Olympinonsense

[Sydney Grew]

. . . according to the press American secret agents are on their way here to have a key role in airport security during the Olympics. . . .

The plod thickens, what!

[teamsaint]

I've just had a look here:

http://www.london2012.com/about-us/the-people-delivering-the-games/locog/index.html

At the make-up of the board and management team, and I can't say I'm impressed. The site is full of bullshit bingo (qv), and the CV writers seem impressed most of all by the honours and the medals that these people have been given and have won.

Very few of them appear to have actually run (ie been in charge of) anything. I look at the logo - I keep seeing Lisa Simpson - and then I look at the "mascots". I think someone is having a laugh at our expense. The King's New Clothes come to mind.

Oh dear.

Where there is money, there are bankers. The CEO is a banker.

As for the claim that it is like running 46 world championships at the same time..........

Incidentally, there has been a completely useless and highly disruptive multi million roundabout "Improvement" done near Wimborne", in order to shave 10 minutes of the drive time to weymouth for the Olympic chiefs.(it won't take ANY time off the journey).
AS a green organisation, its a pity they didn't check out the twice hourly train service, which is certainly quicker.....

[ahinton]

AS a green organisation, its a pity they didn't check out the twice hourly train service, which is certainly quicker.....

But at what present and future cost?

[Lateralthinking1]

Where there is money, there are bankers.

Meanwhile, back in would-you-believe early February 2010:

Hansard

Asked by Lord Patten

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many times the Home Office, the Metropolitan Police Force, the Olympic Development Authority and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games have met to discuss security. [HL1560]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): The four organisations meet regularly to discuss security planning for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This includes a framework of formal meetings at official level, and regular contact between the four organisations who are co-located in the Docklands

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many full-time staff work in the Olympic Security Directorate; and what is its budget for (a) 2009-10, and (b) 2010-11. [HL1558]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): The Olympic and Paralympic Security Directorate (OSD) within the Home Office has 67 full-time equivalent staff.

The budget of OSD for 2009-10 was £44.54 million.

The budget of OSD for 2010-11 is expected to be £90 million.

[mangerton]

It says "up to 70,000 volunteers" too. Who - and where - are they then? Or is it like "From 99p"?

As far as I can gather, they're just ordinary punters like the rest of us who are going to give unpaid help. They'll be at all venues, so I suppose most will be in London. I believe some are civil servants who may well be given "special" leave when numbers - as you know - are being cut at a time of financial stringency.

All this to assist an organisation which is awash with sponsorship millions, if not billions.

[Lateralthinking1]

Mangerton thanks. It is quite interesting to see how the Minister Lord West had reported in 2010 that the Home Office, the Metropolitan Police Force, the Olympic Development Authority (ODA) and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) were meeting regularly to discuss security, with no less than 67 members of staff in the Home Office. (post 199).

By May 2011, the Government's tone was somewhat different. Lyn Brown MP asked - "How many firms will be engaged to provide security services during the London 2012 Olympics?". Home Office Minister Nick Herbert's reply was:

Beyond the responsibilities of the police and security agencies, provision of security services during the Games are principally a matter for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG). On 21 March 2011, LOCOG announced that it had appointed G4S Secure Solutions Ltd as Official Security Service Provider for the Games. G4S's role will cover a range of security provision including search and screening at venue entrances, perimeter and mobile protection, and CCTV monitoring. Rapiscan Systems were appointed on 3 March 2011 as Official Provider of security screening solutions for the Games.

So the appointment of G4S was ultimately all down to LOCOG then and not all four of Lord West's key organisations? Well, not necessarily. In November 2011, Keith Vaz MP asked the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport "how many contracts has his Department awarded to G4S since May 2010; and what was the (a) purpose, (b) monetary value and (c) net worth of each such contract?". The reply from John Penrose, answering on behalf of Jeremy Hunt, was:

The Department has not awarded any contracts to G4S since May 2010.

So, erm, let's get this right. DCMS awarded a contract to G4S in May 2010. However, it wasn't attending the regular meetings with the police, the ODA, the Home Office and LOCOG. Just over a year later, the Home Office was announcing that security was largely down to LOCOG who had just appointed G4S. As now for the Government's role, whether DCMS or the Home Office, what role?

Strange then to report that the minutes of the ODA meeting in January 2012 announced that the responsibility for security had been handed over as planned to LOCOG on 10 January 2012. What were LOCOG doing then back in Summer 2011 when appointing G4S? Anyhow that ODA body must have known what it was doing to protect its own interests. That date, 10 January 2012, was a matter of just a few days after the request was made to G4S for masses more security staff, an impossible task which they readily took on. So many bodies, so many meetings and so much potential for passing the buck. They all planned the latter wonderfully.

[kernelbogey]

Statues of Wenlock and Mandeville, 'Olympic Mascots', are to be placed around London. I feel slightly nauseated by these strange one-eyed creatures and cannot comprehend how these designs could have been chosen.

[MrGongGong]

From today's

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jul/17/massive-live-events-cities

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/mark-steel/mark-steel-i-love-the-olympics--but-not-here-7953428.html

[kernelbogey]

Thanks for the links Mr GG. I have to assume that Simon Jenkins has his facts correct. He has consistently taken this line that the International Olympic Committee, and by extension, Locog, have had extraordinary power and privilege extended to them.

Not since William of Orange arrived with his Dutch army in 1688 has London's government been surrendered so completely to an alien power.

I have no interest in these or any other Olympic Games, and while I have no wish that others should be deprived of the possibility of enjoying them, the cost seems just too high.

Also, Locog having prioritsed corporate sponsors et al in ticket allocation and announced months ago that none were left, suddenly hundreds of thousands of tickets are, apparently, available. This seems sheer incompetence.

Mark Steel in the Indie: very funny.

[MrGongGong]

I'm trying not to think about it too much (blood pressure and all that )
but I do have a performance event coming up in a few weeks that's linked to the sodding olympics and have to work out how to actually get to the venue (not in London ) with an estate car containing several flightcases of gear and a double bass
should I cancel my trip to France and start queuing now ?
And someone else tells me what a great opportunity to be "part of it" it is again i'm going to loose it

[Northender]

Thanks for the links Mr GG. I have to assume that Simon Jenkins has his facts correct. He has consistently taken this line that the International Olympic Committee, and by extension, Locog, have had extraordinary power and privilege extended to them.



I have no interest in these or any other Olympic Games, and while I have no wish that others should be deprived of the possibility of enjoying them, the cost seems just too high.

Also, Locog having prioritsed corporate sponsors et al in ticket allocation and announced months ago that none were left, suddenly hundreds of thousands of tickets are, apparently, available. This seems sheer incompetence.

Mark Steel in the Indie: very funny.

[ahinton]

One thing that could arise from the questioning of Nuckles, alongside the various attentions lately focussed by the Treasury Select Committee upon Mr Diamond, Sir Mervyn King, Mr Paul Tucker et al is that, if we carry on as we are and continue to make the kinds of discoveries that we do, those MPs who sit on select committees might end up having no time to do anything else except grilling CEOs of vast corporations about those grave internationally significant activities of their companies about which they didn't know anything at all until at least the middle of next week...

[amateur51]

Not mine, amsey!

If the Government had gone for various companies and not put all their eggs in one basket it would have cost them (us) more not less ... that's exactly why it went for the cheaper option of putting 'all eggs in one basket'.

Furthermore, companies don't pay staff to hang about waiting hoping another company collapses so they can suddenly fill the breach caused by a broken contract.

I'm also rather astonished to see you are now apparently in favour of the ethos of competition to bring down costs. My goodness, whatever next, privatisation of the NHS?

Are you a closet Tory heterosexual, or something ... ?

Well as I say it worked in my experience scotty in setting up bits of the National Lottery distribution bodies to a very tight time-frame The various partners became fiercely competitive and flexible and very watchful & we got some good 'extra' stuff from them.

The NHS comparison doesn't work and you know why, scotty.

So good to know that my sexuality still fascinates you

[Anna]

Danny Boyle's Opening Ceremony is to be cut by 30mins to ensure spectators can get home by public transport. As tubes are running until 2.30am and the drivers have got their bonuses and called off strikes this would appear to be yet another knock on effect of G4S (lack of) security. So, I suppose we will get the definitive Director's Cut?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/9407707/London-2012-Olympics-27-million-Opening-Ceremony-shortened-by-30-minutes-amid-transport-fears.html

[teamsaint]

Grave warnings in Bristol about bad traffic delays during the olympics.
Which events are in the Capital of the west?