And what O2 fiasco would that be, then Glidd? The O2 dome was completed on time, and the design and construction of the building was a superb example of a 100% successful all-British project & a totally original concept. During the year 2000 around 5 million visitors attended the millenium exhibition, which again was completely successful. The dome is not just still standing, it is now iconic, immensely popular, and profitable for its current operators. If that is a "fiasco", I hope we may have a few more of them.
It's absolutely awesome. Just goes to show how us Brits can put on a good show and get results when we want to. I've been to a few of the events and the organisation is AAA, great to see servicemen there (they are very professional).
Trouble is, 5 million visitors was around 7 million less than were expected to turn up, and the whole project cost £200million more than expected. I wouldn't call that success:frown:
Originally Posted by Pete1950 And what O2 fiasco would that be, then Glidd? The O2 dome was completed on time, and the design and construction of the building was a superb example of a 100% successful all-British project & a totally original concept. During the year 2000 around 5 million visitors attended the millenium exhibition, which again was completely successful. The dome is not just still standing, it is now iconic, immensely popular, and profitable for its current operators. If that is a "fiasco", I hope we may have a few more of them. Trouble is, 5 million visitors was around 7 million less than were expected to turn up, and the whole project cost £200million more than expected. I wouldn't call that success:frown: Thanks for that Figaro. I just remember the massive adverse publicity the thing got at the time - indeed the huge budget overspend. I will admit happily, having been there, that it is now a great venue and good uses have been found for it. But it wasn't always that plain sailing. Also Terminal 5 is a great bit of airport - especially in comparison with the creaking Gatwick, the barn-like Stanstead, and underbelly of the rest of Heathrow which looks like something out of the spaceship in the original Alien. But the opening and initial weeks and months were catastrophic.
The time it spent closed between 2001 and 2005 costing £1 million a month to maintain, till it was reopened by Meridian Delta Ltd and renamed the 02 Arena backed by the American Philip Anschutz, who's Anschutz Entertainment Group ploughed £600 million into the refurbishment to reopen it in 2007 in it's current guise, is not far from a fiasco and hardly a 100% British project as we don't even own it.
The incredible efforts of all our sportsmen and women have made me proud to be British! I don't care which part of our country they come from, I just want to see them give their all in their chosen sport and that is something that has happened, the venue looks to be superb and the reports seem to suggest that everything is flowing well. That says to me that as a nation we have got it right, yes I did post that I thought the opening ceremony was too expensive, but the most important part for me are the participants and their efforts to be the best they can and so far they have done us proud! Well done to all involved. I too have watched more than I expected due to being laid up and the tv coverage has been pretty darn good to!
Wonder how many more medals we have in us....poor Tweddle just couldnt deliver the gold but a great bronze in that company. Must be the best feeling in the world to retire right at the top
What I said was "The O2 dome was completed on time, and the design and construction of the building was a superb example of a 100% successful all-British project & a totally original concept." You responded that it is now, 13 years later, owned by a non-British owner. From that, you deduce that it was therefore "hardly a 100% British project". Spot the non sequitur?
The biggest and most popular paid visitor attraction in the UK averages about 5 million visitors per year, which has been built up over many decades. For the Dome to equal that in 2000, from a standing start, was an amazing and unparallelled achievement. The idea that there might be 12 million visitors in a year was always a fantasy - you couldn't have physically transported enough people into and out of the Dome site each day. What a very British trait it is, to denigrate a fantastic British success because it wasn't even more impossibly successful!
We didn't build either, even though Laing and Robert McAlpine were the major contractors, Buro Happold were the engineers ...even 13 years ago so that makes it slightly less than 100% British and if your being pedantic it was the Millenium Dome when it was built, and the transformation from the white elephant it was to that of the 02 arena as it is now began 7 years ago. It did a grand firework display in 2003 tho Oh and if you couldn't be ar*ed to read the thread or missed my last post here it is again..... I always was proud to be British and more so English anyway. Ok there's massive monitory issues with the country right now and the games are taking a whole lump of money that could be used elsewhere. Etc etc. We have the forces fighting for control of opium in Afghanistan and waged someone else's war in Iraq etc. And a whole host of immigration issues to name but a few........ But whatever is going on I'm a Proud English Brit and nothing can or will remove that!
Hey, it wasn't me that set the bar, it was the very people that commissioned the product, and by any measure they failed. In fact the most noteworthy thing that happened to it was the attempted diamond heist...
Oh....was that not a success either then?....We should stick to trains were good at robbing those! :biggrin:
Jess Ennis can ride pillion with me, Il happily put the rear pegs and seat back on.......for her id do anything Except sell my bike.....or give up football
