Chris M Evans

Five years after the close of the London 2012 Olympics, the BBC has reported that despite the promise of more engagement in sport, the lasting legacy of the games has seen no rise in participation of exercise for the general population.  The promised dream of an games that would reignite people’s interest in keeping fit has turned out to be a lie.

I remember when the results of the hosting country were announced, with London and Paris head to head to win.  When we knew that London had won, we thought it would offer an opportunity for us to visit an Olympic games for the first and possibly last time.  How wrong we were.  Tickets couldn’t be purchased without using a VISA card, as the company were a sponsor.  The only way to get a ticket was to bid for way more events than you ever could hope to attend, then sell back the places you didn’t want.  That meant taking a risk on spending thousands of pounds with no guarantee of recouping that money.  We bid for around £600 as we had no VISA credit card (only debit), and taking a risk of spending more seemed too much.  In the end we won nothing.  What was more annoying to see was people from other countries easily buying tickets for events.  It’s clear the games was organised purely as a money making venture to bring tourists and money into London.  In the end we left the UK and spend 3 weeks of the games in Australia.

Now, if the government’s intention was to make money, then fine, but the Olympics was always sold on the legacy of the games and how it would create more inclusion in sport.  Call me cynical, but at the time I could see that was never the intention.  UK Plc simply wanted to swell the coffers with more tax money.  According to the BBC article, Sport England were given £1 billion to spend on developing sport at the grass roots.  Yet this year and last we’ve experienced how that simply isn’t happening.  Both of my sons were lucky to play football, one to a high level in Luton’s academy program.  The youngest was “dropped” by his team and has struggled to find a team.  This year he has nothing.  Teams are folding.  Coaches don’t return phone calls or emails.  The local Bedfordshire FA couldn’t find a lit torch in a dark room and have no organisation in place whatsoever to help those looking to find a team, other than an out-of-date list of coaches and phone numbers.

If the government really wanted more participation, they should have looked at how sport was being played (or not) across the country and encouraged certified organisations like the Beds FA to meet targets for inclusion.  I imagine none of this has been done.  We’ve missed an opportunity and a chance that won’t be seen again.  So the next time the government tries to sell a great “social plan” like the Olympic games, treat their motives with a touch of cynicism; it’s much more likely that the cynical view is the right one.

With the price rises announced today, more people than ever will be in the £5K club – those who pay £5000 or more to travel into the capital.  For many years I either took the train into London or drove around the M25 to get to the office.  I have to say it was never a pleasure.  On the train I took the time to read and in many journeys to write some of the first blog articles I ever wrote.  In the car I was limited to listening to podcasts, which at the time were tedious to manage as I had to cut them to CD.

What’s sad about the current situation is the fact that so much of our GDP is based out of London.  Fewer and fewer people can afford to live in the capital, so the price of housing has pushed out, enveloping more towns and cities and increasing the journey time for commuters.  The BBC article indicates that now 3.7 million people commute for 2 hours or more every day.  Just think of the wasted time and effort, as well as the stress, the cost and the impact on the environment.

So what is the solution?  Look at Milton Keynes and Cambridge and you will see areas where commerce and healthcare have boomed.  Although these areas are successful, they also are suffering growing pains.  Traffic in Cambridge is awful and house prices are eye watering, despite many new builds.

It’s clear we need more centres of excellence, more locations where firms can establish their business and draw from local talent pools.  The government has made efforts with institutions like the BBC, establishing a new base in Manchester and pushing production out to the regions.  So, why not encourage businesses to do the same?

Unfortunately part of the problem is the need for infrastructure.  Rail is privatised, telecoms are privatised, so without additional investment from the government, no money will be spent to seed new areas of innovation.  Privatisation is leaving the UK hamstrung – or the government has to admit privatisation hasn’t worked and fund development themselves.

It would be nice to see the UK government finally accept that building the economy can’t be left to market forces.  Concentration of work opportunities in London is a mistake and will restrict future growth.  Will UK.gov wake up and smell the coffee?  I doubt it.