Greenwich Park, a centre for Equestrian Excellence? Perhaps not.

Posted on April 20, 2010 by clockword

Just another sunny day in Greenwich Park

‘The message from tonight is loud and clear. This great park is on loan to the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games and the people of the world.’

Those were the words spoken by the London 2012 organiser Sebastian Coe on the 23^rd March 2010 when plans for a new Olympic site were finally approved. Unfortunately, the park in question is Greenwich and to say that makes a few of us slightly irate is a mockery in itself.

Right from the start, the Olympic Committee have been focused on extravagantly splashing the cash whilst seemingly simple solutions to oversee controversial plans have been overlooked. From crushing allotments to de-housing local communities, next on the list is the iconic green area of Greenwich Park.

Home to an abundance of wildlife, 300 year-old trees and not to mention a World Heritage site renowned for its historical and cultural artefacts, what better way to celebrate this institution of London life than to bring in the bricks and mortar. The organisers are relying on the notion of creating a sporting legacy in the area for local support although it seems they failed to highlight the fact that the world of Equestrian sporting is quite out of reach to most they are preaching to.

In a nutshell, how Greenwich park should remain is as an area of tranquil relaxation away from the direct hive of Olympic activity. The park could be the place to take in the city views, enjoy picnics and light banter about who wins and loses, not to mention the fact that there are permanent facilities already available for Equestrian Sporting Events around London. Why should it take millions of pounds, large camera crews and thousands of Olympic-goers to validate the significance of Greenwich Park; anyone fond of London will already hold this area close to their hearts.

Please join us and sign the petition to appeal this decision; there is still time for changes to be made.

Click London Olympics for more blogs
Or visit PlanA our general blog on urbanism, planning and architecture.
See our Olympics project pages for more information and videos.

Spectacle homepage
Befriend Spectacle.Docs on Facebook
Follow SpectacleMedia on Twitter

Olympic ArcelorMittal Sculpture

Posted on April 13, 2010 by Greg

‘So we’ve got £19m to throw around, any ideas?’

‘What about an 115m helter-skelter steel sculpture?’

So went the conversation about the conception of the planned Orbit sculpture to be completed in time for the London Olympics. You would assume then that there must be enough of a kitty for the post-Olympic regeneration project in East London, available for creating affordable housing to combat the rising house prices and for creating job opportunities in response to the high local unemployment levels. Refreshing to know the Olympics definitely won’t go over budget.

The main hypocrisy of the structure, highlighted in Felicity Carus’ blog for The Guardian which you can read here, is that the carbon emissions of the tower’s sponsors ArcelorMittal are roughly the equivalent of the Czech Republic’s carbon emissions for an entire year, an interesting move for the world’s first sustainable Olympic Games. But the main thing is that the red steel framework would be ‘our Eiffel Tower’, says Boris Johnson, so faith is restored.

More about London 2012 can be found on our London 2012 Olympics blog or the Spectacle London 2012 Olympics project page)

South Africa 2010 and Ambush Marketing

Posted on April 13, 2010 by Greg

It’s not long now before the World Cup fanfare begins but for local independent tradesman it’s the long, boring drone of contradiction that’s ringing around what is supposedly intended to be their most lucrative opportunity for years. The mantra that’s pumped out before major nomadic sports events is that smaller businesses will benefit from the influx of tourists, but in reality they can’t pay up the prerequisite sponsor fees demanded by the sports governing bodies, so they’re unable to compete with the event’s major sponsors and unceremoniously kicked 25893144299999 miles away from the stadium in question.

When independent tradesmen and entrepreneurs do try to get amongst the action, they’re quickly attacked with flimsy legislation like ‘ambush marketing’, like the recent case of Grant Abrahamse. He registered his football key ring back in 2004 but is now being taken to court by FIFA (who’s account has already ballooned by more than R23 billion). The ruling, if upheld, essentially means that any independent traders wishing to use words like ‘soccer’ or even the year ‘2010’ could also risk being sued. In comparison to the 3,700 cases during the previous event in Germany in 2006, there have been over 50,000 in South Africa. We have already begun to see the same shoots of this story growing in the preparation for London 2012. (more about London 2012 can be found on our London 2012 Olympics blog or the Spectacle London 2012 Olympics project page)

Despite promises to the contrary, Abrahamse’s case, which you can watch in more detail below (source, 2010 World Cup FIFA sue Grant Abrahamse), demonstrates that FIFA and co are the exclusive beneficiaries for South Africa 2010.

The Olympic Fun and Games Article

Posted on March 30, 2010 by adosini

The current financial climate and the aftermath of the recession has resulted in an increase in job losses throughout the country but despite this many of the major companies experiencing a financial dip are sponsoring the Olympic games. The extensive work being undertaken to get London ready for the games is being justified because of the influx of tourism and the opening of jobs for UK residents but is the UK likely to make a long term profit or will it sink us further into debt? As the initial budget of the games is expected to have increased tenfold, will the British taxpayer be left footing the bill?

This article by Tom Morgan on the website Money.co.uk explores the long term financial effects of hosting the Olympics based on previous countries profits and losses and also looks at the companies set to sponsor the games.

Click London Olympics for more blogs
Or visit PlanA our general blog on urbanism, planning and architecture.
See our Olympics project pages for more information and videos.

Spectacle homepage
Befriend Spectacle.Docs on Facebook
Follow SpectacleMedia on Twitter

A local business man speaks out about the Olympics

Posted on November 12, 2009 by adosini

Lance Forman is managing director of H Forman & Son, a salmon smoking factory, that has been based in East London for over 100 years. In these interviews he speaks about the obstacles his business has had to overcome in connection with the Olympics.

After having build a brand new factory with a grand by the LDA, H Forman & Son were faced with a compulsory puchase order by LDA and the task to relocate, along with 250 other businesses.

Part 1 deals with the history of the factory and the bad luck the company has faced during the past 10 years.
Part 2 is an account of the negotiations and dealings with the LDA
Part 3 takes a different view on the Olympic Legacy
Part 4 talks about the public presentation of the Olympics
Part 5 is the story of the search for a suitable site for a new factory
Part 6 tells about the last obstacles that had to be overcome when building the new factory

London 2012 Olympics Logo – Battersea Power Station

Posted on October 16, 2009 by adosini

Battersea Power Station Community Group urge you to take the chance to nominate Battersea Power Station landmark to be used as the design on a set of commemorative pin badges. We here at Spectacle thought about just how great an opportunity this is to raise awareness about Battersea Power Station and the current state it’s in.

You are able to submit one vote on the landmark of your choice, and so this is a very good chance to kick-start some action dealing with the Battersea Power Station problems!

The website can be found here

Visit Spectacle’s on-going Battersea Power Station Project

Watch a video trailer here: Battersea Power Station – The Story So Far

Subscribe to our newsletter mailing list, visit our contact page to subscribe

If you live in the neighbourhood and would like to get involved, contact us here putting Battersea Power Station in your message.

Click here for more Battersea Power Station links

Spectacle Home Page

World Cup effect on South africa

Posted on September 23, 2009 by clockword

Mnikelo talking

In may 2004, South Africa became the first African nation to be nominated to host a football World Cup. Following that announcement, South African’s were overwhelmed by the prospect of much needed development and new business opportunities.

Since then, a lot (mainly the poorest) have been evicted or resettled as the government try to show a “clean” image of South Africa to the world.

Spectacle has recently uploaded and interview with Mnikelo and Zodwa from Abahlali baseMjondolo, the South African shackdwellers’ movement, talking about the negative effects of the 2010 World Cup on South Africans. This can be viewed on the Spectacle archive page (World Cup, South Africa) and was filmed in connection with the London Olympics 2012 and the recurring effect of mega sporting event.

Mnikelo’s interview gives an insight into the World Cup backstage and its effect on the host nation.

White elephant Olympic site on horizon

Posted on July 6, 2009 by adosini

The Olympic site risks becoming a white elephant due a plan that “lacks detail” and a budget which is “underdeveloped”. The London assembly’s economic development, culture, sport and tourism committee, stressed in a recent report “There is concern that, given the experience of other cities that planned long in advance of actually staging the games, we are missing the boat”.

The Guardian reported that the committee charged with overseeing spending on the £9.3bn game has concluded that the lack of a tenant for the main stadium means there are “serious doubts as to the future financial viability of the venue and hence attractiveness of the park site to business investment”. Aspirations to create between 9,000 and 10,000 jobs in the Olympic Park could be at risk without private funding, it warns.

In a letter to The Guardian on July 4th, an assembly member argued that the lack of affordable housing being created by the Olympics, particularly for families meant that the legacy was going to leave nothing but a concrete eyesore.

Source:http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jul/01/olympics-london-assembly

Will the Olympics develop any of the promises it made to Londoners in the bid?

Given the destruction caused by the Olympics and the lack of solid plans for after the event, is it worth it?

To find out more about Spectacles Olympic project please visit our Project Page

The Fog of Games: Free talk at the LSE

Posted on May 27, 2009 by admin

In The Fog of Games, the first casualty is the truth. The Olympics are brief and transitory television events that disguise and justify mega projects of vast urban restructuring that permanently distort our cities for the benefit of a few business interests. Common features of such projects are unprecedented land grabs, the peddling of myths of ‘regeneration’ and ‘legacy’ benefits, the sweeping away of democratic structures and planning restraints, the transfer of public money into private hands, and ‘information management’ to hide truths and silence critics.

Mark Saunders from Spectacle will be showing clips of Spectacle’s ongoing Olympic Project The Fog of Games: Legacy, Land Grabs and Liberty.

Also Reporting the London Olympics Martin Slavin from Games Monitor website will discuss the gap between the media image of the Olympics and the historical impact they have had on communities.

This free event will take place at The London School of Economics on Thursday 28th May at 7pm. Everyone is welcome.

For more information on Spectacle’s Olympic project visit our Olympic project page

To see more clips from our Olympic project please visit the the Spectacle Archive Page

Interview with Johnnie Walker online now

Posted on May 11, 2009 by admin

An interview is now online with Johnnie Walker from the Hackney and Leyton Sunday league about the effects of the Olympics on Hackney Marshes football. To view this interview and other clips from our Olympics project please visit the Spectacle website.

The Spectacle Blog

Spectacle's blog on urbanism, human rights and social justice

Tag Archives: athletics