How’s your Olympics so far? Surely even the most sceptical of naysayers must have been swept up by the spirit of the Games by now?
The startling national medal success! The raw emotion of the athletes (such endless tears)! The Queen and 007! The lack of traffic on the roads! It’s been a whirlwind few days in London, that’s for sure. And even Mrs Kentishtowner – a staunch Olympics grump – was swooning over Usain Bolt’s victory last night.
So at this midpoint, with the city in the throes of what’s proving to be an astonishing collective experience, it feels like we’re all a little bit giddy and the giant merry-go-round isn’t over yet. But eventually this ride will come to an end, and talk of legacy will be the hot debate for years to come.
Seeing as the vast majority of Londoners have not been able to score event tickets, our Games experience is necessarily about open spaces. Be that big screen bonanzas in the parks, art installations like the London Booster or the lasting infrastructure changes to places like King’s Cross.
Whose Olympics? is a web-based project inspired by University College London’s ‘Grand Challenge’ of exploring Sustainable Cities. The site invites video submissions telling personal stories of how the coming of the Olympics is changing our relationship with our public space this summer, for better or for worse.
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While there is plenty of creative anti-corporate activism on show, the project keeps a refreshingly on-the-fence stance on the ultimate legacy of London 2012. After all, the real lasting impact of the Games is in our hands. Perhaps Londoners who once felt this juggernaut was being inflicted upon us will use its inevitable coming as a spur to start up the kind of events and activities they do want to see.
Here’s a Whose Olympics? video shot in Kentish Town back in June. It features the Home Zone Olympics, bravely flying in the face of the brand police with a quintessentially NW5 community sports (and cake) event.
Home Zone Olympics by whoseolympics
The Home Zone is defined by roads around Eleanor Palmer School that are designated safe from traffic and the idea of an annual sports get together there seems to be hugely positive for community relations. A small but important early legacy win?
With Kentish Town Community Centre and St Luke’s Church also throwing brand caution to the wind with their own Olympics-themed event over the weekend (did you go? Please add a comment/report below) could participatory sports bashes become an enduring way to party for years to come? Or are we just going to settle for booze and bunting again once the whole medal excitement has worn off?
And as for the mind bending cost of all the infrastructure, one walk through King’s Cross (let alone Stratford) should convince anyone that the Games coming to town will have positive implications for generations. Many still like to highlight the ‘white elephant’ stadia in previous Olympic cities, but London should be different. Just look at the Millennium Dome’s eventual transformation.
Of course, there will be failures on the periphery- such as news at the weekend that Newham Council-funded London Pleasure Gardens has gone into administration following a series of dramas including the Bloc Festival fiasco as they rushed to capitalise on an imagined Olympic gold rush.
But legacy will be personal to all of us. London is undeniably experiencing a Big Deal this summer. It may delight, it may infuriate. It might just be another excuse for a party. So, Kentishtowners, what happens next?
Words: Tom Kihl
Why It Matters is published in association with Discount Insurance
