Colin Murray: London 2012 will go down as most ... - BBC World News

In his Metro column Colin Murray celebrates the major non-sporting achievements from the London 2012 Olympic Games including the volunteers and the Queen?s appearance with Daniel Craig. The Queen joined Daniel Craig on screen during the Olympics (Picture: Getty) In every newspaper today, there will be countless column inches devoted to London 2012, most of which will eulogise about the success of the past 17 days, and I?m afraid I can see no other option but to join them. However, I have decided to avoid all mentions of sporting achievement and instead concentrate on the off-track endeavours, and keep this as simple as I can. I know it seems like a year ago but having the Queen act with Daniel Craig has to be one of, if not the most, memorable moment of any opening ceremony. In 50 years from now, people will look at that footage and assume it?s a lookalike. One of the problems with modern-day Olympics is striking the balance between the sport and the sponsors, as all too often you feel like you are in an ad break rather than a stadium. London 2012 managed it better than any host nation before them, keeping the sponsors outside of the arenas, allowing them their chance to promote their wares on walkways and thoroughfares, but never when sport was the priority. And here comes the cliche ? the volunteers. More than 70,000 of them, working for free and always with a smile on their collective face. They were singing songs, busting moves and making every correspondence with the public a pleasure. Beside them, almost always, stood members of the armed forces, more used to watching their backs in Basra than checking bags for bottles. Yet, if anything, they made the volunteers look like Victor Meldrew. Not everything has been rosy in the Olympic garden, and the thorny issue of empty seats will remain an abiding memory, but while it was a bone of contention, I hope it?s tempered by three things? Firstly, Locog?s swift reaction to right the wrong and make hundreds of thousands more tickets available. Secondly, the fact the empty seats were not for the chosen few should they wish to use them, but various member nations who had not taken advantage of their allocation. And most importantly, London 2012 will go down in history as the most attended games ever, and that?s due to the overwhelming enthusiasm and open arms with which the people of this nation have greeted them. It has also been the greenest Olympics of all time, so well done to everyone who separated their plastics from their paper. And now the boring bit ? legacy! We will see what happens with the Olympic Stadium but, in terms of the makeshift stadiums that will now be packed away or flogged to the highest bidder, set against the wonderful velodrome and aquatics centre that will help our future stars and attract more regular international competition, the vision of organisers can only be applauded. And, of course, there was the sense of community that swept the nation. It will dissipate, to some degree, but London 2012 may well have removed a sizeable amount of the cynicism that marks much of our non-Olympic mind-set.

Source: http://bbc-worldnews.net/2012/08/colin-murray-london-2012-will-go-down-as-most-attended-games-ever/

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