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Editorial The "mainstream media" maybe froffing at the mouth over the Olympics happening in London in July, but the majority of Londoners have more pressing issues to concern themselves about, like will I have a job? Can I pay my mortgage? Are my children receiving a decent level of education?
The whole build up to the Olympics, in what is now being called the "fortress Olympics" with many Londoners either unable to buy tickets, despite all of us having to pay more Council Tax to help build the venues.
The organisers of the London Olympics have built all the venues on time, but what they have failed to do, is to build the "Olympic spirit" which will not only help the Games in July but will also carry forward the promised legacy, of more children taking up sport.
Figures published by Sports England show sports like tennis, seeing a drop of 50,000 from 487,500 participants in October 2008, to 437,500 in October 2010. The reason for this drop is not due to a lack of money, but a lack of a policy that will spread tennis to the areas of the country that will see the next Venus Williams develop.
Other big drops in participation have also been recorded in swimming with 3,244,400 in October dropping by 88,000 in October 2010 to 3,156,300. Football the so called national sport, saw figures drop 57,700 from 2,144,700 in October 2008, to 2,090,000 in October 2010.
Moreover if LOCOG and City Hall want to avoid having another Atlanta, which is what are likely to have, ie a Games with no spirit, no legacy of any credibility, the next seven months must see more children and schools involved in all that is Olympics.
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