Summary
AS THE Olympic Games wind down to their final, triumphant finale this weekend, the British team can congratulate itself on an extraordinary achievement. Britain, with 18 gold medals so far, is third in the league table of medals, behind sporting giants China and the US but well ahead of Australia, Germany and France, countries that pride themselves on their sporting excellence and feel a good deal of chagrin at being outclassed. The feelings of the Australians cannot have been much mollified when the Mayor, Boris Johnson, in Beijing for the handover ceremony, offered his sincere commiserations that they had not done better. But in London there is genuine Olympics enthusiasm, a real feeling that this is an event in which to take pride and to become involved. There is, at last, a sense of hopeful expectation about the Games coming here and we shall see as much in the reception for the Olympic victory parade in London on Monday.
The focus of public attention on 2012 has been, quite legitimately, on the ever-increasing cost of the Games, which spiralled to the present estimate of [pounds]9.3 billion from the earliest figure of around [pounds]3 billion. Now, in the euphoria of the British victories in successive events at Beijing, Londoners are starting to appreciate that the Olympics are a success story they can identify with while keeping a wary eye on the financial implications for the taxpayer.See the full content of this document
Extract
Now the Torch Comes to London
High expectations can be a powerful motivating fo...
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