Well, we must be doing something right when it comes to next year’s Olympics. If you hadn’t already heard, London has just been awarded the 2017 World Athletics Championships. Which means the Olympic Stadium will be polished and shined for a few more years once the London 2012 games are over. I love the fact that David Cameron’s statement included these words: “We look forward to welcoming athletes and fans from the world over to our vibrant, multicultural, sports-mad capital."
Now these are words I’d never thought I’d hear used to describe our capital back in 2000. Sports-mad?! The only thing that ever got London’s pulse racing in terms of sport before seemed to be the crowd control at London Bridge station when Milwall and West Ham fans were passing through to go to away matches.
Are we really sports mad? For two weeks of summer, we grab our tennis racquets as the lure of Wimbledon entices us to knock a few balls around the nearest council court. And then we go back indoors to switch our TV sets on and see who is grunting the loudest. We then proceed to slag off our British hopeful as he fails to make it to another semi-final or, these days, dare I even say, final.
Cynicism aside, this is an amazing achievement. It’s also great news for the future of the stadium and all those people who’ve been involved in bringing London 2012 to fruition. And I’m kind of proud to be a part of a ‘sports-mad’ community, no matter how big or small. Right, time for a walk perhaps?
