Olympic Games opening ceremony: is this a joke?

[Playbill]

I have just been told that the opening and closing ceremonies for next year's advertising extravaganza - sorry, Olympics - is going to cost £41,000,000.

How can this be possible? How many fireworks will they be letting off?

Bet the French breathed a sigh of relief when they 'lost out'.

This will put us on the same level as the Eurozone countries - debt wise.

[mungbeanz]

On the bright side the BBC will probably save about 41 million quid by not having to send its entire staff abroad to cover the stupid thing. Think of all the Top Gear they can produce with the savings!

[Messi_Ten]

If we cancel Christmas this year and next, would that not recover some of the costs?

[Messi_Ten]

Any BBC savings will be spent feeding Clarkson's ego!

[McMouse]

I'd rather spend £41 million on 2012 opening and closing ceremony that waging war on countries that pose no threat to UK.

[andy-hughes]

jno - I am sure you are joking, but I do wonder about the value of firfeworks.

That said, if I choose - and i do - to spend my money to entertain my grandchildren, that's fine, I have no problem.

If the goverfnmwent chooses to spend billions of pounds of tax payers money to entertain other countries, with little proportionate benefit to the country - then i have a very big problem

[ichkeria]

"I'd rather spend £41 million on 2012 opening and closing ceremony that waging war on countries that pose no threat to UK. "

Well, that's one way of looking at it I suppose :-)
It is a lot of money I absolutely agree and I happen to think that the Games are too big now. Nonetheless it does seem sad that so many people don't seem to have a single good thing to say about them
I remember the time when very few countries wanted to stage them and they were used as a political football. Now, no one wants to miss out and I happen to think that's a good thing. You can't always measure the value of things by balancesheets alone. Actually, if they really would spend the money earmarked for the opening and closing cerwmonies on something even more worthwhile then I'd not be against it, but we all know that that isn't going to happen for all sorts of reasons.
"Britain cancels Olympics to spend money on itself" - that would look great wouldn't it.

[jno]

they have several fireworks displays a year in London, now, andy (quite apart from Guy Fawkes ones), and every time I've been to see one it's been packed; people do just go to enjoy the spectacle. They're really not something I mind my rates being spent on.

But it does seem Brits are becoming meaner:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16064988

[Playbill]

I'll try and make my original question even clearer:

Does anyone know exactly what this huge amount of money will be actually be spent on?

Fireworks? People dancing? People singing?

Several comments here have suggested the money will be better spent on the Olympics than other government endeavours.

Maybe. But I'd like to know is where all the money - mine and yours - ends up. The buildings will finished (hopefully); the staff and security personnel are in place anyway. So to put it even plainer, in whose pockets does the extra £41 or £81 million end up?

[jake-the-peg]

Playbill

NBC has agreed to pay $4.2 Billion for the US media rights alone to the next two summer and winter Olympics.

Is that big enough for you?

[Playbill]

No.

Big was not the question. The question was to whom does the money go.

It may be a trifle amount to you, jake; but I would like to know how that much can be spent on an opening and closing ceremony.

[ichkeria]

Apologies if I am speaking out of turn, but I think that jake's point was that it's not all one-way traffic. Sure a lot of money is being laid out, but a lot of money equally is also coming in.

[Playbill]

Yes I can understand jake's point. And I can also understand that the construction and running of the numerous venues is costing a lot of money.

But he, like other responders have failed to answer a simple question.

Where is the millions being spent on the opening ceremony going; who or what is it being spent on?

It is becoming obvious that nobody on this forum knows: some do not even seem to care.

[ichkeria]

"Where is the millions being spent on the opening ceremony going; who or what is it being spent on?

It is becoming obvious that nobody on this forum knows: some do not even seem to care. "

If you really want to know that why not contact the organising committee or look at the website for possible information. I suspect no-one here has much insight into the ins and outs of the organisation of the games, hardly surprisingly.
Then come back and let everyone know :-)

[jno]

it is unfortunate that Lord Coe is not on AB much these days to answer yoor question... but I suspect he wouldn't, anyway. You'll be pleased to hear that others are asking the same question and a Channel 4 investigation is coming up

http://www.thisislond...-games-chiefs-told.do

[Zeuhl]

Well the new Spiderman musical on Broadway spent $75 million in development.

All those leg warmers are expensive.

[Playbill]

So, finally a sort of answer: nobody knows what the money is being spent on.

Or is not telling.

The company accounts will be filed a month after the games have finished, and then may tell us - or may not.

Probably be listed under petty cash: unfortunately the petty cash comes out of my tax payments.

[JonnyBoy12]

Where is people's sense of national pride? We should be proud to host the Games as have heard that the continent of Africa has NEVER hosting these events.

Is this information correct?

[askyourgran]

I wonder why johnnyboy.

[andy-hughes]

JonnyBoy12 - national pride is fine, if you have the deep pockets to back it up with an Olympic Games - but as the government announce that the biggest hardship year for the ecconomy is going to be 2012, I suggest that this is a colossal waste of money for what is essentially a government ego trip.