Sporting Victories instead of Sporting Venues

Charitable fund raising activity has been high on the public agenda this weekend, as thousands of people have been raising money for Sports Relief. Having seen some of the videos, it is clearly a deserving cause.

However, events like this draw attention to the plight of many UK charities that are closing due to lack of grant funding. A lot of this is blamed on funds being directed towards the Olympic Games in 2012. If this is so, then things are surely going to get worse in the years ahead.

I was delighted to hear Sir Michael Parkinson suggest that the £12 billion pounds that the Government is spending on the Games would be better spent providing sporting facilities and coaching for the youth of today instead. He was being interviewed by Jonathon Ross in the Sports Relief show last Friday.

Well done, Parky! I was beginning to think I was the only person who held this view, which I’ve done since well before London was awarded the Games.

To me, the 2012 Olympic Games in London is like “The Emperor’s New Clothes”! No one seemed willing to question the validity of the decision to host the Games.

I don’t know if it’s too late to give up now, but I say let Paris host them. Let’s invest the money now nationally and perhaps we can have more Sporting Victories instead of Sporting Venues in London when it comes to 2012.

This would also help solve the growing problem of obesity and give the youth of today something useful to do outside school hours.

I suppose the likelihood of my suggestion happening is very small, but if public opinion, particularly in the North, was such that a Labour victory at the next election was in doubt, perhaps our politicians may have second thoughts.

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