There's less than four years to go. By the Spring of 2012, London will be one of the most-talked about cities in the world and when the Olympic Games finally get underway, the global media coverage will be extraordinary. I'm wondering though. What are we actually doing to make sure that London is ready to show off its full historical and traditional potential.
I recently went on an an organised trip to the Stratford site. If you get a buzz from seeing construction sites, trucks with huge wheels, men in hard hats - then this was just the place to go. I was more interested to see how much the area had changed since my last visit three years ago.
It was a total transformation. There was not an inch of greenery on the site whereas my the photographs I took back in 2005 pictured the place as a wild-life haven - and a graveyard for smashed and burned-out cars. Can't expect much else really - but we have lost a slice of East London that was fascinating in a grotty sort of way.
Come 2012 it will be bristling with gleaming, modern buildings and sports facilities. The change will be far greater than Barack Obama is currently promising for the United States. What happens to the site afterwards is another story - but it will certainly not be anything like it was in 2005. There is one doubt, however; back then there were signs everywhere of dereliction and vandalism. We can't be sure - but it's not unusal to see Olympic venues drifting into decay and becoming eyesores and a drain on the finances of local authorities.
Remember what happened to London - Londinium - after the Roman Empire collapsed at the start of the 5th century AD. London was abandoned and over the next 100 years the City became deserted; buildings collapsed; the streets were overgrown and only occasional nomadic tribes inhabited the place. Let's hope we won't be recalling this story in the years following the 2012 Olympics!
Twenty years ago, no-one would have metioned Stratford and the Olympic Games in the same conversation. It just wasn't a talking point. Now it's a regular feature acoss the media and by the time the Games open it will be the major event of the decade for this country. Will we be ready to cope with all the hype, organisation and millions of visitors? Of course we will - but I just wonder how many people still believe that "it will all come right on the day". Complacency may prove to be disastrous.
