The Beijing Olympics four years ago still seem to be in front of us. Now, the stage has shifted to London. What kind of Olympic passion will be played there? How many waves will be created by the gold medal battle between China and the United States? Liu Xiang, Sun Yang, Li Na and other "Chinese dragon", "Chinese phoenix" will continue how many legends?
Historically, the British have twice "stepped up" to the plate when the modern Olympics faced a crisis. Now, the European debt crisis in the context of the languishing British economy is eagerly looking forward to the Olympic Games "feedback". July 27, the slogan of "influence a generation" of the London Olympics for the world economy to bring a piece of bright wind and rain?
Let's get closer to Britain and the Olympics.
What does London's "generational impact" mean?
For the British, now once again with the Olympic hand, is no longer to meet their own Olympic complex, but also do not care to set up the "Sunset Empire" image and national prestige, they hope that through the Olympic Games to realize the humanities, the economy and sports back to the center of the world's ambitions.
The 30th Olympic Games will be held in London for the third time in 2012, following the fourth Games in 1908 and the 14th in 1948. Now the world is looking ahead to the London Olympics. People are curious about what the Games will have to offer, and people are wondering what the slogan of the London Games - "Impacting a Generation" - really means.
Out of the woods, passive into active
June 5, the countdown to the London Olympics, the 50th day, the London Organizing Committee, the president of the London Olympics, Sebastian Coe, declared to the world: London is ready, London will be confident to meet this great event.
Unlike previous Olympics, the London Olympics, with a total budget of only 9.3 billion pounds, faced the dilemma of insufficient funds from the very beginning, and even once faced the crisis of suspension. However, the wise British did not retreat, but in the adversity of the rise, in the predicament of the breakout, London turned passive into active, reversing the crisis. For this, Britain and London won praise.
Two years ago, the beginning of the European sovereign debt crisis in Greece, began to evolve from a single country for the entire eurozone crisis, and then developed into a constraint and impact on Europe and even the global economic recovery of a "debt storm". In the second half of last year, the European debt crisis to France, Germany and other core countries in the euro zone spread the situation, seriously hindering the pace of economic recovery in Europe.
The United Kingdom does not use the euro, the debt crisis on its impact on Germany, France is not as big, but the storm is still to the United Kingdom to organize the Olympic Games has brought great difficulties. High consumption and high welfare are "long-term problems" that have made the British economy struggle. Affected by the long-term low birth rate, the average life expectancy has increased and the post-World War II birth wave of the population into old age on a large scale, from the end of the twentieth century, most countries in Europe, the social burden is getting heavier and heavier. However, even with the economic downturn and social pressures, most of the public in Europe is unwilling to change the pattern of high consumption and high welfare, and individual EU member state governments are seeking the same high welfare as developed countries, regardless of their own financial situation and economic strength. Among them, the less developed Greece and Ireland are more prominent. 2010, Greece's social welfare expenditures accounted for 20.6% of GDP, while the proportion of social welfare in the government's total expenditures is as high as 41.6%.
The crisis has left developer funding for two major infrastructure projects for the London Olympics - the ￡1 billion budgeted Olympic Village and the ￡400 million media center - unavailable for long periods of time. To save money, London even canceled plans to build four stadiums, instead shifting events to existing venues. In fact, IOC President Rogge was very clear in his mind about the funding problems facing London, saying: "I know we are stepping into difficult economic times after the success of Beijing. But the Olympics have managed to get through difficult times before. The history of the Olympics shows us that with determination and hard work we can overcome temporary difficulties."
London has hosted two previous Olympics, in 1908, the infancy of the modern Olympics, and in 1948, after the end of World War II. And winning the right to host again in 2012 after more than 60 years makes London leapfrog the first city to host the Olympics three times. But it's fortuitous to say that the first two Olympics were London taking over the stalls left by others. The 1908 Olympics were originally supposed to be held in Rome when Italy's Mount Vesuvius suddenly erupted, causing a huge disaster, and the Italian government had no time for the Olympics, which was then awarded to London by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The 1948 Olympic Games were held after the Second World War, when countries were busy rebuilding, the British Olympic Committee applied to the IOC in October 1945 to host the 14th Olympic Games, and London was the only city to bid for the Games, which made it easy for Britain to win the right to host the Games. London again became the "savior" of the Olympic Games. The organizers of the 1948 Olympics were so poor that even the participating athletes had to limit their meals. However, what is admirable is that the British government at that time did not beat its face against the wall, but tried to do everything possible, with only one purpose: to do the Olympic Games as well as possible under the existing conditions.
British how did not expect, more than half a century later, when they enjoy the glory of hosting the Olympic Games for the third time, actually faced with the unexpected financial crisis! According to industry experts, the British government originally estimated that about 700 million pounds of private funds injected into the Olympic Games as well as in the area around Stratford, east of London, remodeling projects. However, after the Beijing Olympics, global banks stopped lending, developers' funds are tight and taxpayers will have to step in passively. Providing 17,000 competitors, officials and referees to live in the Olympic Village, which is estimated to cost ￡1 billion to build, was once the biggest headache. Developers hope to recoup some of their investment by selling off some of the buildings after the Olympics. The London Olympic Planning and Development Authority, which is responsible for the infrastructure for the 2012 London Olympics, plans to inject 500 million pounds to build the village and media center, with the rest of the cost to be financed by the private sector.
In the face of a series of difficulties and resistance, the British did not retreat, but through the development of a series of initiatives, firm determination - to organize a "thrifty" but "money-making
Faced with a series of difficulties and resistance, the British have resolved to organize a "thrifty" but "profitable" Olympics.
From the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, "profit" has become one of the important reasons why countries compete to bid for the Olympics, and the United Kingdom is no exception, and they will be able to enhance the economy of the Olympics as a reason to convince the public when bidding. Affected by the financial crisis, the economy of the United Kingdom in the first half of 2012 will be negative growth, the number of unemployed people will rise to 2.85 million. The British government prefers to revitalize the economy through the Olympics, and Prime Minister David Cameron has ordered an additional 41 million pounds to be spent on the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics. Facing complaints and opposition from the public, the British Minister of Sport, Hugh Robertson, responded, "The reason for investing an additional 41 million pounds is not to catch up with the Beijing Olympics, but rather, I hope that people will still want to return to the UK after they leave to visit here, so that our economy and the economy will be boosted. here to visit and maximize our economic and tourism benefits."
In the financial crisis, it is difficult to organize the Olympic Games to make everyone happy, but the United Kingdom to host the highest return on investment, the most reflect the sustainability of the Olympic Games has never wavered in its goal. A few days ago, Prime Minister David Cameron confidently said that the Olympic period may be for the United Kingdom to increase the income of 1 billion pounds, and the British government's task is to convert the potential business opportunities into reality. Tourism is the fifth largest industry in the UK, and the government plans to introduce measures such as increasing the number of statutory holidays during the Olympics to boost the profitability of the tourism industry. And in order to get the British retail industry out of the current predicament, the British government to relax the London Olympics during the store Sunday open for business regulations, the current law provides that England's large shopping malls can only be open for business on Sundays for six hours, and from July 22nd, shopping malls will be able to extend the operating hours of the Olympic Games and the Paralympics during the eight Sundays, according to estimates, only this one will be able to give the businessmen to bring ￡ 9,000 of revenue.
In addition, the British government also wants to use the hosting of the Olympic Games for British companies to open up the market, focusing on small and medium-sized enterprises. British Investment and Trade Agency's Olympic Legacy Managing Director Collins told the media that they promote the economy through the Olympics mainly through two ways. One is the "British Enterprise Club", which is an online business information platform that any enterprise can join free of charge and still use after the Olympics. The other is the Lancaster House in the busy part of London during the Olympic Games as Britain's "business embassy", to participate in the Olympic Games to promote British business people from all countries, it is reported that the Lancaster House during the Olympic Games will also be held in "China Business Day". Collins also revealed that the British government to build a business platform for enterprises, follow the principle of spending a small amount of money to do big things, for example, through the private sector sponsorship and cooperation, all the enterprises registered in the British Enterprise Club can be used free of charge during the Olympics in central London, a high-level event space, which has been affected by the financial crisis of small and medium-sized enterprises to provide a lot of convenience.
Of course, it is still unknown how much tangible results the British government's efforts will achieve, but as Sebastian Coe said, "The Olympics is not just a 17-day event, when bidding for the bid we promised to transform the East End of London, and today we have developed and transformed 120 hectares of it." As to whether hosting the London Olympics will lose money or not, Robed, director of business support and promotion at the London Development Agency, said, "Reinvigorating London as the world's business capital and the world's financial services capital through the Olympics cannot simply be measured in terms of commercial gain."
Both Sebastian and Robed, in fact, send us the same message: Britain's more far-reaching purpose in hosting the Olympics is to return to the center of the world economy, and its ambition is impressive. However, the British government will not let go of the immediate interests of the London Olympics tickets have been sold out, the opening ceremony tickets have been speculated to 9,000 pounds a ticket, only the Olympic tickets this income reached a quarter of the budget of the London Olympics. The Olympics haven't even opened yet, but the event is likely to be a booster for Britain's economy.
With the help of the Olympics, the image of a strong country
The industrial revolution was launched from Britain in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. There were many scientific discoveries and inventions in Britain, such as the steam engine, jet engine, penicillin, deoxyribonucleic acid and so on. Over the past two hundred years, world-class universities and colleges of all kinds have also developed in Britain. The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge have an even longer history, dating back to the 12th century. The Kingdom of Britain was once the most powerful country in the world, but after two world wars, the British Empire has lost its former glory.
Even so, Britain is still a major world power, with a GDP that has been in the top five for some years now. As Europe's largest financial center, London's financial market attracts many companies from around the world to take advantage of business opportunities in the UK. Due to the devaluation of the pound and the financial crisis in recent years, the total GNP of the UK once fell out of the top five and was overtaken by France. This made the self-respecting British people very upset. Therefore, with the wind of the Olympic Games, the British government is in dire need of enhancing its image as a world power in all aspects. In addition to revitalizing the economy, Britain also put forward the slogan, from politics, humanities, sports and even food to comprehensively "influence a generation".
The birthplace of the modern Olympic Games is Greece, but when it comes to the birthplace of modern sports, Britain is the unquestioned leader. Britain is the originator of modern soccer, but also the birthplace of many small-ball sports: tennis, golf, table tennis, badminton, billiards, hockey, baseball, rugby, cricket, polo and so on ...... However, let some of the proud British "blush"! However, some arrogant British people "blush" is that, although the United Kingdom has a bright history in many sports, is the originator of many modern sports, but compared with other sports powers, big countries in the world, they invented these sports, many of their own can not play. It has also become indisputable that in some cultural areas Britain's figure has been on the periphery. When many people in the world are enjoying Hollywood blockbusters, Japanese anime and Korean dramas, how many people are still interested in the Beatles and Shakespeare is not an optimistic question. In the face of the harsh reality, the British have discarded their arrogance and prejudice and hope to transport the humanistic values of Britain to the rest of the world by hosting the Olympic Games again. According to British media disclosure, the British government had formulated a strategy paper for the London Olympics at the beginning of the bidding process, which assessed the role of hosting the Olympics in enhancing Britain's image and national self-confidence.
The Olympic slogan "influence a generation" is also reflected in the British government's desire to promote "national unity". Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown once made a speech in defense of national unity, and the then leader of the British Conservative Party, now Prime Minister David Cameron, also issued the voice of "stronger together than apart". England, despite being a regular at international competitions, represents only England, a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and playing in the name of the United Kingdom in a joint team means that a united and strong United Kingdom appears to the world. The unifying political gesture behind the Olympic and soccer matches demonstrated a further image of Britain as a world power. Undeniably, each host is looking forward to harvesting good results, home to fight the United Kingdom undoubtedly hope to take this opportunity to return to the position of the world's sporting powerhouse, but just in the cycling, canoeing and sailing on the gold is still lack of persuasive power, soccer as a collective project gold medal to be heavier, London hopes to get back to the old soccer boss feeling. England's performance in international competitions in the last decade has been lackluster, if the "Great Britain" team to play, you can integrate the strongest British soccer resources, such as Fletcher, Bale and Ramsey will have the opportunity to play, once in the doorstep of the soccer gold medal, will be to re-establish the image of Britain's sports powerhouse to play a multiplier effect.
Strictly speaking, there has never been a true "Team GB" in the history of the Olympics. This time, the London Organizing Committee and the British Prime Minister hope to form a joint team, which will be the first time in the Olympic Games there is a real sense of British team. At present, the Welsh hopefuls Ramsey and Bale once again expressed their desire to represent Britain in the London Olympics, and it seems that the desire of all British people to get together and work hard to win the championships is unstoppable. This may be another highly successful and historic "generational impact" event for the London Olympics.
In recent years, the British government has also taken every opportunity it can to use the Olympics to promote Britain and raise its image.
In April this year, in the countdown to the London Olympics 100 days, the British driver Hamilton in the preparation for the F1 China Station, together with Yao Ming appeared in the Shanghai Oriental Pearl River cruise ship, for the London Olympics "GREAT Britain" global promotional activities, hope that the 2012 London Olympics before the arrival of not only to the Chinese public, but also to the Chinese public. The campaign aims to present a vibrant Britain to the Chinese public ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games, and to showcase the UK's strengths in creativity and innovation. British Minister Jeremy Hunt said: "2012 is an exciting year for the UK. Not only will the eyes of the world be on the London Olympics and Paralympics, but the UK will also be celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. We want the world to share in the excitement with us, which is the true meaning of GREAT and the message we want to bring to China."
As early as two years ago, the British government said that during the Olympic Games, they would prove in action that hosting the Olympics would not only create a stage for the world's sporting elite to compete for gold and silver, but would also provide everyone who came to London with a series of free activities with a humanistic flavor of the UK, and that the British culture would be transported in a way that wasn't hard and fast.
At present, almost all primary and secondary schools in Britain are hoping to take advantage of the Olympic Games to strengthen youth sports education. Wang Yang, a student at Beijing Normal University's School of Chinese Language and Culture, has traveled to the British Borough of Stockport as a volunteer for a year of Chinese language teaching. He told reporters that London has a very good sports atmosphere, and you can see people running and mountain biking during the day and at night, even when it is raining.
With the Olympics, the British will even have to do justice to their own country's "diet". Back then, after London beat Paris to win the right to host the 2012 Olympics, then French President Jacques Chirac was a bit "flirtatious" and also a bit "unconvinced" that: "Why should the Olympics be held in a country where the food is so bad? Why should the Olympics be held in a country where the food is so unpopular? As a matter of fact, British food is indeed unpopular, and it is no wonder that when the French President made such a mockery of it, the British could not refute it, and the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair seemed to have "acquiesced". Now, as the London Olympics approach, the British began to make a name for the British food, they kindly invited many countries' famous restaurants to London, "briefly opened", and introduced a temporary nature of the catering license for this purpose.
In addition to this, the UK will also use the Olympics to revitalize the UK's tourism industry. VisitBritain predicts that the UK will receive 3,000 visitors in 2012, which will bring up to ￡16 billion in tourism revenue and 250,000 full-time jobs to London, and that the Olympic legacy will continue to boost tourism in the five years following the Olympics, with an expected increase of 1.1 million visitors and an increase in revenue of ￡700 million.
The London Olympics are proving to be a "generational influence" and are well on their way to achieving their stated goal. For the British have hosted two, already in the third Olympic Games, now when they once again with the Olympic hand, is no longer to meet their own Olympic complex, but also do not care to set up the "Sunset Empire" image and national prestige, they hope that through the Olympics to realize the humanities, the economy and sports back to the center of the world's ambitions. Whether it is to vigorously promote the concept of British humanity, the joint formation of a far-reaching British Olympic team, or increase the budget for the opening ceremony and Olympic security, all reflect the strong determination of the organizers in order to transform the goal of "impact on a generation" into reality.
With 50 days to go, let's get our eyes on the London Bowl.