London, you did me proud.
Over the past fortnight, you’ve put on a show to rival any other. You’ve organised yourself near perfectly, created history through extraordinary sporting achievements, and laid a legacy for British sports through a rejuvenated suburb of East London that will be enjoyed for decades to come.
You had me at the opening ceremony.
When you wheeled out the Great Ormond Street Hospital children, and the NHS nurses and doctors danced across the stage, I felt a surge of pride. The poignancy of the soldiers in the poppy fields, the humour of Mr Bean and our skydiving Majesty, the modern multicultural relationship taking shape beneath a British soundtrack to die for. The ceremony was inspired, eccentric, and wonderfully tongue-in-cheek.
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| Photo credit: Paul Brennan (Flickr Creative Commons) |
Our greatest team
I thought I’d fallen out of love with the UK.
In Australia, I’m often reminded of Britain’s bad weather, bad manners, bad attitudes. The bad customer service, bad hygiene, bad housing, bad food. But, above all else, I’m reminded of how bad we are at sports – we invent sports but can’t play them, we’re poor losers and arrogant winners, we’re a country of anoraks and book readers, not athletes or outgoing people.
London, you reminded me how wrong these naysayers are. You performed an Olympic personal best and you did so with grace and good manners.
The athletic performances were inspirational and Our Greatest Team shone. From Jess Ennis to Mo Farah, the rowing team to the velodrome, I sat glued to my TV in the small hours of the morning cheering you all on and on and on.
You left me with memories of Wiggo camply enthroned on a gold chair, rain-soaked marathon runners sprinting down the Mall, the garish pink and blue of the hockey field, the beach sand of Horse Guards Parade, and Mary Poppins descending out of the London night sky.
The trains didn’t break, the security didn’t fail, the rain didn’t always fall.
A shift in mood
London, you showed me a positive, welcoming British people.
Britain has been rife with recession, unemployment, and the widespread rioting of last year. The country has been a shadow of its former self and an uncertain place in which to live.
Watching the Olympics has been something of a revelation. I learned a lot about my home country and countrymen over the past few weeks.
Not only was it superb to see the London skyline as a backdrop for those Olympic events strategically placed around the Capital, but I was overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of people filling the arenas and lining London’s streets.
The positivity of the British was apparent throughout the Games. Sure, chest beaters and told-you-so’s were rife, but I sensed a growing confidence and pride as the two weeks unfolded. I felt a shift in the national mood and saw an abundance of support and enthusiasm for the Games.
Each time I discovered a friend had attended an Olympic event, I smiled. The same reaction every time I read a positive comment about the organisation of the Games or the lively atmosphere at the Park or the friendliness of the volunteers in purple.
I also learned a lot about the country I now live in over the past few weeks.
The narrative of Australia’s participation at the Olympics was the polar reverse to the UK’s, focusing on negativity and blame. The media, the Government, even the athletes searched desperately for somewhere to lay responsibility for their poor performance at the Games. Team GB and London rarely escaped their vitriol.
It disappointed me and was a wake-up call of sorts.
Looking forward not back
The media often remind us that this Games cost the UK more than $9 billion but I can’t help feeling that, as government stimulus packages go, economic turnarounds have been built on less.
The Games may have temporarily distracted Britain from its troubled times but why not believe it can serve as a reminder of what’s possible when the Brits put their minds to something?
Some may question whether the Olympics put the ‘Great’ back into Britain but it certainly put pride and self-confidence into the British people. London 2012 was a magnificent showcase of Britishness, a feast of union flag-waving patriotism, and I shall miss it now that it’s gone.
London, you pulled it off and you did it so well. You beat expectations and you delivered one of the, if not the, best Games ever.
You reminded me of the things I love about Britain and British culture. Happy and glorious.
London, you made me quite proud.
Did you enjoy the Games? Did you sense a change in British attitudes over the course of the Olympics? What were the highlights (and lowlights) for you?
As you know russell I have been in the uk and had a great experience watching the opening ceremony on a giant screen in East London. London for me has shifted slightly…. abit more tolerant of other cultures and more easygoing. I really enjoyed the visit this time
I remember you mentioning it in a previous comment, Lesley. I’m so pleased you had a great experience and it’s good to know that you feel London has shifted slightly. I’m looking forward to heading back myself and exploring the city again.
Did you manage to see any events or were they sold out? Either way, simply experiencing the atmosphere would have been lovely.
It’s time to look forward, not back. To paraphrases Mark
Twain, “The reports of Blighty’s death are greatly exaggerated.” Aussies are
great at pom-bashing and we poms are great at Aussie-bating. It’s what cousins
do. “So how many gongs did you get, then, Blue?”
We didnt get to watch the Games as we had no tv 🙁 But it sure sounded so good! Everyone is talking about how amazing the olympics was this year so London must have done a top job!
Well done, London, good on ya! I really enjoyed watching bits and pieces of the Olympics, and will miss the excitment, competition and back stories of the athletes, families, teams and countries.
As an exiled Londoner myself, I so agree! I felt that growing sense of not patriotism exactly, but a sense of who/what Britain (and London) is… I also felt quite proud! And I am old-fashioned I know, but I was happy that it was “Team GB” and not “Team Scotland,” “Team Wales,” etc… United!
Agreed! I’m like you. I’ll miss the back stories as much as the sports themselves. So many great stories and achievements – from Phelps to Bolt, Farah to Pearson. Not sure how I managed to squeeze it all in over the past 17 days…
Oh, that’s a shame as it was very good. I think they did as good a job as any other, but it was lovely/bizarre/inspiring to see it set in my home country. I did a double-take a few times, especially when I spotted a location I’d spent time in before.
Thanks, Emma. I’m with you. Not so much chest-beating patriotism (we’re the best, the greatest, etc., etc.) but a swelling of pride in the things that Britain has given – and can offer – the world. I think they did good.
Greatly exaggerated indeed! A second coming? Golden age? At the very least, a more positive, self-confident Britain. Yes, us cousins like to bash and beat each other. I think the blueys here got 7 golden gongs. Well below par but an achievement worth celebrating regardless.
Russell, wonderful heartfelt words. it really was a special time.A few thoughts about the Olympics from another exiled Londoner..
i remember so clearly London winning it- much to the annoyance of the French- and our immediate ecstasy. Without quite realising what it all meant. And then the next day, the brutality of 7/7 and the bombs that killed in Central London created a permanent ‘wobble’ that the cynics, and much of the public, latched on to. That ‘wobble’ was still there in the run up- as security contracts failed, athletes got lost on buses, Olympic Lanes were set up to make London even more of a gridlock and ‘anti-Londoner’. The Olympics were coming- and for many it didn’t feel like they were for them. And there was this perceptible fear that it was bringing the prospect of a spotlight that a large, tired, overpopulated city like London couldn’t handle.
Or so we thought. But what happened was truly remarkable. London looked absolutely beautiful. Groomed, resplendent, proud of itself. The venues were truly amazing- volleyball at Horseguards Parade, marathons past Buckingham Palace, cycle rides at Hampton Court and Equestrian events at Greenwich. And it wasn’t just ‘old’ London- it was new London- an eco friendly, massively regenerated Olympic Park peppered with quirky statues, gorgeous informal country gardens and massive screens, not to mention the Village for the Olympics. It all worked, it all looked wonderful and even the sun shone (well, a bit, at least).
What was truly overwhelming was how Londoners especially, but I think all Brits, suddenly ‘owned’ the Games. The Opening Ceremony showed us all off- and we realised that creativity, positivity and brilliance was within our grasp- past and future. That cauldron was an inspiration. And when the Games started the volunteers peppered the streets with their purple and beige, smiling more than I thought was possible, and the population filled the streets; clustering around public screens, watching the ‘public’ events, buying and selling and just talking Olympics. And when Team GB started to win, it was as though Pride filled our veins and burst right out simultaneously. And everyone was positive, and everyone was happy in our wonderful, diverse and eclectic city. And everyone who had left for a holiday regretted it, and those who came back part way played frenetic if not sheepish catch up.
I write this as an expat based in France. Some time ago my family and I booked the Eurotunnel across to London for our annual summer Family visit- ten days. As the trip got closer and closer, that ‘wobble’ hit me. Oh God it would be so busy. The roads wouldn’t be workable. We won’t be able to go anywhere or do anything. What were we doing- leaving rustic France for Olympic chaos in the always frenetic London?
It was the best thing we could have done. I am so glad and proud to have been there. It was wonderful and something to celebrate with our ‘own kind’. It felt like a moment where normality was suspended, replaced by a buoyancy and optimism and sense of celebration that recession ridden London hadn’t been able to feel for so long. It felt light and positive. And once in a lifetime. It was an amazing show and we did it brilliantly- and didn’t Team GB do well?!
There may well be naysayers across the world….jealousy or sour grapes perchance?…but I truly believe that London 2012 was one of those events that we will and should never forget. It really was inspirational; in so many ways.
And now there is a sense of the moment passing. The flame is extinguished, Boris handed over the flag; London is no longer the Olympic city. I am back home with strangely out of place Team GB memorabilia- T Shirts, Mugs, Tea towels; no one I speak to understands my passion and enthusiasm for the miracle that was London 2012. But us Londoners know. And I think the world knows it a bit. And, reading your post- I think you more than get it too. What a privilege the whole thing was!
Michelle, this is such an insightful and passionate comment. Thank you so much for taking the time to write it. I think you covered off exactly how I feel and everything I did or didn’t say. And I found myself nodding my head throughout. It’s lovely to get the perspective of someone who was there. Do you think it changed your view on living the expat life at all?
As you spotted, what I wanted to convey in my post wasn’t the “we are the world’s greatest country/city/people” attitude that I sometimes annoyingly find with the pompous segment of British society, but the sense that I saw and felt a profound change occur in front of my eyes. You’re so right when you describe the lead-up and view that this would be a monumental PR failure based on experiences of the past few years. What transpired was a revelation and, even if only us Brits truly understand the significance of what passed, that will be enough for us to grow and move forward. Do you think it’s enough to get Britain through the recession though?
When all is said and done, I think we threw an immense British party to prove to ourselves that we could. And we happened to invite a few billion other people along for the ride. It was something I will never forget.