One of the major questions to have emerged during the London riots this week was whether they would have any impact on next summer’s Olympic Games, which will be hosted in the British capital. Many of the sites of the disturbances, such as Hackney, are only a few miles away from the Olympic Park in Stratford and significant security concerns have been raised.
The signs of the last week have not been encouraging. England’s football friendly against Holland was cancelled on Wednesday after the FA made it clear that they could not guarantee the safety of the players, while three Carling Cup games that were due to be played in the capital were postponed. This weekend’s opening Premier League fixture between Tottenham Hotspur and Everton was also put off amidst security fears. Tottenham’s home ground, White Hart Lane, is situated close to where the riots first began. The current mood is in stark contrast to the scenes of excitement and joy that took place in Trafalgar Square only three weeks ago as the IOC President, Jacque Rogge formally invited 202 Olympic committees to participate at the Games during a one-year countdown ceremony. The event was attended by, among others, the Prime Minister David Cameron, Princess Anne and a crowd of thousands who managed to pack themselves into the Square. In typically bombastic style, Mayor of London, Boris Johnson announced to the world: “A year from today the curtain will be lifted on the London Games and I call on the world to come and enjoy what will be the greatest party that London, indeed the planet, has ever seen… Visitors to London next year will find the atmosphere electrifying, whether they are soaking up the sporting spectacle in the Olympic Park or enjoying the many fantastic events and attractions across the capital. We are set to welcome the world for the best Games in history.” Whether the world now turns up or not is open for question.
Security concerns aside the greatest fear is that the image of the city has been damaged in the eyes of potential visitors who plan on attending the Games. Images of buildings being burned to the ground by disaffected youth and shops and businesses being looted are hardly a glowing advertisement for the world. People outside of the UK would have been further perturbed at the video which emerged on youtube of Malaysian student, Ashraf Haziq, who was mugged by a gang of rioters as he lay on the ground injured. This is not the first time that a national outrage and the Olympics have been forced to come together. Only a few months ago, Met Police Assistant Commissioner John Yates, quit after growing pressure amid the phone-hacking scandal. Although viewed as having done nothing wrong in most quarters, Yates cited the 2012 Games, and not the scandal itself, as one of the principal causes of his resignation. “The threats that we face in the modern world are such that I would never forgive myself if I was unable to give total commitment to the task of protecting London and the country during this period.” But how worried should we really be? Measures for heavy policing were already in place amidst fears of potential terror attacks during the games. If anything the recent riots will only serve to beef up security and alert the authorities to a potential threat to security that would otherwise have remained below the radar – the people in charge of hosting the Olympics have been fully reminded of the complications of holding an event of this scale It is also worth adding that many of the localities where the disturbances took place were in parts of the city that are hardly high on the must-see itineraries of most tourists. In an encouraging sign, a number of test events including beach volleyball, which was held this week at Horse Guard’s Parade, passed off safely without any trouble and sent a message that as far as the preparations went, everything was business as usual. In any case the International Olympic Committee has expressed its confidence that the Olympics will be secure, though the Committee added that the responsibility for the safety of visitors lay with local authorities. The Committee said: “Security at the Olympic Games is a top priority for the IOC. It is, however, directly handled by the local authorities, as they know best what is appropriate and proportionate. We are confident they will do a good job in this domain.”
