Rugby World Cup Bid 2023

I wouldn't even for a second suggest they have been successful attempts. The legacy of Athens 2004 is a legacy of profligate and needless expenditure to host a historical vanity project. London 2012 was one of the few truly sensible Olympic Games which has maintained a degree of legacy. The rest are either token, or like Greece, and undoubtedly Rio will be legacies of genuine damage.

Certainly has left a long and lasting legacy at West Ham..........Joking aside, it has seemingly done a lot for the participation of the public in sport, albeit at an entirely unnecessary cost. Maybe Sydney had an impact too, especially culturally thanks to Cathy Freeman, all others have been as disastrous as recent World Cups. Poor old Rio.

That which was purpose built for 2012 is used on the regular, which has been a very good thing. Facilities in both the area around Stratford and in places like Loughton are constantly used, and have significantly increased the participate in sports which are highly prized Olympic Games. This includes the likes of Wapping Hockey Club, who I understand have grown to something like 20 senior teams, with a waiting list to boot. The venues which would struggle to maintain themselves financially after the games were temporary, and have been taken down. On most weekends the Olympic Park is full of elite amateur, and purely amateur sports people. As such, I believe that from an amateur point of view, it is money very well spent, particularly as with transport infrastructure, it is a facility available to anybody in the London area, albeit with various transport times.

It should not have been held in Rio. The locals were simply too poor to support the games in the way that Londoners did, and as such there was no demand for tickets. I would see Qatar 2022 going exactly the same way, as I foresee many supporters simply not making the trip for a number of reasons.

 

I just find it quite short termist that the IRFU are (potentially) happy to give the GAA a huge bounce that they seem to have no interest in keeping in house.

As someone who used to go and watch Orient, as well as the FA's decision to ignore their own rules added to my own dislike of West Ham means I was never going to be a fan of football there, otherwise it is hard to disagree from a sporting point of view, I guess the housing issue and any proposed re-generation is part of a much deeper housing problem in London. Stratford used to be a bit of a kip, like other nearby areas, now it is a completely soulless kip.

I think the sporting value is something that I greatly value, particularly from an amateur level. Its quite incredible the number of people who are amateur sports-players who can claim to have used Olympic facilities, and who really enjoy the prospect of potentially using them. The numbers of people who have used the running track in the stadium, or the adjoining facilities is quite special, and is certainly promoting sport in ways that were not previously possible.

Ultimately, I would view it as a soulless area, with a significant emphasis on sport, rather than what it used by like out there. Hence, I find it hard not to support what it has become.

The East End still has plenty of character. But I appreciate that since the 1980s there has been significant change between the regeneration of the City, the building up of Canary Wharf, and indeed the Olympic Project.