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This badge, which was put up for sale on eBay, gives an indication of the attitudes of some Britons ahead of the Olympics.
LONDON -- If grumbling ever becomes an Olympic sport, the United Kingdom has to be a surefire bet for gold.
The level of complaints, fears and general discontent about the 30th Olympiad in London this summer has reached fever pitch, moving well-known commentator David Randall, of The Independent on Sunday newspaper, to write a column entitled "Come on, Britain! Stop moaning! It's the Olympics, for heaven's sake!"
Some fear too many people will come to London, causing a "perfect storm" of congestion on the roads -- so bad that lives could be endangered -- along with congestion on the subways, and also on the Internet; others think that actually fewer visitors than usual will come because ordinary tourists will be put off, so the games will provide little or no boost to the city's economy.
Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber even predicted "a bloodbath of a summer" for London's theaters after a slump in advance orders for tickets.
Then there has been a slew of gripes about tickets for Olympic events, such as not being able to get them unless you are a member of the super-rich, and unnecessary secrecy about the ticketing process.
Some worry London will get a bad name if visitors are ruthlessly gouged for every cent, by unscrupulous landlords, over-priced hotels or expensive Olympic souvenirs, for example.
The International Olympics Committee President Jacques Rogge said the organization is "happy" with the progress and that a great legacy had already been left. ITV's Rags Martel reports.
However, one of the main groups representing London taxis seemed somewhat put out after it tried unsuccessfully to get approval to increase fares by a hefty 22 percent during the games. Allowed only a 5.3 percent raise, a drivers' representative suggested that many cabbies might decide not to show up for work.
Morris-dancing anarchists?
Other complaints include the potential $17 billion cost of the event to taxpayers, and that Scotland, some 500 miles to the north of London, will see little benefit from the presence of the Games in the U.K. capital.
Labor unions have also been threatening to go on strike during the games to protest the government's austerity measures.
Darren Staples / Reuters, file
Morris dancers, similar to these Leicester Morrismen dancing in Newtown Linford in 2010, may stage flash mob-style protests after being left out of the opening ceremony, The Daily Mail reported. Morris dancing stretches back some 600 years, but its origins are obscure.
And, if all that wasn't enough, there's the fear of a large-scale terrorist attack, and other assorted threats -- of varying degrees of seriousness -- from solar storms, diseases spread by shaking hands, Morris-dancing anarchists, and, cue the scary music, the "Illuminati."
Olympic housing crunch: London landlords evict tenants to gouge tourists
Any sports enthusiast looking forward to the spectacles of Usain Bolt on the track, LeBron James on the court and Alex Morgan on the soccer field might be somewhat discouraged by all this negativity.
'It's cathartic'
But Peter Catterall, lecturer in history at Queen Mary, University of London and editor of the journal National Identities, told msnbc.com that this would be a "cultural misreading" of the current outbreak of moaning.
"I think it reflects, if you like, a national history," he said. "The national narrative is often about making the best of heroic defeat, like [the Second World War evacuation of] Dunkirk and so on. The national experience in Britain is not one that's tended to create a sense in which you can just 'seize that hill.'"
Oda / Getty Images
From Wimbledon to Wembley Stadium to The Dome, a look at the venues for the 2012 London Olympic Games.
"There's a tendency to think in terms of what could go wrong, rather than what could go right," he said. "It's a kind of low-level grumbling amongst people who are often quite good at grumbling. I think also people quite like grumbling, it's cathartic."
Testing for terror: Preparing for the unthinkable at London Olympics
Olympic organizers may even have taken this into account in their planning.
"I do think in part the public authorities have been trying to get the moaning out of the way early," Catterall said, although he added that this "may well put off some visitors."
An age-old attitude?
This kind of attitude may go back at least as far as what was arguably the world's first international event for the masses, London's Great Exhibition of 1851.
It was essentially a trade fair showing off the best products from across the world -- exhibitors included China, Persia (now Iran), the United States, India, Tunisia, Philippines and many European countries -- and it attracted more than 6 million visitors during its five-month run.
Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images
Will Brits start celebrating the Games when they actually begin? A man sits in the Atlas cafe in Leyton near the Olympic Park in London, England, on March 22, 2012.
However, in the run-up to the exhibition, Londoners expressed a string of complaints and worries that are notably similar to the current ones about the Olympics.
"I think there was a parallel in terms of all these fears," Michael Leapman, author of a book about the Great Exhibition, called "The World for a Shilling," said.
The prospect of hordes of visitors sparked alarm about congestion -- and as it turned out there were some traffic jams of the horse-and-carriage variety -- and the spread of disease, Leapman told msnbc.com.
And while tickets could be bought for a shilling, prices were increased at the weekends and other times to enable the wealthy to enjoy the exhibits without rubbing shoulders with the "hoi polloi," he added. Leapman said the author Charles Dickens was on a committee to represent the interests of working-class people, but the exhibition's organizers paid so little attention to it that Dickens quit.
Security was another big concern, with the event coming not long after several European revolutions in 1848 and amid unrest associated with the working-class Chartist movement in the U.K.
"The Duke of Wellington [a national hero after his victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815] wanted to put a troop of cavalry into Hyde Park, but the government said that would be a bit too provocative," Leapman said.
The government also attempted to set up a register of accommodation with set prices, but Leapman said most landlords resisted signing up, trusting the free market to give a better return.
'Enthusiasm'
But the generally positive outcome of the event gives Leapman, who has tickets to watch hockey, some comfort amid all the present-day moaning.
He said that while there might be "some inconvenience" during the Olympics "I have a feeling it will be a great success, partly judging from the Great Exhibition."
At Olympics, dogs have sniffed out a key anti-terror role
And so the views of Hugh Robertson, the U.K. government's minister for sport and the Olympics, should perhaps not be viewed with the usual British cynicism toward politicians.
"My experience of the Games across the country has been one of fantastic support and enthusiasm," he told msnbc.com in a statement, noting the "huge demand" for tickets.
"The Royal Wedding showed that Britons know how to get behind national events, and London 2012 will be the chance to do that on a giant scale," Robertson added. "We [are] determined that everybody who comes to London for the Games has an amazing time."
John Powell, chairman of leading athletics club Belgrave Harriers, is exactly the sort of person who should be bursting with enthusiasm for the Games.
He will carry the Olympic torch and is the coach of sprinter James Ellington, who is a medal prospect for the U.K. if he makes it through the trials.
Powell told msnbc.com that he was "very excited" about carrying the flame; and it would be "amazing" to coach an athlete to a medal, the "pinnacle" of his 36 years of coaching.
But even he has a gripe.
If Ellington wins gold, Powell, his coach of some 13 years, will watch his triumph on television because, he said, he and many other coaches will not be given access to the stadium, a decision he described as "shambolic and a scandal."
"That really does take the edge of it from my point of view," Powell said.
More from msnbc.com and NBC News:
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- Man cuts off foot, throws it in furnace to avoid job assignment
- Turmoil builds in China's Tibetan regions
- French rail company to pay out after delays cost commuter job
- World's cities to expand by twice the size of Texas by 2030
Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world
Leave a Comment:
London , a great place for terrorism. I hope the Brits can handle it.
I thin history have shown, that is anyone can "handle" it, it is London and the brits.
Thank you Torben - nice to hear some positivity.
As for the article - we are a nation of moaners and grumblers. Its just how we are, but we also love a party even more than a good moan. The Olympics will be fabulous. And even though Im in east London, and will no doubt not be able to get on to my local bus or tube, or go shopping in Central - secretly, I cant wait, and i would bet that goes for the majority.
Its funny,
My friends from Britain, all of them, say there are very few people who actually are happy about the Olympics.
Londonhan, why not tell that to one of the Londoners who lost their flat because their landlord jacked up the price 5,000%.
Another Bogus article from MSNBC
And thats my opinion,
5000%?! Can you give me a source for this statistic? As I said, Im slap bang in the middle of East London. No doubt there are some unscrupulous landlords looking for an easy profit - but thats hardly the norm - no one I know has had this problem. See? I can do anecdotes too. As for your friends being miserable, Im not sure that means much. As I said, were a nation of moaners and grumblers, its what we do. Bet you 10 quid they'll all be watching the opening ceremony
news (DOT) uk(DOT) msn.com/london-landlords-throw-out-tenants-to-cash-in-on-olympics
This is from UK MSN News
From 300 Pounds to 1600 need I say more. Thanks to Cameroon and his Tea Bag Government.
And thats my opinion.
Not quite 5000% then. And while I share your opinion on Cameron - I just dont think this is the norm - or something unique to Britain or British people. This is purely anecdotal of course, but I personally have not had one friend or family member being chucked out of their homes. It would be a scandal, it would be in the local papers, the building where I live that houses 100 flats - they would be up in arms. Therefore I believe this is limited to a minority of unscrupulous landlords.
Hotels in London are already a scandal--exorbitant prices for tiny, closet-sized rooms! I predict there will be a riot as hotels and landlord gouge visitors. I am staying far away from London during the games.
The people of Chicago really lucked out (and the majority of average working persons there will tell you so) that the 2016 Olympics was given to Rio. Special interest big business will get contracts, the elite wil get preference for the tickets, and the average taxpayer will cover the cost.......no thanks. P.S., I don't live in Chicago, but do know many who do.
They'll be fine once the Olympics starts. Londoners are pretty tough people!
Geez it's only for two weeks right?
Well, we visit the UK usually every year...but did make the decision to skip it this year and go to France, instead. Sad...I'm a huge Olympic fan and love Britain - but my husband just hates crowds (although he never leaves the UK w/o a week in London). However, coupled with the Jubilee this year - even in September our fav London hotel was sold out by February. Oh well...there is always next year.
Just like the US there is high level of unemployment and pessimism over the bad state of economic affairs. These were the results of Iraqi wars.
Politicians have very low credibility and many including David Cameron are involved in wrong issue (let me put it mildly in British style) or the other!
In UK, there were devastating London tube bombings and many terrorist attacks planned and foiled. There will be concerns of security and terrorism.
There will be many controversies and undue profiteering by some greedy ones.
I don't know about terrorists.....but those Morris dancers make me nervous
Good Lord, those Brits need to get a grip. There are plenty of locations that would LOVE to host the Olympics. Maybe England's economy isn't bad enough yet. Or maybe they've got nothing else to do but bitch and whine. Go figure.
Why does the olympic committee keep picking these countries to host..they have no room..cheapo's, lack of transportation and bad weather most times. Even the one in Brazil is a waste..90% slums with thief's.
For every one moaner in London there are thousands who are not. Its the usual story, moan moan moan, look at memememe, I am such an anti hero, sky is falling, we're doomed. Ahhhhh piffle, dumb clucks.
Will there be something go wrong somewhere - of course there will be - will something turn up to disrupt something - of course there will be - will some Londoners get messed around - of course there will be some. Geeeeez. Some dont half make a lifes work out of moaning, its easy to be a moaner, you dont have to be responsible for outcomes, they just shut the carping mouth if all goes well, and yell told you so if something goes wrong. Tedious people.
The vast overwhelming majority who dont live life trying to grab a headline with circulation obsessed media, are gearing up for a hell of a party, and the Professional Grumblers can stay in their dingy hovels whilst we get on with it - or they can break a life time habit and come out and enjoy themselves - for a change - either way the rest of us could care less.
Its all ready, its working great, and those who just want to enjoy it will - gonna be a great two weeks :)
I hate to brag,but the Democrats in my country can out moan anyone.
Yeah, they're not bright and cheerful like Limbaugh, Beck and Fox News. Has anyone ever seen Boehner or McConnell smile, Boehner always looks like he's been constipated for about two weeks. Basically, I think there is a lot of grumpiness on both sides of the aisle.
Yeah oldercitizen . . . Republicans and their blowhard media mouthpieces NEVER moan (oh they yammer hysterically, cry, and lie plenty) about the "Marxist, Muslim, Socialist, Communist, anti-Christ, love child of Malcolm X, freedom-hating, Constitution ignoring colored guy now in the Oval Office. And you probably wouldn't moan at all if a republican Congress slashed your Medicare benefits.
Obama 2012!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah Nearly99 , that's just what we need , another four years wasted and deeper in debt .
Anyone Other than Obama 2012 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not enough Rumpy Bumpy,... I would bet a purple herby on it.
I hope they can manage to kick back and enjoy the ride. If they can survive World War Two they can survive this little dust up.
To those of them that just must be miserable over it all I can say is, duck and cover!
The first thing you have to understand about the UK is the class system - I say that as a British citizen living in New York. Everyone can see for themselves how today's british hidden class system still omitted ordinary british citizens from getting access to tickets & the lack of transparency of the whole process, despite billions of tax payers monies been spent on the games, yet ordinary people are been implicitly told they cannot ask questions on how the billion of pounds is been spent -- Only in Britain can this happen. Now compare olympic ticket access to the Australian Olympics or even the Greece olympics.
And as a British citizen, I'm afraid I have the sam scepticism as the article. The games are going to be a great ripp-off by anyone attending (a great british tradition), every prices would be marked-up significantly. Even before the games, London is overcrowded - It's an ordeal just commuting from the suburbs to the city every morning either by train or by car. I'm actually in London since last week visiting my family & I return to NY next week, way before the games starts.
For those Americans planning to go to London, just be prepared to spend a fortune in hotel / food / transportation
Why are things so so expensive in the UK, why can't ordinary british people get tickets to the games?
As I said in my opening notes, this is a class based society (implicit of course in todays world) & one has to look at everything in modern Britain in that context. A system where your status - background+wealth, but not necessarily wealth (what is british class system - another topic) would determine what kind of life you live in the UK.
Brit,
We have the same thing here: an upper class and a lower class that expect everything to be handed to them for the asking, and a middle class that is expected to foot the bill without complaining.
I've always wondered: what countries do not have a class system?
"what countries do not have a class system?"
That would be Somalia, where everyone, even the government agents, are poor and powerless.
Inequality isn't a function of people losing things, after all (everyone starts out with nothing), but getting left behind as other people get things.
Somalia has a government ???
The Olympics is a rip-off and so are the upcoming EFA soccer games in Poland and Ukraine. Polish people are not looking forward to them: billions of zloties spent on building monster stadiums at the taxpayer's cost and no one will be using them later. Prices? Forget it, gouging is not even adequate enough to describe the mentality of "Gotcha". The ticket sales mechanism was every bit as confusing as in London. Better to watch it on tv, cheaper and more comfortable.
Hi there BritinNYC - I posted something similar on another news story yesterday - and please, my US cousins dont get offended by what Im about to say, because I truly mean no offence, but!: In all social indices Britain trumps the US - including social mobility. So Im not sure how that squares up with this supposed egalitarian United States v Class-ridden Downton Abbey Britain. The US has a class system too, they just have more creative names: Wealth Creators, Blue Collar Workers and plain old middle class.
I am working class, and so are nearly everyone i know, but I also know three people who got tickets - they disnt pay through the roof for them either so not sure what youre getting at here.
Its interesting,
London landlords believe their Tenants will return once the Olympics are over and that they will be able to bill them at a higher rate.
NOT!!!
Typical of the Teabag Government in London. No price controls and they even gave the Landlords the freedom to price gouge.
Shameful. Oh yes there is a Boycott on against Great Britain over the discrimination against those who lived in the Olympics area. Also, funny, is that special lanes have been set up for the "Olympic" Class on all the motor ways in the area. And not even Ambulance drivers are allowed in the elitist lanes.
And yet again, I say this article reads like Government Propaganda.
And yes again this is my Opinion.
Ive already agreed with you on Cameron - but they are hardly the tea party. Our conservatives (or David Cameron at least) believe in climate change, are pro gay marriage, believe in evolution, do not beleive in the right to bear arms.
I cant believe Im defending the Tories! Ill stop now.
London,could we here in the not so good ole U S of A possibly persuade you to trade?1 of your Tories for every 50 of our Teabags,er Tea Party Members?We'll even throw in a vomit bag& a free keg for each one you guys take.Preferrably throw them in the Thames for swimming exercises&forget to come back&get them.Eh,I suppose not on the last bit,it'd be Life in prison for doing such Environmental Polluting of a waterway,but we'll still give you the bags(for you,not them for having to listen to them)and a keg a piece for your troubles.I'd offer money but the Tea Party has seen to it that our dollar is the finest Toliet Tissue anywhere these days&beer is infinitely more valuable!Cheers!
You're pathetic and ignorant. Why don't you go live in the UK or Sweden? Not socialist enough for you? Then try Iran or North Korea. They would be right up you alley.
If you think you want to stay in the US, then please understand that the premise of the Tea Parties is 3 things; smaller government, fiscal responsibility, and free markets. If you think none of these issues is worth your time, then by all means vote for the Robber Baron Obama. If you want to get America back on track to the greatness it once was, then vote against every incumbent in November. We need to clean house and get rid of all career politicians and return our country to the people. After a few elections when the professionals see that the people really make the decisions, then we will have qualified people to run out government. Until then, SD and STFU!
Yomama,
You are the one that is ignorant. Lookup the definition of socialism and then explain to me how Iran, North Korea, or Obama is socialist.
"Tea Parties is 3 things; smaller government, fiscal responsibility, and free markets."
You missed out rounding up and shooting all the Hispanics, Gays, and non-Christians.
ma bey the Brits can borrow some of the 30,000 drones from America . I'm sure everyone would feel safer knowing everything said or done, every move made would be recorded!
They don't need the drones, they already have excellent coverage. Everthing there is already on camera or recorded by GCHQ.
The English, in my opinion are delightful, kind, friendly people. The middle class are the majority and are happy to watch the games on TV. They are not at all bothered at being there in person and leave that to those who can. I have visited England or United Kingdome (to be precise) multiple times and have always enjoyed my visits.
It's rare to hear about a country in which the majority of the population are not "kind, friendly people". I think that most humans, period, are kind and friendly unless they have something against you personally or a prejudice that you fall under.
Well, maybe not the French.
I am french and resent your shameless stereotyping, unless it was meant as humor. I live in a big northeastern US city, and the same could be said of people around here..
In a culture where the best British compliment is, "Not bad!" what can you expect but grumbles. The British will enjoy the games, but they do love to complain (I know, I am one).
To Steve-2757320
That is because middle and upper class leave the city just like it happened during the royal wedding. Mi family always left the city when there was a big event or something "touristy" going on because navigating London is already a nightmare as it is. Surveys abound about the UK is a grumpy country and we Londoners take the crown. In average, Londoners spend two hours a day being grumpy... (According to BBC)
2hrs? Not Bad.
Dumb grumblers ..... strap 'em to the ground to air missles on the apartment block roofs - they would scare the C%$P out of any approaching jihadist filled plane - they'd turn back with ear ache rofl :)
400 -- 1600 is 400%, not 5000%. Hyperbole for emotional impact, much?
C'mon, it's grade school math.
They didnt think of this before they bid on the Olympics? C'mon London...stiff upper! What?
Come on England, you
bid on the Olympics so now sit back and enjoy!
I lived in London for 3 years and one of the first things you learn is that ripoffs/scams are everywhere. Just like any big city. However, once you realize it's there and how to avoid it, life is pretty good. I'm guessing Brits are having the same apprehensions about everything surrounding the Olympics.
If people in London are so upset about the Olympics being in their city, why did London bid for the Olympics?
Typical blue blood arrogance. Don't want to have to come down off their pedastals to rub shoulders with us common folk. God forbid they should shake hands with anybody.
Mike-1842539 - what does 'typical blue blood arrogance' actually mean?
I assume you mean the Royals?
What's that got to do with Londoners, such as myself, worrying about congestion, terrorism or being ripped off?
Gotcha!
Take a vacation to Syria during the Olympics if you don't feel safe. I heard it's nice that time of year.
Maybe they should vacation in Salt Lake City while the Olympics are on. Brits, you gotta love em, bu they will always make a mountain out of molehill.
The people of Los Angeles had the same fears about the 1984 Games. None of those fears actually materialized, and the 1984 Games were a huge success.
China was exuberantly confident about the Games, and they were a success.
LA was worried about the Games, and they were a success.
Atlanta was exuberantly confident about the games, and they fell flat.
To complete the 2 x 2 matrix:
London is worried about the Games, and they'll fall flat.
Who needs to go, anyway? What did I buy a HD wide-screen TV, so I could fly 3000 miles to spend $500 per night for a fleabag B&B somewhere in the Midlands?
If the people of London can handle plagues, fires, German air raids, and zombies, then by George they can handle the Olympics!
The naysayers and Debbie Downers predicted the same chaos for Los Angeles during the 1984 Olympics, when in fact traffic was very, very light, the air was smog-free, and people were "in the spirit of the games" during those two weeks in August. Being one of 80,000 world citizens watching athletic greats perform in the Coliseum was a lifetime highlight.
Cheerio London --- "Let the Games Begin"!
The Debbie Downers are lucky to be in the same time zone as the games unlike most of us.
Whining and crying is hardly an English problem alone. I for one am not worried about glacial melt flooding the oceans. I worry more about the waterworks around the world flooding us all out.
I just hope that when the Queen carries the Olympic flame, the big-ass hat she's wearing doesn't catch on fire.
Lol that's not nice. Got to admit it's funny though.
Many years ago, I was in London to give a speech at a seminar. The cab driving us through downtown London was moving so slowly that I got out and walked ahead of my colleagues so that I could get there on time. Just wait until the Olympics get there!
The Brits tend to expect the worst and enjoy the best. I hope it works out well for them this summer.
For the good of British, Britain should stop giving asylums to all criminals, Islamic radicals and terrorists wanted in other nations.
Most of them have invented problems in Britain after a few years.
British and non-Muslim nations should kick out all the Saudi agents like Syrian human rights observatory and others misusing the British facilities. Let them move to some Muslim nations.
They will invent nuisances and then vanish. Ultimately, British will be hurt by permitting someone else's battles in their soils!