This was an interesting trip down memory lane. I am glad to see I was wrong and that the Chems got to represent during the opening ceremonies and with Velodrome!

http://forum.thechem...24-london-2012/

I know there were concerns previously about having the Olympics in London, but what do you folks (from the UK) think in hindsight now that the Olympics are over? Was it all worth it - the planning, the hype, the disruption of services? Did it exceed expectations and hopes?

whirlygirl, on 23 August 2012 - 3:42 AM, said:

Yes, especially for us...

whirlygirl, on 23 August 2012 - 2:42 AM, said:

There was a great lack of enthusiasm and anger towards the government for wasting so much money when the country is in a lot of financial trouble and families are suffering. The opening ceremony changed every mind in the country, it made us feel proud to be British again and that was the lapdance before the shag: the sports were thrilling and exciting to watch, even for those who don't care for sports, we were all of a sudden a united kingdom for two weeks. You would talk to strangers and they would talk back in excitement about a particular event they had seen, it's a nice feeling having something in common with almost everyone, and this comes from a guy who hates everyone. It was exactly what the country needed, we needed a distraction from how grey everything had been and I don't just mean the weather. Now we don't think of it as a waste of money, we feel good right now and proud of our sports people.

I'm not sure how long this distraction will last though, we have some hard times ahead.

iguanapunk, on 23 August 2012 - 2:54 AM, said:

I like how you referred to the games as a distraction. That's a good way to put it and there's nothing wrong with a positive distraction, no matter how brief. I am glad the UK got a chance to be Olympic hosts and show the world their proud history and culture. I love London, and have nothing but the fondest memories of the UK so the unifying effect it had on everyone off the street is so nice to hear. There may be hard times ahead, but it sounds like the games was a much needed and well deserved boost for the UK.

Iggy - you pretty much summed it up. There was a huge degree of apathy here in Scotland prior to the Games, with most of the tickets for the football in Glasgow (the only event north of the border) being given away. For a couple of months before, there was a lot of excitement about the Torch relay around the country, and it did seem to all build up from there.

I was out of the UK when the games started, but came back 3 or 4 days in, and from then for the remainder of their duration it was a common conversation that unified the country. Whether that was down to positivity arising from the far better than expected performance from Team GB, or whether it was a general pride at hosting a successful Games, we'll never know. Who could've predicted most of the country getting excited and shouting in unison for the last lap of a 5,000m race, or even more bizarrely an interest in the horse dancing that is dressage? Anyway, it was a big and very pleasant surprise, none more than to a cynic like myself.

The challenge will be to see if there can be a lasting legacy arising from the Games. With the Paralympics starting this week, and almost all events sold out, we could see another bout for a few weeks, and thereafter the hard work starts. If it can be a legacy that's depoliticised and instead taken forward by the masses, that might be the way to do it.

And we also have, albeit on a much smaller scale, the Commonwealth Games in 2014 in Glasgow. That did for Melbourne in 2006 what the Olympics did for Sydney in 2000, but given the reaction to the Olympics this is something to look forward to.