Barefoot Athletes

There seems to be something of a hissy fit going on between the BOA and the agents of one of the sponsors of the London 2012 Olympics.

The agents of some competitors, who are sponsored by Nike, have told the BOA that athletes would be in breach of contracts if they are forced to wear Team GB’s official ”presentation outfit” which is sponsored by Adidas.

The agents have told the BOA that athletes might have to take off their shoes before mounting the presentation dais.

The BOA have hit back, and said that the rules mean that the athletes must wear the sponsor's (Adidas) footwear at all times.

What a complete load of old bollocks and fuss over a matter of footwear.

There seems to be too much money and too many corporate egos involved with these games.

As noted many times before, the Olympics are about money not sport!

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Locog Kicks Business In The Teeth Again!

Not content with awarding certain manufacturing contracts to China, Locog have decided to award the contract for printing 11 million Olympics tickets to Weldon, Williams & Lick of Fort William, Arkansas.

The tickets will then be air freighted over to the UK (there's "green thinking" for you!).

Locog appear to be run by unpatriotic cretins!

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

Don't forget to visit www.olympicswarehouse.com

www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Deighton's Bonus Reviewed

The Telegraph reports that, as a result of the ongoing uproar over bonuses to directors of failing organisations, that the remuneration commission will determine if the complicated series of bonuses due to London organising committee (Locog) chief executive Paul Deighton will be maintained.

In theory Deighton could earn a £1M bonus, which he has already stated will go to charity.

The remuneration committee will also review the bonus of the previous chief executive of the Olympic Delivery Authority, now Network Rail chief Sir David Higgins.

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

Don't forget to visit www.olympicswarehouse.com

www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Olympics To Crash The Interent

In one of the more bizarre threats arising from the Olympics to life on this planet as we know it, the Cabinet is warning that the London 2012 Olympics may well crash the internet.

The Cabinet Office's official advice, Preparing your Business for the Games, claims that the UK's telecoms system may be unable to cope with demand to access the internet in certain areas. 

Quote:

"It is possible that internet services may be slower during the Games or, in very severe cases, there may be dropouts due to an increased number of people accessing the internet."

It goes on to warn that there may be data caps to try to spread the load.

To my humble view this scaremongering is reminiscent of the overblown hype of the Y2K "problem" (that turned out to be a damp squib). My gut feeling is that this alleged "capacity shortage" will be used as an excuse to turn off certain social media networks at critical moments.

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

Don't forget to visit www.olympicswarehouse.com

www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Olympics Greed - Greedy Hoteliers Get Their Fingers Burned

In August last year I wrote the following:

"How "refreshing" to read that, despite the ever worsening global financial situation, the hoteliers of London intend to screw every last penny from visitors to London next year during the Olympics.

The Telegraph reports that London hotels intend to treat tourist as prostrate milch cows eg:

- A double room at the Sheraton Park Tower, in Knightsbridge, this month costs £209 a night. The price quoted for a stay in August next year is £605.

- A night at the West London, in Leicester Square, costs around £290 this August. The same room during the Games will cost just under £540.

- The Berjaya Hotel in Kensington, goes for broke and intends to increase some of its room rates by a factor of 10. Rates typically range from £89 to £199. For every day of the Olympics, the price is £999 a night.

As noted many time before on this site, the Olympics are not about sport but are in fact about money.

Given the ongoing financial turmoil, it is to be hoped that these greedy hoteliers get their fingers well and truly burned for their naked opportunism."

I am therefore very amused to see that those hotel operators who thought that they would make a quick buck out of the London Olympics have had their fingers well and truly burned.

Locog have had to publicly humiliate themselves (not for the first time) by admitting that they had overestimated the number of rooms needed by officials, media, sponsors and assorted freeloaders for the coming games.

By how much did they overestimate the demand?

By a staggering 20%!

Locog have had to hand back 120,000 of the total 600,000 nights booked for the Olympics.

Needless to say this 20% reduction in bookings has given the greedy hotel industry a well deserved kick in the goolies.


Tour operators are now panicking and have warned that the newly available rooms will not boost visitor numbers.

For why?

- the vacancies have come too late
- tourists have been put off by the naked greed of the hotel operators
- tourists have been put off by the transport/travel chaos expected in London during the games

It is estimated that up to one million beds will go unsold over the Olympic period, costing the tourism industry around £3.5BN.

Now who was it who said that the Olympics would be a boon to tourism?

Oh yes, Locog!

My advice to any tourist brave enough to endure the chaos of London during the Olympics is to negotiate hard with the hotels (who are desperate for business), don't let the greedy bastards get away with overcharging you for a shoddy room and lousy service!


Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

Don't forget to visit www.olympicswarehouse.com

www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Boris Says "Go By Tube"

I am amused to read that Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, is urging Olympic chiefs to take the Tube during London 2012

Quote:

"To all members of the International Olympic Committee, I urge them to do the right thing - get on the Jubilee Line because they'll love it."

There is even a new website showing hotspots on London's underground system.

Great!

One small problem, has Boris not heard that Comrade Crow has rejected the £500 bribe offered to Tube workers for doing their normal job?

 Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

Don't forget to visit www.olympicswarehouse.com

www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Tube Workers Reject £500 - The Olympics Gravytrain

It seems that our downtrodden and hard working Tube drivers feel a tad hard done by wrt the offer made by London Underground of a £500 bonus for shift working during the Olympics.

The RMT has rejected the £500 bonus, saying that the money was not an adequate reward for being on duty during the event.

RMT general secretary comrade Bob Crow is quoted by the BBC:

"It is well-documented that transport will be the biggest logistical challenge throughout the Olympics period.

All we are calling for is a fair deal for all the staff involved in delivering the colossal transport challenge that we will be facing this summer and the negotiations to achieve that are ongoing."

Given that the Tube drivers do not feel up to the job of doing what they are paid to do, the solution to this problem is simple; install driverless trains and remove the drivers altogether.

Problem solved!


Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

Don't forget to visit www.olympicswarehouse.com

www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"