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Summer Olympics 2012 London
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The 'ghost town' Games: Businesses pay the price for deserted streets as 1.5m workers stay at home to stop London seizing up
As many as 1.5million people are working from home during the Olympics in what experts warned could prove a damaging blow to the capital’s economy.
Thousands of civil servants who would normally be at their desks in Whitehall have taken advantage of an offer of ‘flexible working’ while the Games are on.
And many big blue-chip firms, including the taxpayer-backed Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland, have allowed staff to stay away from their offices following apocalyptic warnings of travel chaos.
Enlarge
Trade hits rock bottom: Small businesses and sole traders vent their anger after messages to stay away from the capital have led to a slump in takings during the Games
Now that it is clear the transport network is coping with Games visitors, there are calls for both the public and private sector to rethink ‘work from home’ policies.
Retailers are warning that key parts of London have been turned into ‘ghost towns’ as workers who would normally be buying lunches, taking taxis, doing some lunchtime shopping or having an after-work drink stay away.
Where is everyone? A deserted Regent Street in London. Businesses say the centre of the city has become a 'ghost town' during the Olympics
Almost three in ten employers are accommodating requests by staff to work from home. Some 17 per cent said they were extending flexible working opportunities, allowing staff to vary hours, while 13 per cent are actively encouraging staff to work from home.
The London Chamber of Commerce estimated that 1.5million of the 5million people who work in London will work from home at some point over the next two weeks.
Chief executive Colin Stanbridge said: ‘Eighty per cent of companies offer some form of remote working, and I think up to a million and a half employees will take advantage of that at this special time.’
An estimated 800 Ministry of Justice staff are working from home, while around 400 London-based Department for Work and Pensions staff have relocated to offices outside the capital.
In total, more than 4,000 civil servants normally working in London – around six per cent of the total – are thought to have taken advantage of the offer to work from home.
A Department for Transport spokesman said: ‘Indications are that less than six per cent of civil servants are working from home and that many more are choosing to do their bit by adapting their commute, with some changing their choice of transport or route and others the times at which they travel.’
Britain’s biggest bank, HSBC, revealed that 40 per cent of its 8,500 staff based in Canary Wharf are working from home – 3,400 individuals.
The bank said it was acting on the advice of Transport for London and the Olympics Committee to reduce congestion at some of London’s key Tube stations during the Games.
A spokesman rejected claims that staff will be tempted to slack off.
He said: ‘People work harder from home. Lots of our staff have a one and a half hour journey to and from work.’
Other firms and institutions to have let workers avoid the chaos that has failed to materialise include the Bank of England, BP and British Gas.
Lloyds, one of the main Olympics sponsors, said some of its staff are working from home. The state-backed bank said this includes ‘non-customer facing’ staff who have to commute from outside the capital.
Hundreds of staff at taxpayer-owned RBS are also expected to work from home and the Bank of England confirmed some staff are also doing so.
Drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline, based in West London, said staff have been encouraged to work from home. However, analysts warn that many staff will be less productive than if they were in the office.
George Buckley, UK economist at Deutsche Bank, said: ‘The risk is that you can’t or don’t do as much from home, so while people may report similar hours worked their output – and therefore productivity – will be lower.’ Samuel Tombs, of Capital Economics, said: ‘The TV coverage of the Olympics will presumably be a big distraction.’
Pierre Williams, of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: ‘A lot of small businesses are feeling very hard pressed: not only are they facing the ongoing recession, declining consumer confidence and demand, they are now seeing the expansion of working from home in the public sector.’
Rebecca Clake of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development said: ‘Employers should communicate very clearly what their policy is, for example, whether employees are allowed to keep track of the Games online or whether they take a zero-tolerance approach.’
As many as 1.5million people are working from home during the Olympics in what experts warned could prove a damaging blow to the capital’s economy.
Thousands of civil servants who would normally be at their desks in Whitehall have taken advantage of an offer of ‘flexible working’ while the Games are on.
And many big blue-chip firms, including the taxpayer-backed Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland, have allowed staff to stay away from their offices following apocalyptic warnings of travel chaos.
Enlarge
Trade hits rock bottom: Small businesses and sole traders vent their anger after messages to stay away from the capital have led to a slump in takings during the Games
Now that it is clear the transport network is coping with Games visitors, there are calls for both the public and private sector to rethink ‘work from home’ policies.
Retailers are warning that key parts of London have been turned into ‘ghost towns’ as workers who would normally be buying lunches, taking taxis, doing some lunchtime shopping or having an after-work drink stay away.
Where is everyone? A deserted Regent Street in London. Businesses say the centre of the city has become a 'ghost town' during the Olympics
Almost three in ten employers are accommodating requests by staff to work from home. Some 17 per cent said they were extending flexible working opportunities, allowing staff to vary hours, while 13 per cent are actively encouraging staff to work from home.
The London Chamber of Commerce estimated that 1.5million of the 5million people who work in London will work from home at some point over the next two weeks.
Chief executive Colin Stanbridge said: ‘Eighty per cent of companies offer some form of remote working, and I think up to a million and a half employees will take advantage of that at this special time.’
An estimated 800 Ministry of Justice staff are working from home, while around 400 London-based Department for Work and Pensions staff have relocated to offices outside the capital.
In total, more than 4,000 civil servants normally working in London – around six per cent of the total – are thought to have taken advantage of the offer to work from home.
A Department for Transport spokesman said: ‘Indications are that less than six per cent of civil servants are working from home and that many more are choosing to do their bit by adapting their commute, with some changing their choice of transport or route and others the times at which they travel.’
Britain’s biggest bank, HSBC, revealed that 40 per cent of its 8,500 staff based in Canary Wharf are working from home – 3,400 individuals.
The bank said it was acting on the advice of Transport for London and the Olympics Committee to reduce congestion at some of London’s key Tube stations during the Games.
A spokesman rejected claims that staff will be tempted to slack off.
He said: ‘People work harder from home. Lots of our staff have a one and a half hour journey to and from work.’
Other firms and institutions to have let workers avoid the chaos that has failed to materialise include the Bank of England, BP and British Gas.
Lloyds, one of the main Olympics sponsors, said some of its staff are working from home. The state-backed bank said this includes ‘non-customer facing’ staff who have to commute from outside the capital.
Hundreds of staff at taxpayer-owned RBS are also expected to work from home and the Bank of England confirmed some staff are also doing so.
Drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline, based in West London, said staff have been encouraged to work from home. However, analysts warn that many staff will be less productive than if they were in the office.
George Buckley, UK economist at Deutsche Bank, said: ‘The risk is that you can’t or don’t do as much from home, so while people may report similar hours worked their output – and therefore productivity – will be lower.’ Samuel Tombs, of Capital Economics, said: ‘The TV coverage of the Olympics will presumably be a big distraction.’
Pierre Williams, of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: ‘A lot of small businesses are feeling very hard pressed: not only are they facing the ongoing recession, declining consumer confidence and demand, they are now seeing the expansion of working from home in the public sector.’
Rebecca Clake of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development said: ‘Employers should communicate very clearly what their policy is, for example, whether employees are allowed to keep track of the Games online or whether they take a zero-tolerance approach.’
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Just how far the Chinese go to win gold: Parents reveal devastating family secret they kept for a year so diving star daughter wasn't distracted from Olympic event
Winning an Olympic gold should be a moment of great joy for any athlete at London 2012.
But for Chinese diver Wu Minxia securing her golden hat-trick on Sunday at the Aquatic Centre in east London was followed by shock and sadness.
Straight after a triumph in the women's Synchronised 3m Springboard that made her a legend in her sport, the 26-year-old's family decided it was the right time to tell her a devastating family secret.
They admitted to their daughter that her grandparents died - over a year ago. And instead of telling her, they kept it back.
Wu's family also revealed that her mother had been battling breast cancer for several years, something Wu had no idea about.
The reasoning was clear: they wanted her to win at all costs and didn't want family matters to interfere with her diving career.
Wu, who with teammate He Zi won the last two synchronised gold medals in Athens and Beijing, was an overwhelming favourite to win gold again and successfully lead China's quest to unite every Olympic and world diving gold medal.
She was under intense pressure to succeed - and so were her family.
Father Wu Yuming said: 'It was essential to tell this white lie.'
Wu Minxia of China, left, was told her mother had been battling breast cancer for several years, something she had no idea about
China's Wu Minxia and He Zi dive during the springboard diving event at the London 2012 Olympic Games
Wu began diving training at the age of six, and left home at 16, bound for a government aquatic training institute.
She is one of her sport's brightest stars, and part of that is thanks to the price paid by her personal life.
'We accepted a long time ago that she doesn't belong entirely to us,' Wu Yuming told the Shanghai Morning Post.
'I don't even dare to think about things like enjoying family happiness.'
Wu's mother defended her decision by saying she decided to wait until her breast cancer was in remission before breaking the news to her daughter of her condition.
The admission has sparked a debate in China over the country's win-at-all-costs mentality when it comes to the Olympics.
The pursuit of success has been publicly chased by the government-backed sports national sports program with unshakeable zeal over the past two decades.
In a country where messages of congratulations from the government to athletes through the state news agency are only sent to gold medalists, not those winning silver or bronze, there now there seems to be a backlash against this mentality.
After the revelations about Wu followed fierce criticism from a national newspaper when a 17-year-old weightlifter failed to medal.
Tinged with sadness: Minxia Wu of China celebrates her gold medal in women's Synchronised 3m Springboard. She was then told the devastating secret
Winning an Olympic gold should be a moment of great joy for any athlete at London 2012.
But for Chinese diver Wu Minxia securing her golden hat-trick on Sunday at the Aquatic Centre in east London was followed by shock and sadness.
Straight after a triumph in the women's Synchronised 3m Springboard that made her a legend in her sport, the 26-year-old's family decided it was the right time to tell her a devastating family secret.
They admitted to their daughter that her grandparents died - over a year ago. And instead of telling her, they kept it back.
Wu's family also revealed that her mother had been battling breast cancer for several years, something Wu had no idea about.
The reasoning was clear: they wanted her to win at all costs and didn't want family matters to interfere with her diving career.
Wu, who with teammate He Zi won the last two synchronised gold medals in Athens and Beijing, was an overwhelming favourite to win gold again and successfully lead China's quest to unite every Olympic and world diving gold medal.
She was under intense pressure to succeed - and so were her family.
Father Wu Yuming said: 'It was essential to tell this white lie.'
Wu Minxia of China, left, was told her mother had been battling breast cancer for several years, something she had no idea about
China's Wu Minxia and He Zi dive during the springboard diving event at the London 2012 Olympic Games
Wu began diving training at the age of six, and left home at 16, bound for a government aquatic training institute.
She is one of her sport's brightest stars, and part of that is thanks to the price paid by her personal life.
'We accepted a long time ago that she doesn't belong entirely to us,' Wu Yuming told the Shanghai Morning Post.
'I don't even dare to think about things like enjoying family happiness.'
Wu's mother defended her decision by saying she decided to wait until her breast cancer was in remission before breaking the news to her daughter of her condition.
The admission has sparked a debate in China over the country's win-at-all-costs mentality when it comes to the Olympics.
The pursuit of success has been publicly chased by the government-backed sports national sports program with unshakeable zeal over the past two decades.
In a country where messages of congratulations from the government to athletes through the state news agency are only sent to gold medalists, not those winning silver or bronze, there now there seems to be a backlash against this mentality.
After the revelations about Wu followed fierce criticism from a national newspaper when a 17-year-old weightlifter failed to medal.
Tinged with sadness: Minxia Wu of China celebrates her gold medal in women's Synchronised 3m Springboard. She was then told the devastating secret
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It certainly seems as though people have stopped attending them. I do find it funny that Britain has enlisted the military to serve as seat fillers at the games.
Someone should tell them though that camouflage only works if you look like your surroundings – they should have probably told them to come in civilian clothes as it would have looked more realistic. I can only imagine what our press would have said if the Chinese had filled their stadiums with uniformed soldiers instead of the general public.
Opening Ceremony: Disappointing Display
Two years I’d waited. Two long years! Finally, on Friday evening, after the Beef Lancashire was in the oven and the Schooldays Treacle was cooling, I sat down to watch the opening ceremony. I gotta be honest. I cried. All it took was the NBC intro half an hour before the opening ceremony began, with athletes uttering the words “Citius, Altius, Fortius” and their image on the screen interspersed with those of inconic British landmarks. And then, of course, when “Jerusalem” was sun by the children’s choir, I bawled. For someone like me whose earliest concept of the Olympics came from “Chariots of Fire,” it was pretty emotional. Yeah, I know. I’m an Olympics geek.
And then, it all seemed to go downhill from there. Oh, I hate to do this, because it’s still the Olympics and I’m loving every minute of sports coverage I’ve watched so far. But I have to say, the opening ceremony was incredibly disappointing. If there was an Olympic competition for opening ceremonies, London’s 2012 ceremony wouldn’t even have made the finals for a medal.
I understand that Danny Boyle might have felt that he couldn’t live up to the perfection of Beijing. Yet to just give up and not even try for spectacular….Where’s the Olympic spirit in that?
The entire production was done to appeal to television viewers, using more acting than choreography and visual effects which could be appreciated by those there in person and far away. The special effects of James Bond’s helicopter and Mr. Bean running on the beach were embarrassing. Really, they should have called Christopher Nolan for help. He’s British and pretty darn good at that stuff. I’m not even going to touch on the cycling doves which looked like ET in air. Or the creepy over-sized baby.
An opening ceremony that seemed to have only been produced for non-athletes, where the athletes themselves only came in during the last part of the ceremony was just bizarre.
It started out so well, with so much potential. I loved seeing Sir Kenneth Branagh come out, and there is no other choice than him to recite Shakespeare. But why did he have to be part of the Industrial Revolution while he recited lines from “The Tempest?” It’s as if Danny Boyle thinks that England and the United Kingdom had no history prior to beginning of the Industrial Revolution. There are so many options that Boyle had with United Kingdom as host. Here’s what I noticed was blatantly missing:
The United Kingdom had a very, very rich history prior to the Industrial Revolution. Where was the homage to the Celts? Ever heard of or seen Stonehenge, Danny?
If James Bond and Mary Poppins can parachute down, why not Pooh?
What about the legend of Robin Hood–You know, the fellow who was an archer?
There’s Sir Francis Drake, the Tudor Dynasty, and of course, Shakespearean plays with the Medieval costume to accompany them.
What about Admiral Nelson? Doesn’t London have a square with a column in his honor (Trafalgar Square)?
How about John Constable the artist? Oh, the imagery that could’ve been done using special effects to create a Constable painting….
I love J.M. Barrie, but what about Dickens? Or A.A. Milne of Winnie the Pooh fame? Rudyard Kipling? Hello?
Where was inclusion of the all constituent nations of the United Kingdom? Why no bagpipes and Scottish dancing? Irish dancing from Northern Ireland? And Wales? Wales has produced numerous singers, most recently Charlotte Church and Katherine Jenkins. Yet no one was there to properly represent the Welsh.
The last time London hosted the games, it was right after World War II, one of the darkest periods in British history. Yet no mention was made of this. Our television coverage only showed actors in World War I costume. No homage to Winston Churchill and the great speeches he gave during this time?
The UK has produced a wealth of great musicians, and I’m glad that some of them were included. Yet the entire scene between a girl and guy who try to connect using cell phones took way too long. Why not have more bands actually perform–including bands whose members are all still alive? The Who? Rolling Stones?
Where was the oath by the judges and athletes? Did NBC just edit this portion out?
Where was the proper accolade for athletes like Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell? Or the 1948 Olympians who are still living? It sure wasn’t in the lighting of the cauldron.
Ah, the lighting of the cauldron. Oh, London! The choice of non-celebrity athletes to light the cauldron was an epic fail and completely cemented the entire let-down of the evening. While I appreciated the symbolism of the copper petals representing all 204 nations, rising together to form a large cluster of burning flames, when I think of what a moment the lighting of the cauldron could have been with actual famous athletes lighting doing the honor, it just makes me sad.
What did stick out in my mind was an athlete–one particular athlete. For Dana Abdul-Razak, carrying her country’s flag and being part of the Olympic Games was a very emotional experience. As the Iraqi sprinter led her small delegation into the stadium, she looked about in awe of the cheering crowd, biting her lip to hold back the tears that welled in her eyes. The tears began to fall down her cheeks. For an athlete who comes from a country ravaged by war, whose journey to make it to London is more difficult that others’…to be so humbled by this experience….This is what the Olympics are all about, folks.
Fortunately for this fanatic, the sport and athletes are what are most important to me, and I’m still enjoying these games!
Faster, Higher, Stronger.
Two years I’d waited. Two long years! Finally, on Friday evening, after the Beef Lancashire was in the oven and the Schooldays Treacle was cooling, I sat down to watch the opening ceremony. I gotta be honest. I cried. All it took was the NBC intro half an hour before the opening ceremony began, with athletes uttering the words “Citius, Altius, Fortius” and their image on the screen interspersed with those of inconic British landmarks. And then, of course, when “Jerusalem” was sun by the children’s choir, I bawled. For someone like me whose earliest concept of the Olympics came from “Chariots of Fire,” it was pretty emotional. Yeah, I know. I’m an Olympics geek.
And then, it all seemed to go downhill from there. Oh, I hate to do this, because it’s still the Olympics and I’m loving every minute of sports coverage I’ve watched so far. But I have to say, the opening ceremony was incredibly disappointing. If there was an Olympic competition for opening ceremonies, London’s 2012 ceremony wouldn’t even have made the finals for a medal.
I understand that Danny Boyle might have felt that he couldn’t live up to the perfection of Beijing. Yet to just give up and not even try for spectacular….Where’s the Olympic spirit in that?
The entire production was done to appeal to television viewers, using more acting than choreography and visual effects which could be appreciated by those there in person and far away. The special effects of James Bond’s helicopter and Mr. Bean running on the beach were embarrassing. Really, they should have called Christopher Nolan for help. He’s British and pretty darn good at that stuff. I’m not even going to touch on the cycling doves which looked like ET in air. Or the creepy over-sized baby.
An opening ceremony that seemed to have only been produced for non-athletes, where the athletes themselves only came in during the last part of the ceremony was just bizarre.
It started out so well, with so much potential. I loved seeing Sir Kenneth Branagh come out, and there is no other choice than him to recite Shakespeare. But why did he have to be part of the Industrial Revolution while he recited lines from “The Tempest?” It’s as if Danny Boyle thinks that England and the United Kingdom had no history prior to beginning of the Industrial Revolution. There are so many options that Boyle had with United Kingdom as host. Here’s what I noticed was blatantly missing:
The United Kingdom had a very, very rich history prior to the Industrial Revolution. Where was the homage to the Celts? Ever heard of or seen Stonehenge, Danny?
If James Bond and Mary Poppins can parachute down, why not Pooh?
What about the legend of Robin Hood–You know, the fellow who was an archer?
There’s Sir Francis Drake, the Tudor Dynasty, and of course, Shakespearean plays with the Medieval costume to accompany them.
What about Admiral Nelson? Doesn’t London have a square with a column in his honor (Trafalgar Square)?
How about John Constable the artist? Oh, the imagery that could’ve been done using special effects to create a Constable painting….
I love J.M. Barrie, but what about Dickens? Or A.A. Milne of Winnie the Pooh fame? Rudyard Kipling? Hello?
Where was inclusion of the all constituent nations of the United Kingdom? Why no bagpipes and Scottish dancing? Irish dancing from Northern Ireland? And Wales? Wales has produced numerous singers, most recently Charlotte Church and Katherine Jenkins. Yet no one was there to properly represent the Welsh.
The last time London hosted the games, it was right after World War II, one of the darkest periods in British history. Yet no mention was made of this. Our television coverage only showed actors in World War I costume. No homage to Winston Churchill and the great speeches he gave during this time?
The UK has produced a wealth of great musicians, and I’m glad that some of them were included. Yet the entire scene between a girl and guy who try to connect using cell phones took way too long. Why not have more bands actually perform–including bands whose members are all still alive? The Who? Rolling Stones?
Where was the oath by the judges and athletes? Did NBC just edit this portion out?
Where was the proper accolade for athletes like Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell? Or the 1948 Olympians who are still living? It sure wasn’t in the lighting of the cauldron.
Ah, the lighting of the cauldron. Oh, London! The choice of non-celebrity athletes to light the cauldron was an epic fail and completely cemented the entire let-down of the evening. While I appreciated the symbolism of the copper petals representing all 204 nations, rising together to form a large cluster of burning flames, when I think of what a moment the lighting of the cauldron could have been with actual famous athletes lighting doing the honor, it just makes me sad.
What did stick out in my mind was an athlete–one particular athlete. For Dana Abdul-Razak, carrying her country’s flag and being part of the Olympic Games was a very emotional experience. As the Iraqi sprinter led her small delegation into the stadium, she looked about in awe of the cheering crowd, biting her lip to hold back the tears that welled in her eyes. The tears began to fall down her cheeks. For an athlete who comes from a country ravaged by war, whose journey to make it to London is more difficult that others’…to be so humbled by this experience….This is what the Olympics are all about, folks.
Fortunately for this fanatic, the sport and athletes are what are most important to me, and I’m still enjoying these games!
Faster, Higher, Stronger.
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