Five people from London have been arrested for their involvement in an online ticket fraud for the Beijing Olympics.
Since September the Metropolitan police have been investigating complaints about the failure by companies to supply at least 4,000 tickets for the Olympics and music festivals in the UK.
Xclusive Tickets Limited, Xclusive Leisure & Hospitality Limited are alleged to have sold tickets online for a wide variety of events including the Olympics.
Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics
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Thursday, 27 November 2008
Wednesday, 26 November 2008
Cancel The Games
Given that the Olympics were cancelled during both world wars, why do the IOC and LOCOG not think outside of the box and cancel the 2012 Games?
Could it be pride and personal gain comes before common sense?
Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics
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Could it be pride and personal gain comes before common sense?
Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
The Wartime Olympics
Kevin Gosper, a member of the Sydney Olympic organising committee and chairman of the IOC's media commission, told Locog chairman Lord Coe at the four-day IOC conference:
"I think you will be taking your team through the toughest challenge short of wartime in getting the project to 2012."
A colossal waste of money at a time when we can ill afford it.
Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics
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www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
"I think you will be taking your team through the toughest challenge short of wartime in getting the project to 2012."
A colossal waste of money at a time when we can ill afford it.
Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
Monday, 24 November 2008
British Pluck
Lord Coe displayed true British pluck and guts during a meeting of European Olympic committees in Istanbul, when he told them that the UK organisers of the London 2012 Games would "honour commitments" to the IOC.
He is quoted in the Telegraph as saying:
"We are now in a very different economic and financial environment from when we bid for the Games.
The world is a very different place than even six months ago. We want to reassure you: we are no less determined to honour the commitments we made to you.
Even in the current climate and with the complexities of bringing the private sector to the table, there has been no lack of progress."
That's all very well, but even ignoring the current recession, the £12BN plus cost (including £2BN running costs) of the Games is a colossal waste of taxpayers' money.
Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
He is quoted in the Telegraph as saying:
"We are now in a very different economic and financial environment from when we bid for the Games.
The world is a very different place than even six months ago. We want to reassure you: we are no less determined to honour the commitments we made to you.
Even in the current climate and with the complexities of bringing the private sector to the table, there has been no lack of progress."
That's all very well, but even ignoring the current recession, the £12BN plus cost (including £2BN running costs) of the Games is a colossal waste of taxpayers' money.
Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
Olympic Report Whitewash
Those in charge of London 2012 are under pressure to release a confidential report by KPMG on Olympics venues, after allegations that it was a "whitewash".
The report considered moving three temporary venues (the equestrian in Greenwich, the shooting in Woolwich and basketball in the Olympic Park) to save costs, but is thought to have recommended they should not be relocated.
Temporary venues provide no legacy, yet the organisers have always promised a legacy for London.
The promises made about the London Olympics simply don't add up.
Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
The report considered moving three temporary venues (the equestrian in Greenwich, the shooting in Woolwich and basketball in the Olympic Park) to save costs, but is thought to have recommended they should not be relocated.
Temporary venues provide no legacy, yet the organisers have always promised a legacy for London.
The promises made about the London Olympics simply don't add up.
Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
Tuesday, 18 November 2008
Jowell's Money Saving Master Plan
Tessa Jowell, the beleaguered and inept Olympics minister, has come up with a master plan to save money and reduce the ballooning London 2012 Olympics budget (currently standing at £12BN, and expected to rise to £20BN).
Her plan?
To present the medal winners with "locally sourced plants", rather than bouquets of expensively imported blooms.
Quote, as per The Guardian:
"We have fabulous British flowers in the summer.
It won't be necessary to fly flowers thousands of miles."
Problem sorted!
Why is this woman still in a job?
Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
Her plan?
To present the medal winners with "locally sourced plants", rather than bouquets of expensively imported blooms.
Quote, as per The Guardian:
"We have fabulous British flowers in the summer.
It won't be necessary to fly flowers thousands of miles."
Problem sorted!
Why is this woman still in a job?
Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
Monday, 17 November 2008
Jowell II - The Farce Continues
Tessa Jowell has tried to retract her now infamous comment:
"Had we known what we know now, would we have bid for the Olympics? Almost certainly not."
Unfortunately for her the retraction, not that anyone believes her, comes too late.
The French, according to The Telegraph are laughing themselves silly at the mess that we are making of the Olympics.
Specifically the French media note that the British budget was "fantasy".
I fully agree with them, the budget has ballooned from £3BN to £12BN (including £2BN running costs) and looks likely to top £20BN.
What I do not understand is why Jowell is still in her job?
Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
"Had we known what we know now, would we have bid for the Olympics? Almost certainly not."
Unfortunately for her the retraction, not that anyone believes her, comes too late.
The French, according to The Telegraph are laughing themselves silly at the mess that we are making of the Olympics.
Specifically the French media note that the British budget was "fantasy".
I fully agree with them, the budget has ballooned from £3BN to £12BN (including £2BN running costs) and looks likely to top £20BN.
What I do not understand is why Jowell is still in her job?
Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
Friday, 14 November 2008
Calls For Jowell's Resignation
Unsurprisingly Tessa Jowell's comments about the Olympics not being a good idea have provoked a minor uproar.
London Mayor Boris Johnson said:
"The case for the Games, if anything, is stronger in difficult times, and I believe that the development under way in the east of London will prove a vital shot in the arm for the city when it needs it most.
London is extremely fortunate to be hosting the Games in 2012."
Andrew Boff, the Conservative Party spokesman on the Olympics, called for her resignation:
"For her to say that it was a mistake to bid for the Games is utterly irresponsible.
Why should the private sector risk investing millions in the Olympic venues if the minister responsible has no confidence in its long term viability?"
What did Jowell expect after speaking so negatively about her pet project?
Ironically, she was right.
Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
London Mayor Boris Johnson said:
"The case for the Games, if anything, is stronger in difficult times, and I believe that the development under way in the east of London will prove a vital shot in the arm for the city when it needs it most.
London is extremely fortunate to be hosting the Games in 2012."
Andrew Boff, the Conservative Party spokesman on the Olympics, called for her resignation:
"For her to say that it was a mistake to bid for the Games is utterly irresponsible.
Why should the private sector risk investing millions in the Olympic venues if the minister responsible has no confidence in its long term viability?"
What did Jowell expect after speaking so negatively about her pet project?
Ironically, she was right.
Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
Thursday, 13 November 2008
Jowell Admits Olympics Are A Mistake
Tessa Jowell, the minister for the Olympics and Paymaster General, has had an epiphany.
She has finally realised, and publicly admitted, that the London 2012 Olympics are a mistake.
Something that everyone else has been saying for the last few years.
Jowell, who has mismanaged the Olympics budget (which has ballooned from £3BN to £12BN, including running costs) made her admission to 40 leisure industry bosses at a dinner on Tuesday night.
Quote:
"Had we known what we know now, would we have bid for the Olympics? Almost certainly not."
Quite!
She then had a go at the media for giving rise to the impression that:
"The budget is out of control; all the venues are late; and all the people involved with this great project are completely useless."
Unfortunately for Jowell, all of the above seems to be pretty accurate from where I am sitting.
Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
She has finally realised, and publicly admitted, that the London 2012 Olympics are a mistake.
Something that everyone else has been saying for the last few years.
Jowell, who has mismanaged the Olympics budget (which has ballooned from £3BN to £12BN, including running costs) made her admission to 40 leisure industry bosses at a dinner on Tuesday night.
Quote:
"Had we known what we know now, would we have bid for the Olympics? Almost certainly not."
Quite!
She then had a go at the media for giving rise to the impression that:
"The budget is out of control; all the venues are late; and all the people involved with this great project are completely useless."
Unfortunately for Jowell, all of the above seems to be pretty accurate from where I am sitting.
Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
Tuesday, 11 November 2008
Transport Chaos Hits London Olympics
The dream of hosting the 2012 Olympics in London was, at some stage, always going to come crashing down to earth.
Aside from the ever ballooning out of control budget, the other issue that "dare not speak its name" was that of London's appalling third world transport system.
Needless to say, the officials and politicians "managing" the games could not keep the shame of London hidden for ever. London's appalling transport failings were laid bare to the world yesterday, when World Travel Market (WTM) delegates struggled to reach their venue.
Exhibitors and delegates driving to the first day of WTM experienced a doubling of their journey times, whilst those taking the train had to change to buses at Canning Town owing to a signal failure.
The Turkish culture and tourism minister, Ertugrul Gunay, was 25 minutes late for an 11am press conference; unsurprisingly he was not best pleased:
"It is obvious traffic will pose a problem. I thought Istanbul was bad enough, but having come to London I see the problem isn't any different here."
However, the politicians and organisers are adamant that all will work smoothly in 2012.
We shall see!
Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
Aside from the ever ballooning out of control budget, the other issue that "dare not speak its name" was that of London's appalling third world transport system.
Needless to say, the officials and politicians "managing" the games could not keep the shame of London hidden for ever. London's appalling transport failings were laid bare to the world yesterday, when World Travel Market (WTM) delegates struggled to reach their venue.
Exhibitors and delegates driving to the first day of WTM experienced a doubling of their journey times, whilst those taking the train had to change to buses at Canning Town owing to a signal failure.
The Turkish culture and tourism minister, Ertugrul Gunay, was 25 minutes late for an 11am press conference; unsurprisingly he was not best pleased:
"It is obvious traffic will pose a problem. I thought Istanbul was bad enough, but having come to London I see the problem isn't any different here."
However, the politicians and organisers are adamant that all will work smoothly in 2012.
We shall see!
Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
Monday, 10 November 2008
Scots Want Their Money Back
The Scottish Government is asking for the return of £150M in lottery funds, which it alleges was diverted from good causes to finance the 2012 London Olympics.
Communities Minister Stewart Maxwell has sent a bid document to UK Sport Secretary Andy Burnham.
Maxwell cites the claim as being "a matter of natural justice".
The BBC quote him:
"We are pressing for the return of the money as a matter of natural justice because we believe it is fundamentally unfair that Scottish good causes should suffer to pay for London 2012.
From the smallest arts groups, through sports clubs, to health promotion centres and local day care facilities, we want to see communities embracing opportunities to make change for themselves and help to improve the quality of their lives and those of others."
However, "natural justice" or not, it is unlikely that the claim will succeed. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, is resisting the claim.
Quote:
"Scotland has received over £2BN in Lottery money since 1994, and around £150M in the last financial year alone. Since the lottery began, over £315M has been spent on grassroots sport in Scotland.
The Olympic Games will bring immense benefits to the UK: a legacy of world class facilities; the inspiration of a generation to get active and take up sport; as well as huge economic and business benefits with £6bn worth of contracts.
London 2012 will leave a lasting legacy for everyone in the UK, including Scotland, which will host Olympic football at Hampden Park.
In addition, 29 locations across Scotland are included in the official guide to pre-games training facilities for foreign teams in 2012."
The Scots don't have a cat's chance in hell of succeeding with their money back claim!
Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
Communities Minister Stewart Maxwell has sent a bid document to UK Sport Secretary Andy Burnham.
Maxwell cites the claim as being "a matter of natural justice".
The BBC quote him:
"We are pressing for the return of the money as a matter of natural justice because we believe it is fundamentally unfair that Scottish good causes should suffer to pay for London 2012.
From the smallest arts groups, through sports clubs, to health promotion centres and local day care facilities, we want to see communities embracing opportunities to make change for themselves and help to improve the quality of their lives and those of others."
However, "natural justice" or not, it is unlikely that the claim will succeed. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, is resisting the claim.
Quote:
"Scotland has received over £2BN in Lottery money since 1994, and around £150M in the last financial year alone. Since the lottery began, over £315M has been spent on grassroots sport in Scotland.
The Olympic Games will bring immense benefits to the UK: a legacy of world class facilities; the inspiration of a generation to get active and take up sport; as well as huge economic and business benefits with £6bn worth of contracts.
London 2012 will leave a lasting legacy for everyone in the UK, including Scotland, which will host Olympic football at Hampden Park.
In addition, 29 locations across Scotland are included in the official guide to pre-games training facilities for foreign teams in 2012."
The Scots don't have a cat's chance in hell of succeeding with their money back claim!
Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
Monday, 3 November 2008
IOC Warns Against White Elephant Legacy
The head of the IOC, Jacques Rogge, has stirred up a hornets' nest by publicly stating that London 2012's main stadium does not need an athletics legacy.
He told the BBC that the main concern for London 2012's organisers should be to avoid leaving behind "white elephants".
Quote:
"If the best solution is to transform the track into something else then we would be in favour of that.
We had the same situation in Atlanta where the Olympic Stadium was changed into a baseball stadium, which kept an interest for sport.
We don't have problems with that. I don't want to enter into specifics but we don't want to leave white elephants."
This of course means that the stadium can be turned into a football stadium afterwards. All very well, but hardly the "legacy" that the government had promised.
Lord Coe promised that the £525M complex would be a "stadium with track and field as its primary legacy".
Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
He told the BBC that the main concern for London 2012's organisers should be to avoid leaving behind "white elephants".
Quote:
"If the best solution is to transform the track into something else then we would be in favour of that.
We had the same situation in Atlanta where the Olympic Stadium was changed into a baseball stadium, which kept an interest for sport.
We don't have problems with that. I don't want to enter into specifics but we don't want to leave white elephants."
This of course means that the stadium can be turned into a football stadium afterwards. All very well, but hardly the "legacy" that the government had promised.
Lord Coe promised that the £525M complex would be a "stadium with track and field as its primary legacy".
Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics
Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
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