Fuck The Olympics

People might think, from our press that Londoners are happy about this VIP Rich Person’s Party happening in the East of London.

Nope – well this one isn’t happy, and I know many people who either are unhappy about the cost, security issues, the still crappy logo (no it hasn’t grown on me as promised, still looks like Lisa Simpson giving a blow job) and blanket press/tourist invasion or transport upset, or the fact it’s a bunch of rich fat Sepp Blatter types and the rest of the world having a party at our expense and leaving us with the tab.

(image by Viktor Hertz)

Evening Standard and other press upto about a few months ago were reflecting these concerns – now the Games are in sight, they’ve switched to cheerleader mode, prozac propaganda that the Games are going to be great, glossing over the disruptions, chaos, community action/pressure on locals, and 12 billion or so cost. Who are they trying to convince?

I tell you who – Londoners. There’s been grumblings about a mass exodus from people who work or live in London, not exactly a 100% takeup of tickets for the less glamorous events especially the Paralympics – and a lot of locals aren’t going, these tickets are for out-of-towners. Most Londoners I know are fed up with the Olympics and want it over, or are not bothered about it. Very few seem excited or happy about it being here. And unlike Westfield, one of the few things to come out of it that has provided jobs for locals, there seems to be little long term benefits – even the stadiums or swimming pools may not stay, or have good reliable local access.

I put it best after posting this blog post to a friend: ‘It just annoys me that the world is coming to party in my backyard and not only do I have to put up with it, I have to pay for it too.’ – obviously it’s not my backyard exactly, but as a Londoner it feels like that. The rest of the UK has made it very clear London is on it’s own when paying for this ‘party’, if I had it my way I’d restrict it to Londoners and foreign visitors and fuck anyone else in the UK unless they contributed to it. 😛 It does feel like a bunch of unwelcome liggers and partycrashers are rolling up and making your city hell for 6 weeks…AND you have to pay for the ruined carpets and alcohol at the end of it – in fact you had to build an entire house for them to do it in, in fact.

And don’t get me started on allowing heart-clogging McDonald’s sponsor the games. WTF? Such a paradigm of health, as they say. Also the greenwash of letting BP and Dow Chemical come to snout at the trough.

So suspiciously the tone of the recent press campaigns have been about staycations and staying for the ‘greatest games’ and all that blather…the tone seems slightly desperate and shrill, really. There is a danger that tourism might actually go down, with the well publicised problems about transport and security, I think a lot of the usual tourists that come in the summer will avoid unless they’re coming for the Games. And out of town British and commuters will avoid the place like the plague if they can. And local people leaving and renting out their homes or just fleeing the city during the Games. So all those hotels built on the sites like the Foundry (RIP) could be empty…and I doubt will be stay full after the Games either…this all smacks of the Millennium Dome.

I also think a lot of people are secretly hoping it fails just to piss the Mayor (whoever it’ll be) and/or Boris and Seb Coe off. Yes that trusty British ‘who do you think you are?’ schadenfreude! Reliable in the face of such pomposity.

Now, just to add sheer lunacy to all of this, security for the games wants to add Surface To Air missiles (not small ones either, I’ve heard) on a water tower in the middle of a residential estate. Only in London…some of the locals seem happy with this arrangement, citing that the Games should be safe – it’s best to realise this is a gated estate and not yer usual Bow council estate – ignoring the fact that this makes their estate a target for terrorism.

I mean who needs to hijack and overpower guards on planes when you have handy Surface to Air missiles places conveniently near the Olympic site? And say if a plane does get through – where will a shot down plane land, exactly? Oh as long as the rich VIPs in the stadium are OK, who cares what local oiks get flattened by a 747…

Sheer stupidity – and shows the insane security theatre that’s going on here – which with Army with it’s missiles and the police having new powers near the Olympic village and those contentious VIP lanes…well I worry not so much of a terrorist threat but of either the locals getting fed up of it and rioting, or some accident happening with some Private or more likely green out-of-town Copper with an itchy trigger finger. Remember Jean Charles De Menenez…

I do like Deller’s Bouncy Stonehenge though, or Stella McCartney’s designs for the athletes to wear. Surprised also b3ta haven’t made more of this missiles story.

Working on a show about the Jubilee, but I think some of my Olympics feeling will creep in, also.