London 2012: Part 1

We've been hearing that a lot lately. "London 2012." The news is telling us about changes to public transport and delays on the motorway, the shops are selling merchandise (some of them awesome, mostly of them fairly undesirable),  and people who have managed to score tickets are making you jealous because you didn't get any. All this under the banner of 'London 2012'.
I feel like this is now such an over-used phrase that it's bordering on the likes of 'Christmas' (No, I'm not going to be the thousandth person to go into the meaning of Christmas, worry not). I hear far too many people complaining about the trouble it's going to cause and the money it's going to cost the country rather than the excitement of what's going to be happening in the capital... TOMORROW. So, I want to stir up some enthusiasm in those of you not yet filled with uncontainable impatience at whether or not Peter Pan/12 horses/a village cricket team/Voldemort is/are going to be in the Opening Ceremony. And for those of you already excited, hey, here's some more reasons to celebrate!

1) The first paralympians were British! Coinciding with the 1948 London Olympics was The International Wheelchair Games, in which World War II veterans with spinal chord injuries competed. We started it. That's cool.

2) It has been announced that if any advertisements of products which are supporting the Olympics or any spectators at the Olympics display full or partial nudity, they will be fined £20,000. It seems unlikely to me that we'll get through 17 days without someone trying to take up that challenge.

3) Britain worked pretty damn hard to get the Olympic Games this time around, with the Bid Team being formed in 2003. After 9 years working up to this point, we can safely guarantee the Games and everything surrounding them are going to be sensational, whatever the pessimists are saying...

4) Kate Middleton. Also beach volleyball.

5) The Olympic stadiums! Not only outstanding aesthetically but also incredibly sustainable. The Velodrome is the most impressive. Green to the last detail, it will even use rainwater to flush the toilets!

6) Over 14,000 competitors from 205 countries will be in the Olympic and Paralympic Games. They are all encouraged to follow the Olympic principles of respect, equality, and determination, making this the world's largest peace-time event. In today's world, this is our WWI Christmas football game, no?

The are a thousand reasons to be excited about the London Games, not least because this really is one of those once-in-a-lifetime events everyone tries to make out of everything. You really will be able to show off to your kids/grandkids about how good old London Town hosted the Olympics back in the day...

So cheer up, it's sunny! And happy viewing :)

PS. Good friend Jack Connell knows someone in the Opening Ceremony. I know him, you know me. You are famous by association. Wicked.