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Post by moobs on Aug 12, 2012 19:28:40 GMT
People will debate who put on the best show, some always point to Sydney 2000 but I don't think any City has embraced the games in the same way London has.
Never has a games had every venue and every seat sold out, the passion of the people and the way people took the games to their hearts is uprecedented.
Beijing can spend all the billions on showing off but money cannot buy the way the people of the City make it special
Plus, I cannot think of one criticism I can level at London, they pulled it off and it was brilliant from start to finish
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Post by Contact eaststandboy on Aug 12, 2012 19:37:09 GMT
Its been an amazing game and in my views THE GREATEST games, would we be biased to say its the best?
I suppose we will find out if we truely were the best games in 3 Olympics time.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2012 19:40:55 GMT
Its been an amazing game and in my views THE GREATEST games, would we be biased to say its the best? I suppose we will find out if we truely were the best games in 3 Olympics time. why in 3 olympics time?
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Post by Contact eaststandboy on Aug 12, 2012 19:50:52 GMT
Its been an amazing game and in my views THE GREATEST games, would we be biased to say its the best? I suppose we will find out if we truely were the best games in 3 Olympics time. why in 3 olympics time? Why not? Brazil might be even better.
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Post by dabigfella on Aug 12, 2012 19:51:43 GMT
Its been an amazing game and in my views THE GREATEST games, would we be biased to say its the best? I suppose we will find out if we truely were the best games in 3 Olympics time. why in 3 olympics time? The benefit of hindsight maybe? ;D
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Post by leysboy on Aug 13, 2012 8:04:56 GMT
The Olympic games have been a massive sucess, and tbh at first i wasn't even sure we could pull it off. The games have been a massive sucess, and surely this wouldn't of gone unoticed by Blatter/Platini's cronies. I think if we bid for the world cup after Qatar, then we could be sucessfull and host the World Cup too.
Brazil have been very fortunate to win bids for the Olympics and World Cup, so lets see what they can do.
It's very difficult to say which city has been the best hosts for an Olympic Games, there's been some brilliant ones in the past. Seoul 88, Athens 04, and Beijing 08 were good. London 2012 was a massive sucess though. I will let others pass judgement, on weather we have been the best, rather than being biased.
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Post by baldy on Aug 13, 2012 8:20:44 GMT
It's been a great spectacle but to say the best ever is easy because we can relate to everything going on. It doesn't matter what happens in Brazil the British will always see this as the best ever but would, say, a German be bouncing off the walls with excitement about this olympics ?
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Post by ZeroTheHero on Aug 13, 2012 8:34:06 GMT
I was very cynical about the games to start with, but they really won me over. From the opening ceremony onwards, I really enjoyed it. It was well organised, friendly and successful. It was also helped by the excellent coverage by the BBC (what on earth will they do next summer? - no Jubilee, Euros or Olympics!)
IMO, one of the reasons it was so enjoyable was the fact that it was in our time zone - it was easy to listen to / watch coverage at sensible times. With Beijing (7 hours ahead) and Rio (4 hours behind), not so easy.
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Post by unification on Aug 13, 2012 8:35:19 GMT
From a British sporting perspective and for the good feeling that it brought to the country, I don't think London 2012 can be topped. It was a brilliant two weeks and hearing about the truckload of medals that were going to British athletes every day made it super special.
It's hard to judge what makes the 'best' Olympics and I really think you ought to look at Olympic 'moments' as opposed to the whole. Moments like Kathy Freeman's victory in 2000, Michael Phelps in 2008, Greg Louganis in 1988 and even moments like Derek Redmond in 1992 make the Olympics. They contribute to the whole but will always be remembered individually even more so.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2012 8:47:21 GMT
Agree with others, obviously its from a biased point of view, but it was incredible. I've always loved the Olympics but I was slightly concerned the scepticism and the weather could combine to really embarass us. But no, the sceptics were converted, the rain stopped and the British people went absolutely crazy for it. Very proud to be British... 2 weeks that will live long in the memory.. the passion shown from the supporters was unbelievable. Those I know who were lucky enough to be at the big athletics nights were all unanimous in saying it was the best sporting event they have ever witnessed - and these are people who have been to a lot!
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Post by Boogaloo on Aug 13, 2012 8:56:14 GMT
Certainly from a British sports fan's perspective it's the greatest games by far. I suspect the Chinese will say Beijing 2008 was better, the Greeks will say Athens 2004 and so on.
I had the pleasure of seeing two events live. For me the highlight was the Team Equestrian where we got gold - not because I'm an equestrian fan, but because I got to see it first hand which is always better than watching it on the box. Unfortunately I couldn't quite afford the tickets to see Chris Hoy in action in Beijing!
Everything about is was top-drawer - when UK Sport announced their targets, my first thought was "Hmmm, Beijing was a rip-roaring success, but I think we're asking a bit much with those targets". I was wrong, and Team GB did fantastic to achieve those targets. It's hard to believe that in 1996 we only got ONE gold medal!
The organisation was absolutely fantastic - Eton Dornay had free shuttle buses to transport you from Slough, Windsor and Maidenhead. The London venues had a very good transport system. The military on the gates were very friendly and pleasent as were the thousands of volunteers who were great ambassadors to this country.
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Post by malcolmnl on Aug 13, 2012 10:49:11 GMT
It's been a great spectacle but to say the best ever is easy because we can relate to everything going on. It doesn't matter what happens in Brazil the British will always see this as the best ever but would, say, a German be bouncing off the walls with excitement about this olympics ? Don't know about the Germans but the Dutch are. Nothing but praise in the papers and on tv for the whole event. Organisation, facilities, tv coverage, all rated fantastic. May be coloured by the fact that the Dutch also had their best Olympics ever but I have not heard anybody with any critiicism at all. Oh except my wife who insists we got more medals than the Dutch because we were playing at home! Women. Wayched on BBC, Eurosport and Dutch tv. In my eyes some amazing performances by the competitors. And the opening and closing shows were brilliant. Well done everybody in showing the world that they cannot right us off.
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Post by Contact eaststandboy on Aug 13, 2012 11:03:28 GMT
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Post by moobs on Aug 13, 2012 11:36:31 GMT
Having the home crowd certainly won us medals, would Mo Farah have found that extra sprint to win the 5,000? Probably, but having 60,000 fans roar you on helps. Would Joshua have pulled that win off in the 3rd round without the raucous home fans singing your name?
One thing that suprised me was Brazil didn't have a good games, I would have expected them to use these games as a springboard for Rio and start seeing some decent athletes emerge from there.....
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Post by Gary Baldi on Aug 13, 2012 12:16:35 GMT
The general atmosphere and attendance was excellent. How many times have been the Athletics first session basically be all but empty in other games? Our stadiums were full and everyone apart from the Uruguayan football team were supported.
And for 2 weeks we were GB. There was SNP sniping (how Andy Murray draped in the Union flag must sting), no political correctness apart from Morrissey who came across as a miserable left winger who could have just shut up. and no people trying to find racist issues where there were none.
We've proved Britain is more than capable of anything we choose, and that too many people are negative to be negative. And at last we can move from people like the Americans going on about the Old Empire.
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Post by tonyw on Aug 13, 2012 12:51:06 GMT
Actually, I've read both an Australian and an American paper this morning saying that this was the best Games ever (the Aussie whilst being very apologetic to Sydney!) Although I won't hold my breath for a similar Chinese editorial!
I actually managed to make it to 14 events - and each and every one of them was organised magnificently. And even though most - if not all - were sports that I will likely never watch live again, they were still all extraordinarily enjoyable, brilliantly supported and exuded the sense that you were watching the very highest level of athletic dedication.
Bit of an odd feeling today really. It's like the morning after a massive party, but with the knowledge that you're never going to see its like again (Rio may be better - but it won't be ours).
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Post by winchesterox on Aug 13, 2012 12:51:11 GMT
Was pleasantly surprised with how it all went (excellent facilities and coverage), and I found myself getting interested in fringe sports like handball, water polo and hockey. Even the gymnastics (all types). But I thought the closing ceremony was a bit of a let-down. Good light show and fireworks etc. and occasionally good music, but why Russell Brand? He sounded out of tune.
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Post by Lone Gunman on Aug 13, 2012 13:18:50 GMT
As someone who was cynically expecting at least one embarrassing f#ck up i'm immensely happy and proud that we managed to pull off the games so well. IMO the closing ceremony was a bit of a wobble but that's pretty much irrelevant. What's more we managed not only to be first class hosts but also successful competitors in the games too which wasn't necessarily going to happen.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2012 13:24:09 GMT
What pleases me most is the way the critics were silenced. Almost everyone I know who was anti-Olympics before they started ( a fair few) changed their mind.
Only the really really miserable gits still have anything negative to say...heard Peter Hitchens on radio 4 this morning. Honestly, what an utter cock that man is.
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Post by moobs on Aug 13, 2012 13:59:29 GMT
Feel sorry for anyone who paid £1,500 for a ticket to that closing ceremony. I'd feel seriously underwhelmed watching a glorified concert, maybe if Russell Brand fell off that VW and got run over it might have been worth it....
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Post by tonyw on Aug 13, 2012 14:39:46 GMT
Feel sorry for anyone who paid £1,500 for a ticket to that closing ceremony. I'd feel seriously underwhelmed watching a glorified concert, maybe if Russell Brand fell off that VW and got run over it might have been worth it.... You shouldn't really. Given the history of Olympic closing ceremonies - anyone who'd pay £1500 for a ticket is either a complete moron, or so rich that they can find that much down the back of their sofa.......
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2012 15:07:05 GMT
agree, closing ceremonies are always pretty crap, last nights was probably one of the better ones
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Post by moobs on Aug 13, 2012 15:45:12 GMT
agree, closing ceremonies are always pretty crap, last nights was probably one of the better ones Yep, The Chinese might have lazer shows but we've got the spice girls....
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Post by Boogaloo on Aug 13, 2012 15:57:44 GMT
agree, closing ceremonies are always pretty crap, last nights was probably one of the better ones Yep, The Chinese might have lazer shows but we've got the spice girls.... We've got pixels.
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Post by Boogaloo on Aug 13, 2012 16:07:39 GMT
I thought the closing ceremony was pretty good. I thought Emile Sande was given a bit too much airtime with two stints as well as singing at the Opening ceremony. Whilst, yes she is very talented, she's got a lot more to do to be considered higher up the pecking order than other artists that appeared such as Queen, Paul McCartney, Pet Shop Boys, Spice Girls, Liam Gallagher, Madness and George Michael.
Russell Brand's singing wasn't great but it wasn't too cringeworthy.
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Post by Lone Gunman on Aug 13, 2012 16:07:57 GMT
agree, closing ceremonies are always pretty crap, last nights was probably one of the better ones Yep, The Chinese might have lazer shows but we've got the spice girls.... Not to mention a bunch of past-it rockers a chav who can't sing and a hologram of a dead guy.
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Post by superox on Aug 13, 2012 19:01:04 GMT
Usain Bolt seemed to have a good time with the Swedish Womens Handball Team:
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Post by leysboy on Aug 14, 2012 7:39:37 GMT
The only negative things i can pick out of the Olympics and our GB performance would be...
1) posting a picture of South Korean flag, when it was a North Korean match.
2) I thought we were very poor in the short distances 100m - 400m, and we were out of our depth in the Aquatics.
3) Mark Cavendish flattered to decieve.
But overall im very satisfied with the performance our team put in.
My personal favourite moments.
1) David Rudisha breaking the 800m World Record. 2) Usain Bolt winning 3 more Golds. 3) Missy Franklin was awesome in the swimming events. 4) Mo Farah winning both 5000m and 10,000m 5) Cover girl Jess Ennis, alot of pressure on her to win Gold and she did being a clear favourite.
6) The guy from Trinidad and Tobago winning the Javelin. 7) Enjoyed all the Rowing and Cycling Events as we did very well.
Just my choices and favourite moments.
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Post by superox on Aug 14, 2012 8:37:00 GMT
What about Deniece Lewis' @rse in that tight pink dress bouncing up and down when Farah won Gold ?
That was a highlight surely ?
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Post by leysboy on Aug 14, 2012 9:57:59 GMT
What about Deniece Lewis' @rse in that tight pink dress bouncing up and down when Farah won Gold ? That was a highlight surely ? I never see that mate, because ive just got back from cyprus on holiday. So i had to settle for Al Jazerra, but had english commentry, stewart storey, paul dickenson, and the guy who commentates for the Diamond league meetings. His name escapes me.
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