! Did the French really complain about Waterloo Station's name?

[pricemazda]

Yep they asked for it to be renamed.