The best Games ever? Nyet, Nein, no hoper, mate!
Resigned to transport chaos, security threats and eye-bleeding budget overruns, Britons basked in praise for hosting what the IOC called “the best Olympic Games ever”. But do foreigners agree?
Stuffy, uptight and difficult? Possibly, but who would have pegged Brits as flag-waving closet nationalists? The Olympics brought sunshine and euphoria to a rain-soaked nation in need of an old-fashioned knees-up: 65 medals for Britain – 29 of them gold – and 117 new Olympic records in total set during the London Games. So what if the rest of the world did not quite view the Games through English-rose-coloured spectacles.
Australia’s Foreign Minister Bob Carr was among the first to deny Britain’s Olympic organisers their gold medal.
“The title of the best Games will never be taken from Sydney, as far as I’m concerned,” Mr Carr said on Monday, remembering his country’s 2000 Olympics. “They said something wonderful about the funny, friendly country that Australia is.”
‘Hollow accolade’
Russia, host of the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, gave Britain a back-handed compliment.
“The London Olympics have been proclaimed as the best Games ever by IOC president Jacques Rogge,” Russian news agency RIA Novosti noted, before adding: “That may sound impressive, but in reality it’s a hollow accolade; bestowed upon any Olympics that manage to avoid the organisational calamity of Athens 2004 or Atlanta 1996.”
To be fair, Russia’s news agency noted Mr Rogge went a step further than in previous years, saying London reminded fans why they love sport in the first place.
‘Racism?’
China, host of the 2008 event in Beijing, was largely positive, complimenting London on organising what could be the most expensive sporting event in history – a UK parliamentary committee recently said the Games will cost £11b, but some believe that could rise to £24b.
China’s official news agency Xinhua questioned whether there were undercurrents of racism in London, however. Xinhua cited the experience of swimmer Ye Shiwen, wrongly accused of doping, and China’s female cyclists who beat their German rivals but found their win relegated to second place by referees who offered no explanation.
“Faced with such problems and faults, every party concerned should make more of an effort to hold more excellent sport events and better uphold the Olympic spirit by reducing stereotyped prejudices and referees’ misjudgements,” Xinhua said.
You cannot please everyone
With some 28,000 journalists and technicians registered for the event – almost three for each active Olympic athlete – it would be impossible to expect 28,000 positive reviews. Britain managed to turn some critics into admirers, however.
German magazine Der Spiegel smugly predicted a disaster in July, proclaiming: “London and the Olympic Games are clearly not made for each other. Visitors will need determination and, most of all, patience to reach the venues at all. And, for the locals, it all can’t end soon enough.”
But this is the third time Britain has hosted the Games (after 1908 and 1948) and the predicted chaos did not materialise at airports, on the roads or underground. Rather than rant, Der Spiegel found itself pleasantly surprised by the Olympics.
“Britain’s mix of efficiency and easygoing charm made the Games a huge success. The event has revived the UK’s sense of national pride – and brought it global kudos,” Der Spiegel wrote today.
Were we ready, Mitt Romney?
US presidential hopeful Mitt Romney didn’t respond to Channel 4’s request today for his – presumably revised – opinion of the London Games. Mr Romney single-handedly managed to alienated about 60m Britons in July when he questioned London’s readiness to host the Games. It is one thing for UK newspapers to rename the event the “Shambolympics” – quite another for a foreigner, an American at that.
The Canadians, host of Vancouver 2010 Olympics, noted: “Britain has had a recent history of botching big, expensive events, such as the millennium celebrations or the reopening of Wembley Stadium.”
The Canadians by and large praised the UK, however.
“The question now,” asked Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper, “is whether the Olympics will deliver a lasting boost, or simply a massive, very typically British, morning-after hangover.”