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.
It has been revealed that several firms working on the Olympic site, including Sir Robert McAlpine who is building the stadium, were subscribed members of the Consulting Association which is accused holding sensitive information on 3,213 workers. This information came to light after a raid by the Information Commissioners Office.
Contract journal writes
‘Union leaders are demanding the Olympic 2012 site is purged of all blacklists held on construction workers.
Olympic Stadium builder Sir Robert McAlpine is believed to have spent nearly £30,000 last year alone on information to vet potential employees.
Unite joint general secretary Derek Simpson is calling for an immediate probe into all Olympic contractors caught up in the Consulting Association scandal.
He said: “On the basis that many of the employers concerned will be winning billions of pounds worth of public and private sector work, the government should announce an immediate investigation into the practices that exist in the industry.”‘
source:http://www.contractjournal.com/Articles/2009/03/11/65585/construction-unions-demand-olympic-blacklist-ban.html
For more information on Spectacles Olympic Project please visit our Project Page
For Spectacles latest film on the Olympics please visit our archive page.
An interview with Katie Andrews on the consultation process of the London Olympics taking place in east London. Katie Andrews talks about the ways in which there was a lack of communication and information being delivered to the members of the public prior to the bid being being put in for the olympics to be held in London.
To watch interview click below:
Iain Sinclair, novelist and long standing Hackney resident has been banned from reading extracts of his new book in Hackney libraries because of his criticisms of the 2012 olympics. In an interview that was published in the Guardian, Sinclair describes the measures taken by Hackney council to stifle debate on the Olympic issue.
“I was asked to go along to Stoke Newington library to speak to 20 people: old hippies and local history buffs, probably. But I’d written an anti-Olympics piece in the London Review of Books, and so the Hackney thought police decided: no, we can’t have this person in our library. They lied about this all the way down the line, insisting it was nothing to do with the Olympics but that they can’t have ‘controversial’ topics discussed in libraries. Eventually someone from the Hackney Citizen used the Freedom of Information Act to get the transcript [of what was said in a meeting] and, sure enough, it came directly from the Mayor, Jules Pipe, saying that this person is anti-Olympics, and he doesn’t go into our libraries. So Hackney Council is my co-sponsor, really – and, of course, this manipulation [on the part of the council] is also a big theme of the book.”
For more information on Spectacles Olympic Project please visit our Project Page
For Spectacles latest film on the Olympics please visit our archive page.
Spectacle went to Hackney Marshes to interview local footballers on what they thought of plans to turn their pitches into a coach car park for the Olympic stadium.
The East marsh, has a reputation all over the world for being home to the largest number of outdoor pitches in Europe. It is not just this reputation that will be lost if Olympic plans go ahead says locals. The deep community spirit the football games bring to Hackney will also disapear.
As one female footballer pointed out, they could play in Walthamstow but why should Hackney women’s team play in Walthamstow ‘its not right’. Many were highly sceptical that once the Olympic games were finished their precious pitches would be returned to them.
The East marsh football games have been taking place for over 50 years. They have been kept going through rain or snow by the local community and easy availability of space. Anyone who wants to can play. For many who take part, losing all this for a the Olympics, which will only last 3 weeks, is just not worth it.
For more information on Spectacles Olympic Project please visit our Project Page
For Spectacles latest film on the Olympics please visit our archive page.
You can view video clips about the displacement and destruction of the 100 year old Manor Gardens Allotments to make way for a walk way for 4 weeks of the London 2012 Olympics.
These clips are part of our on going project about the effects of the Olympic mega project on the fabric of London and its citizens.
For more information on Spectacles Olympic Project please visit our Project Page
For Spectacles latest film on the Olympics please visit our archive page.
The current batch of medals being won by team GB in Beijing seem to be centre around sports mainly, not exclusively, practised by the well-off. These include sports such as sailing and rowing that require large amounts of expensive equipment. The idea of the Olympics having a large number of participants maybe distorted if further focus and funding is given to these already affluent sports because they are going to bring in Gold.
However smaller sports that are not going win gold or clubs that are not linked to the olympic triumph will lose out on funding. This is highlighted by the example of the Europa Gym in Erith, Kent which is facing closure despite playing a vital role in the community. Its rent has recently increased by £30,00 forcing, Yvonne and Len, who run the gym, to sell their house and move into the property. Despite providing an essential space for gymnastic and boxing in a deprived area as well as featuring in the award winning dance film ‘GOLD’ by the Spectacle, the gym receives no core funding and is being left out to dry by the Sport England.
Is the legacy of the 2012 Olympics going to be a full trophy cabinet or really engaging young people with sport?
For more information on Spectacles Olympic Project please visit our Project Page
For Spectacles latest film on the Olympics please visit our archive page.
