Are we really ready for the Olympics?

2012 is officially here, with just over 6 months to go until the Olympics London is planning for one of its busiest years. The last time London hosted the Olympics was in 1948, where a total of 59 nations took part. The limelight will be on London from the 27th July 2012 - 12 August with the  Paralympics to be held a month later in the Capital. 

With the main stadium slowly close to completion Britain prepares itself for an influx of over 500,000 tourists in the space of two months. However the question that's on everyone's mind is - Is Britain actually ready to give the world the greatest Olympic experience ever?

Transport?

Remember when Heathrow Terminal 5 first opened? What a chaos, but imagine that on a much larger scale. 1/2 million items of luggage will make it an extremely demanding role for any baggage handler over the Olympic period. Yet alone getting that luggage to and from hotels & apartments at the Olympic park. 

The tube network will be jam packed, the daily commute in and around London will be awash with thousands of extra passengers all frantically trying to get their destinations. It is estimated that an extra 2,000 services will be introduced when the games are on, with an additional 1,500 for the  Paralympics . David Higgins, Chief Executive of Network Rail, said: “Our job during games time is to provide smooth, seamless journeys for spectators travelling to and from Olympic and Paralympic venues, whilst continuing to offer the service which keeps millions of people moving across Britain each day.” 

The road network especially the main arteries to and from the Olympic are chaotic already on a daily basis. I for one know that a single accident on the M25 can cause widespread delays to thousands of commuters within a short space of time. How will authorities be able to manage these delays and more importantly keep traffic moving? 

Security?

Terrorism will be at the forefront of security. The very next day after it was announced that London was to host the Olympic games 7/7 occurred. The threat for terrorism is still strong and we must be more vigilant than ever during the Olympics.    

However an issue that surrounds the subject of security at the games is that our police force is more stretched than ever, budget cuts have forced many bobbies off the beat. Chief Constable, Peter Fahy states  that (police) 'are working well beyond maintainable limits and they cannot sustain this pressure much longer.... the most difficult year in history for the police service'. With the Olympics posing yet more disorder and a potential risk to our national security, there are doubts in peoples minds as to whether we are ready for this and have the available resources to manage. 

Ready for Lift Off: Britain prepares as the world expects. 

Tickets or Lack of them? 

Over 8.8 million tickets went on sale to the British public. In retrospect just under 10% of the entire population of the UK had an opportunity to get hold of tickets for this once in a lifetime event. The lucky dip draw for tickets caused widespread public anger even though it was deemed to be the most fairest way of distributing tickets...But that's a story for another day. 

What is difficult to predict is how many of these tickets will be sold onto corporate organisations for sponsorship deals. There is also increased speculation that tickets could make there way on to the black market which will make it difficult to predict how many tickets will actually fall into real passionate Olympic fans; while the rest of us either watch the games or abandon them completely. 

Hotel Infrastructure?

Hotel's are expected to reach maximum capacity during the games, many of which are charging exceptionally high prices for rooms. London already has some of the most expensive already hotel rooms Europe, sure they are lavish but will they provide the unique experience that tourists will be looking for? Even more so will hotels be able to manage demand from the vast number of tourists expected in the capital. 

There is also the idea of home owners renting out rooms to visitors, Just like the Royal Wedding, thousands of us prepare to rent out our spare rooms for the two period. 

Legacy for the Future?

Building a sustainable legacy was paramount in London getting the games. But with many doubts over what some of the infrastructure will be used for is of great concern to many. Some of the stadiums including the Basketball Arena are to be recycled or sold off. What people don't want to see though is the Olympic Park like many others before them, becoming a White Elephant. 

Youth unemployment is at is highest level for years and the Olympics is the widely seen as the opportunity to give passionate, keen games makers and teenagers the stepping stones to get these skills and move further up in the career ladder. Whether or not the Olympics will be seen like this is a different matter and whether the right jobs will fall to the much needed will only become clearer closer to the time.  

Additionally numerous studies and statistics have been bandished about how the green the games will be. But whether the numbers reflect this will only be apparent only when the games have finished. 

National Mood?

With everything the games will only be the best if the nation embraces the festivities. This will ultimately boil down to the level of interaction with the games. If you were one of the lucky ones who managed to get tickets to the Olympics you will excited about the opportunity of witnessing what one would expect to be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Yet, what about the people didn't get tickets or even tried and were unfairly ruled out? Then there will be relative negativity towards the games, expecting hundreds of thousands of tourists turn up in your backyard, will certainly clog up the roads and cause havoc on the tubes.

Whether you like it or not the Olympics are coming to London its part of living an Olympic country, whether we are ready or not.

What do you expect of the London Olympics?

Crisis Management: A Case of the Costa Concordia

Just over 7 days the Carnival owned cruise ship the Costa Concordia ran aground off the coast of Tuscany, Italy. Whilst rescue workers are working around the clock to find the missing the repercussions of the disaster begins as operators begin to piece together the frantic jigsaw of what actually went on. The disaster being billed as the biggest maritime disaster since the Titanic was carrying over 4,000 passengers on board many of them couples and families looking forward to their week long cruise experience. No one expected it to go so badly wrong.  

Speculation is rife about what actually went on, with the captain the main subject of the investigation, being hang out to dry by the company and being placed under house arrest. The captain will have crucial evidence  to what truly went on, but what about other individuals on board. How can a captain of this magnitude of ship be entirely to be blame for the disaster. Whilst the speculation has mainly focused on the captain it would be interesting to know what other senior officials were doing on board. 

Speculation: As passengers begin to reflect on the disaster, investigators begin to piece together what actually went on. 

Source: eandt.theiet.org

Several television clips of the disaster have showed videos filmed by cruise members on board, not only giving first true hand footage of what actually went on, but removes any hearsay so common in disasters of this magnitude. The footage also provides excellent evidence against crew members and the crisis management techniques deployed by Costa Cruises.  

The ability to identify the truth in this type of disaster is crucial, with the truth often difficult to identify, newspapers and the media are commonly left to interpretation, creating more speculation and often misleading articles. This not only hampers investigation efforts but harms potential victims who may or may not have been found yet. 

Finally the scale of Costa Cruises parent company, Carnival, owners of the likes of Cunard and P&O cruises, means that smaller errors of judgement are normally widened to the public eye and blown out of proportion in circumstances such as this. In hindsight however the pressure of working for such a high profile organisation comes with the job and there is little the captain could do to hide away from this fact. 

The New Year Diet

The period of Christmas has been and gone and the majority of us are ready to kick start that new years habit that we have been trying to do for years but for some reason we get to mid January and we can't help but open up a box of chocolates and you say to yourself I will only have one, just one, one turns to two, two turns to four and before you know it the whole box has gone and the kick  start to the new year has suddenly gone all pear shaped. 

We are so impressed with the marketing and the powerful message that Gym's encourage us to sign up. Common sayings amongst friends and relatives begin with 'I am going to get fit'. Type Fit into Google not only will you get some wonderful and weird sites, but hundreds of websites promoting that chic lifestyle. In truth when we suddenly think of getting fit, we think of diets, straining ourselves from common food stuffs, that we have had too much to graze on over the previous months. Whether we are out their to impress our latest crowd or to get to that dress size you have always wanted, diets have been around for a while. 

Source:  helpfulhealthtips.com
Diets doesn't have to mean celery sticks, and carrots.

The superstores are offering reduced prices on gym equipment we would never think of buying, but because its January, the idea of looking trim for the summer promotes in that urgency that I should do something about it. Whats more bookshops are full of text books written promoting the best way to loose weight but how do we know which one is really the right one, a recommendations, sometimes, maybe a coupon. In my honest opinion, we don't, we do it because the person who wrote it has the willpower to suck you into their world of thinking, 'Buy my book and get that body you have always wanted'. 'slim down for summer' 'the bikini body'. How does the writer know what you look like, ever more what you want, he doesn't he just wants you to get into his world of thinking. Whats more they are full priced before Christmas because know one will buy them and after Christmas you can get them for the same price as a loaf of bread, some sort of practical joke. 

Gyms are at it to, promoting that chic lifestyle that you have always dreamed of having, just a few moments a way. You think to yourself this year I will join a gym? Before you know it you have stopped attending yoga classes because you had too much on at work you couldn't find the time to make it to them. Whats more your in one year contract that you can't get out of, but you never knew you were in it in the first place when you signed up because the salesman offered you a reduced booking fee and you forgot to read the small print. 

In truth, everyone is different, everyone needs different foods to energize the body. If we all stuck to a less of more philosophy then we wouldn't be in this situation. Every beginning of the year we lead ourselves into this false imaginary world that this year will be the year that makes all the difference. Before you know it the summer has been and gone and winter is upon us again.