Polls have indicated that the majority of the public think that the anticipated £9 billion expenditure was worth it. At a time when every penny of public money is being scrutinised what is the narrative that emerges post Olympics?
Of course numerous agendas, political or otherwise, are appropriating the Olympics and spinning a view that suits – multiculturalism is a success, Britain is not broken, state intervention has a role in society, kids need to be involved in competitive sport at school, graft, self sacrifice, deferred gratification and hard work by athletes offers a counterpoint to an instant celebrity obsessed culture. All of these possess a resonance but I believe there is a deeper message that is in danger of being lost within the prevailing culture. It is that sports matter and I mean really matter. By extension and thanks to a wonderfully rich and unexpected opening ceremony, I also include the arts. The arts matter and I mean really matter.
Tony Blair once spoke about the place of sports within cabinet discussion within his government – usually at the end of meetings as part of any other business. Commentators of all persuasions are bemoaning the role of football, rugby or hockey lessons as part of a wintry games period and positing the view that sports simply don’t work for everyone. Cameron believes Indian dancing is a poor substitute for proper aerobic activity. Such negative, uninformed and most of all such unimaginative perspectives are completely at odds with what most people have witnessed and expressed. The Olympics have captured the imagination of the country and the political and media narrative really need to embrace this one off opportunity to lift themselves into a new narrative space.
To take one example: to hear David Cameron, almost begrudgingly (it’s a lot of money he said) confirm £50m a year to support athletes in preparation for Rio is enough to make one despair. Government department overspends run into hundreds of millions of pounds and government department savings run into billions. There is a deeper psychological flaw at play here. I wonder if most politicians and members of the chattering classes had a miserable sports experience at school.
For the sports people that took part in the Olympics (and have yet to do so in the Paralympics to come) London 2012 was not a party, it was a pinnacle of achievement to which they aspired. For all, it was an opportunity to showcase the effort of years of training in all weathers, sustaining and recovering from injury, resisting competition for their place in the team; all of which require immense reserves of dedication, belief, sacrifice and the support of families and colleagues. They stand in stark contrast to the stories littering the press of failed business CEO’s taking outsize bonuses as companies fail and prominent members of our society failing to exercise proper responsibility and accountability. We owe these sportspeople a debt in showing us the best in ourselves, doubly so when they reveal themselves to be honest and ordinary folk. It is humbling to listen to an athlete, disappointed by their performance on the biggest stage, talking about learning and building on their experience. Such resilience and positivity are characteristics that we should be imbuing in all our young people. So lets not trivialise the impact of London2012.
In which case how might we create a meaningful legacy?
We need to re-remember that our society is not just built and sustained around a jobs, houses, health and education agenda. We are more than these things, crucial as they are. Sports (and the arts) are as important and not simply an adjunct to an already healthy society. There must be a physical and creative activity out there that suits every one of us – we know that physical and creative activity aids well-being as well as reducing the pressure on the health service. Their ability to raise our spirits and to underpin a sense of common purpose, locally as well as nationally, is too important to fund as a desirable add on. They help society to be healthy.
It raises questions about current funding value systems and received wisdom about the resourcing of sports, both at elite and community level. When the public expressed the view that the £9 billion bill for the Olympics was reasonable, politicians needed to listen. Now is the time to invest in grass roots sporting activity and the continuation of the elite sports programme. Politicians need to take advice from the experts and to invest in a sporting infrastructure that moves on from the old school diet of football, rugby and hockey. Why not handball, volleyball, judo, rhythmic gymnastics, water polo and even Indian dancing? Why not invoke some of the positivity from our sports folk and think anew what we can do and achieve, not fall back on old ways of thinking. If the politicians can’t be bothered then support the institutions that can be.
What can be done nationally can be done locally! There are countless examples by which sporting and cultural events are organised and delivered locally by volunteers. All of them have the ability to inculcate a sense of belonging and purpose. It might be the local cricket or rugby club. It might be the local village hall putting on an arts events. London2012 was enormous in its reach and yet smaller examples of the spirit it conjured up happen all the time. The value and role of civic society which reaches beyond sporting and cultural activity requires recognition and a bit of TLC – I mean the modest resources that helps them to keep going and not just kind words.
The role the state has to play – Will Hutton and Philip Hammond have interesting things to say on this front.
The training regimes in some sports, cycling for example, have lessons to teach all of us. The term ‘aggregate marginal gains’ whereby each individual component of a training programme is broken down, analysed and reconstructed to optimise the benefit from each section; it speaks volumes for the way the cycling team approached the Olympics.
I work in the arts and I swim to keep fit (I love it). I was lucky to get tickets for the rowing at Eton Dorney, which I loved and will never forget. I may be on a fool’s errand but much of what I have written applies just as much to the arts as to sports. The opening ceremony beguiled and entranced the nation and delivered what is a fundamental purpose of the arts – to hold a mirror up to our society and to reflect back who and what we are. It managed to encapsulate in one moment that which politicians have struggled for years to articulate. It showed rather than described and it had a resonance for the majority who saw what our country is in a much richer canvass than that of beefeaters and bowler hats. For that reason and the fact that the arts also allow for the individual to strive for success or to work as a team allowing for self expression and inclusivity. There are, of course, important differences. As Ken Robinson has said ‘you don’t leave the National Ballet asking who won?’
Looming large over this moment in time is the clear and uplifting, and yes inspiring, message – we’re better than we thought; not in a competitive sense but in what we are capable of achieving. We have a rare opportunity to capture the zeitgeist and realise a better future.
RL 15.8.2012