Results tagged “Olympics” from Birmingham Mail - Is It Just Me

You have to wonder if the BBC have any staff left in the UK as they cover every cough and snort at the Olympics. We are still on the sports that pop up on telly every four years and then, as far as TV are concerned, go into hibernation in some cave in the hills until the next Olympics but there still seems to be a BBC person on every street corner and a commentator and tame expert, plus interviewer, with every GB competitor.

Watching presenters enthusing about names and people they had never even heard of until they were handed a press pack with their media centre bacon buttie and coffee that morning can have its moments though as they pretend they have intimate knowledge of the 60kg auto gear change 68 spoke synchronised space hopper mountain bike balancing world championships held in a field in Latvia last March - we came 17th after being penalised for an undersize mullett.

But if the BBC thinks it is worth spending some £3 million in licence payer money - that's 21,505 colour licences by the way and that is without the exes and incidentals for the 437 people in Beijing on the world's biggest jolly - then it would seem only logical that it has some sort of interest in the sports it studiously ignores - apart from Cowes Week and Henley of course - for 206 weeks out of every 208.

We have sent out news readers - perhaps the light is better for reading in China - and all manner of media luvvies yet once they are back and we have endured the documentary equivalent of the holiday snaps and videos the sports they have been enthusing about and waving the flag for will be dropped like stones.

Some sports are not televisual, some are far more interesting for participants then spectators but if the Beeb is happy to shell out millions and fly two jumboloads of staff to watch them they could at least give them a mention, perhaps in a magazine round up between the repeats - sorry, second chances to see - and endless variations on the celebrity theme, celebrity brain surgeon or 747 pilot or whatever. After all they are not exactly awash with any other sport as they pick over the bones left by Sky, Setanta and even the commercial channels. A sport is for life not just the Olympics.

Anyone hear Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell on radio this morning explaining why the bill for London 2012 has gone up by the odd £7 billion or so - and rising. My estimate is still that we will end up with a bill of £20 billion plus.

It was a gold medal winning performance of evasion. Getting a straight answer out of her was like trying to nail a blancmange to a puddle. At at the end of her list of excuses and explanations cemented together by meaningless waffle I think we were supposed to be grateful that the Government had done such a brilliant deal and what fantastic value for money we were getting. You could almost believe it would be worth it at more than twice the price - which undoubtedly it will be when all the receipts are collected up from under the mantlepiece clock in Tessa's front room.

Next stage no doubt will be knocking billion pound size chunks off the bill because they are not really to do with the Olympic bid and were things we were going to do in any case, or had to be done whether we had the Olympics or not, or are just being hidden in the hope no one will notice.

Notice how many of the great and good are discovering other pressing engagements such as washing their hair, waxing their legs, shaving up their noses or whatever that unfortunately clash with the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing.

Apparently these other engagements were well known about months ago if anyone had bothered to ask and have nothing whatsoever to do with shifts in public and world opinion or popularity ratings. As for China and Tibet? Never came into the equation old boy.

So they can placate the Chinese by telling them they would love to come but sorry they can't find anyone to look after the cat which, in turn, means everyone can save face and, more importantly, save their place at the financial trough that is China. Meanwhile our leaders avoid being seen on TV and in newspapers sitting through the ten hours of tedium, or at least I am sure it will seem that long for those who endure it, before the athletes can finally start. This of course will mean they can avoid having to show their full support to their hosts while at the same time explaining their complete lack of it to their electorate.

Then, with the smoke, mirrors and spin that is modern politics, come the next election the non-appearance, if it is raised, can become a brave stance for human rights, a move to avoid embarrassing our close friends the Chinese or even a difficult decision taken to secure jobs at home depending upon the direction of the wind and whether there is an R in the month.

Sitting on the fence with your best foot forward while watching your back, leading the charge and bringing up the rear all at the same time. Thank you for your support, I shall wear it always.