London Calling: Brits Take Over Games

Ironically, zebra crossings are decreasing in number because more and more drivers are flaunting that principle and that law. Many Brits claim it is because of the influx of foreigners. So, nothing seems straightforward in London.

Fireworks explode during the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at the National Stadium Aug. 24, 2008.

(Reuters/AP Photo )
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When British soccer star David Beckham popped up through the bus roof, the Beijing stadium crowd went wild. He is hugely popular in China, for his talent, and for his extremely profitable endorsement of sports kit. Beckham, who only stood there and kicked a ball into the crowd, was proof that western celebrities are now a cultural and economic force inside China.

London Mayor Boris Johnson, in a statement to British reporters, said all the correct things about how spectacular the Chinese Games were, but added that, even with half the Beijing budget, "I think that with British ingenuity, wit, and all the rest of it -- resourcefulness -- we are going to produce a games, opening ceremony, closing ceremony and everything in between that will be, in our own sweet way, just as fantastic."

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And Johnson could not resist some British style humour, almost right out of "Monty Python."

He said, tongue very much in cheek, "I say this respectfully to our Chinese hosts who have excelled magnificently at ping-pong, ping-pong was invented on the dining tables of England."

He added, with his voice rising in mock oratory, "I say to the Chinese, I say to the world, ping-pong is coming home."

Ping-pong may be coming home, but it is coming to what is now a construction site in east London. The 2012 London Olympic Park had a budget of around $6 billion in 2005, but that has now exploded to $18 billion. Johnson has pledged to hold the line on any more spending of tax payers' money. Can you imagine the Chinese government having to do that in Beijing, despite the economic hardships of many citizens there?

Don't expect a Beijing-style show in 2012. Is that bad?