London 2012: Basking in the Olympic afterglow

Over the last few weeks I have totally been bitten by the Olympic bug. As with lots of Londoners I wasn’t too bothered about the events before they started due to it being over budget and all the chaos it created in everyday life before it started. However after watching the opening ceremony for the 30th Olympiad I was HOOKED! Danny Boyle did an amazing job and all of the performers pulled it off without a hitch. The ceremony was quintessentially British and he really made it cinematic and his own. I have spoken to a lot of people who are visiting from overseas who said they didn’t get bits of it but for a British person those small obscure references really stood out and made it awesome viewing.

The Olympic Games have really been great for London. Not only in terms of the GB team doing incredibly well with 65 medals, 29 of which were gold but just lifting the whole countries spirits. What with the economic down turn over the last few years it has left a lot of us more down cast and surlier than usual (and you know how surly most of the English are)! The Olympics has given us a chance to cast aside problems and celebrate as a people if only for a little while. The light hearted, jovial carnival atmosphere that has swept the nation has been amazing to see and participate in. The Love the home crowd has shown to all the countries was really amazing to see and sets a great example to others. London truly stepped up to the proverbial plate.

Over the last 2 weeks I have seen the likes of Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis and Usain Bolt make history, break records and become legends. Although their images will be replayed and archived in the hallowed halls of fame. I am one of the lucky Millions (lol) who can say that they saw such amazing feats and roared them to glory. I can say that I watched Usain Bolt effortless seem to jog to gold whilst shrugging pretenders to the throne off. I can relive the moments Mo Farah became the first British double long distance Gold Olympian, all the while making his race look stylish. I will talk of the pride I felt watching Saudi women compete for the first time. I can say I my stomach plummeted and my heart soared as I willed the likes of Bradley Wiggins, Nicola Adams, Louis Smith, Ye Shiwen, Gabby Douglas, The Brownlee boys, Kirani James, David Rudisha, Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendelton, Greg Rutherford and so many others to glory.

As with many thousands I rejoiced as the sun burst forth gloriously for a lot of the games and made the pilgrimage to Hyde Park to watch the games, dance and sip wine. Jamaica house and Puma yard were truly the places to be. The vibes were so chilled and for most that couldn’t afford or didn’t get tickets this was the next best thing. I always rep London to the fullest but for the last few weeks I could not of been prouder of the GB team. We have definitely proven that we are up there with the big boys and not only know how to put on a show but perform outstandingly. I have to shout out the 70,000 Volunteers and East end who helped make this event as amazing as it was. Big ups to you guys!

The closing wasn’t as amazing as I thought it would be but there were definitely as few highlights. Emeli Sande definitely had a lot of love but unfortunately the spice girls didn’t get the zig-a-zig- ahh going and spice up my life. Sporty spiced looked nice though. Jessie J's body stocking was an abomination to man kind. Again it was a truly chilled British affair but I don’t think it was hyped enough to round off and close the curtain for the sporting theatrics we had witnessed. The last year has definitely been good for the history books. What with the Diamond Jubilee earlier this year we have definitely been reigning (tehee) on these bitches.

I am definitely looking forward to the next Olympics in Rio and can’t wait to see what they have in store for us. I definitely hope to see a live event before my dotage but until then I will wait with baited breath to see what the carnival section outfits will be like (you know they will have a carnival section lol).

As one of the best and futuristic cities in the world London has truly stamped our place amongst the greats and shown how to hold a truly momentous Olympics. Seb Coe and co have truly thrown down the gauntlet and shown how it’s done. Now I am sure Rio will put on a show but London 2012 will definitely go down in history. You came in your droves; we saw extraordinary events and the cream of the crop conquered. Lord Coe said Great Britain did it right but I say we smashed it!

Bring on the Paralympics and 2016 I say!

Smooches

Stephanie aka Wednesdays Girl

xoxo