I can understand why people are cynical about the Olympics.  It’s costing us quite a lot of money (but 476 million below the 9.3 billion, yes billion, pound budget), if you live or work around London it’s going to be an absolute nightmare to travel from A to B, and if you’re not into sport you’re going to be stuck with wall to wall Olympic coverage for at least 3 weeks this summer.

However, as much as I can understand this point of view, I’m incredibly excited about the fact that the biggest sporting event in the world is coming to London.  It may be due to the fact that my tickets arrived this week, or because I’m writing this with footage of the Olympic torch winding it’s way around Salford in the background, or it could be because it’s being held a stones throw from where I used to live!

However the true value of the Olympics will not be the potential short term boosts in morale and commerce, but the longer term benefits the games can potentially provide (I think people involved within the organisation of the Olympics call it ‘Legacy’).  Personally on this point, I’m hopeful….but not convinced.  Recent Games have been successful in providing longer term benefits (for example, Atlanta) and then some have been not particularly successful (for example, Sydney and Athens).  So, What do you think will be the long term benefits (if any) of having the Olympics in London?