London Admits It Can't Top Lavish Beijing Olympics When It Hosts 2012 Games
Facing an economic downturn, British officials are trying to keep costs down
By Thomas K. Grose
Posted August 22, 2008
LONDON—How can London, host of the 2012 Olympic Games, possibly compete with China? How can it top the eye-popping pyrotechnics, the cast of thousands, and the architectural gem of a stadium that were part and parcel of the successful Beijing 2008 Olympics?
"The International Olympic Committee themselves recognize that [Beijing] is the last edition of a games which is going to look and feel like this," says Sebastian Coe, head of the London Olympics organizing committee. The London games, Coe adds, won't attempt to equal the "scale and stature" of the extravaganza in Beijing.
Facing an economic downturn, British officials are trying to keep costs down
By Thomas K. Grose
Posted August 22, 2008
LONDON—How can London, host of the 2012 Olympic Games, possibly compete with China? How can it top the eye-popping pyrotechnics, the cast of thousands, and the architectural gem of a stadium that were part and parcel of the successful Beijing 2008 Olympics?
"The International Olympic Committee themselves recognize that [Beijing] is the last edition of a games which is going to look and feel like this," says Sebastian Coe, head of the London Olympics organizing committee. The London games, Coe adds, won't attempt to equal the "scale and stature" of the extravaganza in Beijing.
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