Archives for April 2012

There is still a lot of work to be done but with 100 days to go London Olympic organisers can reflect that their journey up to now has been largely stress free.

The so-called "big build" of the main venues has been completed with few dramas, Locog have commendably raised £700m in commercial revenues to pay for the staging of the Games and the torch is due to land here in just over a month's time.

Sure, there is a lot still to be done. As Locog chief executive Paul Deighton pointed out at Wednesday's event at a damp and chilly Kew Gardens, they still have 200,000 temporary seats to install - the equivalent of more than two Wembleys.

The last batch of one million tickets will go on sale at the start of May. With Wednesday's BBC Radio 5 live poll suggesting there is still indifference to the Games outside London and the south east this may determine whether the rest of the country starts to get a bit more engaged or whether the sense of disaffection many people feel about the ticketing process will spread.

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When London Olympic planners look for inspiration on legacy, they tend to look at one city above all others - Barcelona.

The 1992 Games were, perhaps, the first Olympics to leave a lasting, meaningful impact on their hosts.

From roads and redevelopment to tourism and the city’s global popularity.

When I visited the city at the end of last month, the pride in Barcelona’s Olympic achievements was still evident 20 years on.

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