大象传媒

Thank you for this article. Overall, I found the tone was much better than the onslaught on negativity coming from Britain as of late. Here are the main reasons why I think Britain has been so negative:

1) British athletes, who are excellent have not yet won a medal so the media tends to instead focus on other things. British media should encourage its athletes a little more by covering them.

2) British media have always been negative, especially in international affairs. When Brown when to the US on a state visit, all the UK media could talk about what an alleged snub by Obama and the fact that the US media wasn't paying enough attention to Brown.

3) This may be the most important point. London is hosting the 2012 games and they were already nervous about how they could be better than Beijing. Naturally, they will try to spin Vancouver's games as negatively as possible so that London will look good. This point has been validated by 2 UK articles stating very clearly that Vancouver's 'troubles' will help London. When you think about it though, Vancouver should be compared to other Winter Olympics and London should be compared to Beijing. The Winter and Summer Olympics are very much a different event.

Well said....

I am not in Vancouver or even Canada at the moment. I have, however, read many of the critiques of the Vancouver Games and some of them seem unfair. There is nothing that the Canadians can do to improve the weather conditions. The weather is fickle and the Vancouver organizers appear to be doing all that is possible to work around the unseasonably warm weather. As the Winter Olympics have grown in size and popularity, the number of prospective host cities has dwindled. Gone are the days when a Lake Placid or a St. Moritz could host the Games. The IOC will have to continue considering large cities in temperate locales for the Winter Olympics or scale back the scope of the Games.

It is unfair and irresponsible to lay the blame for the luge tragedy at the feet of the Vancouver organizers. The International Luge Federation approved the track and the IOC acquiesced to the training restrictions imposed on non-Canadian athletes. As for the chain link fence around the torch and the transportation snafus, I'm sure that the organizing committee will address them soon. The Games are still young.

The most important attribute of a host nation is to be warm and welcoming to all athletes and in that sense the Canadians have been wonderful hosts. I hope that the Brits, Russians, and Brazilians will be equally as gracious when they host the world.

A good article Roger. I read the link to the article in the Sun bashing the 大象传媒 coverage of the game and I must say what a lot of rubbish! I hope people can see through this constent 大象传媒 bashing in the newspapers. These newspapers just want rid of the 大象传媒 to further there own agendas and profits. 250,000 is a small amount of money compared to the overall 大象传媒 budget. The bbc has to spend money on these events as the view expects a high standard of coverage. For those newspapers that bash the games and focus on the 大象传媒 should really pay attention too and celebrate the sports taking place

I am a Canadian who lives roughly halfway between you and the Olympics. I too am observing from afar. I see the flaws - many caused by weather - but I choose to recognize that the difficulty in hosting such an event is massive. There are going to be problems. However, the focus on them is unbelievable. I think it is a sad representation of that which entertains people in the electronic age. Public execution in the western world disappeared with the Dark Ages, but with media growth comes the opportunity to once again find joy in the misery of others. Combine that with the unhealthy trend towards self-righteous indignance about anything and everything and you are left with a wasteland of negativity. It's one thing to report the news, but you need to recognize the impact in today's connected world. The media has a responsibility to temper itself and report facts appropriately.

This article is spot on!

I've been in Vancouver for 4 months and during the build up to the games there was a lot of negativity towards how much it's costing, how busy it will be etc. But since it has started it has been nothing short of amazing. The city has come to life and most people are enjoying the experience. I've not come across any negativity in the media over here, not sure if that has anything to do with Canada doing well medal-wise mind you.

An Olympic event is huge, the amount of time, resources needed is unimaginable and things will go wrong. They will go wrong in London 2012, Sochi 2014 and at every other Olympic event that comes after them.

So what if the Olympic flame is behind a fence! It's probably there to stop protesters climbing on it which would be an even bigger PR disaster for vanoc.

Embrace the games while they are on, leave the negativity until after they finish.

I'll list a few lies about British sport then:

1. Our stadia are the best in the world. Not so. We spent 拢750m+ on a Wembley stadium and blithely failed to put nearly enough gents' loos in. Masses of space for them. A refusal to do it. Pathetic. Not to mention totally inadequate public transport access, which means a 20 minute wait just to get to the tube station, let alone get on a train afterwards. Useless. The response to reporting that to the 大象传媒 and others was Wayne Rooney being pulled out of the following day's match, no doubt to some gamblers' gain.....I'm sure foreign fans coming, if they do, to the champions League final in 2011 will be free in their critical reports to their own media....and I hope they do.....about time too.
2. We want our fans to enjoy their day out. Rubbish. I went to the Carling Cup Final in Cardiff 2007 and some criminally stupid idiot scheduled major engineering works on the railway between Newport and Cardiff for that weekend. We got there on time, luckily. Some left Paddington at 8.45am and got there at 4.20pm. No announcements the night before about potential delays. A national disgrace. Particularly if it was instigated by London folks keen to sign off Cardiff's 7 year tenure as Cup Final City with a disaster.....not sure why the UK's febrile Press didn't run that on its front page, but usually money talks.......
3. Our sporting palaces are planned meticulously to ensure cutting edge transport approaches. Rubbish. About the only place that does is the Millennium Stadium. Stadium right by the train station, proper park and ride facilities on the motorways. Heathrow to Wembley? A joke. Twickenham? Out on a branch line. Eastlands? No train or tram at all. No thought put into it at all. Learn from Olympic Park for the future - at least there it's being done properly.......and hope that people can get to Eton Dorney without TOO many traffic jams......

It really does get pathetic that the UK Press think that trashing anything without proper thought is beneficial to humanity. It's not. We are bidding for 2018 against opponents with bigger budgets and better stadia. A bit of friendliness, measured judgement and honesty about our own track records (or lack of track where Picketts Lock was concerned) might not go amiss...and addressing genuine failings might be expected within 25 years of highlighting these issues in our forward-thinking, get-up-and-go planning utopia of a country......

IMHO....

A balanced and fair article here. Like you say, there has been an array of negativity here throughout the media, most notably tabloids, scathing in their review of the Winter Games thus far.

I'm sure there hasn't been a major event that's taken place where you can't pinpoint at least one aspect of the experience that wasn't picture perfect. Sure, the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing may have been one such event, but the city's known pollution problems in the build up to event were surrounded by, literally, blurry clouds of negativity.

Thus far, given it's uncontrollable problems regarding the weather, and the wmuch publicized death of the Georgian athlete, the Winter Games has been a fascinating experience, and that's just the coverage on TV. I can't imagine just how exhilarating it must be to actually be there in person, and the atmosphere looks fantastic, and that's testament to the Canadian people & the organisers.

I can only imagine the UK's media view the games in Vancouver as some sort of negative benchmark, & defence mechanism just in case our own games in 2012 don't go as swimmingly as some would hope. It's just the typical pessimistic nature of the British press, preferring to focus on the cons as opposed to the positives. Preparing for the worst, rather than hope for the best.

It's this diabolical attitude towards life that separates us from the likes of Canada.

I'll choose to hope for the best when it comes to London 2012.

As someone has already pointed out the weather is fickle and it is very unfortunate that this games have coincided with a El Nino something that traditionally wrecks the snow in that part of Canada. As Graham Bell pointed out the other night 3 out of the last 5 mens downhills have had to be moved because of the weather and the wrold cup is constantly being rescheduled.
Having read some of the criticism i get the impression that plenty of these journalists know very little about winter sports and i doubt whether some have even been to the mountains in winter outside of their free booze up at Olympics time.
As for Martin Samuel, well anyone thats read his articles over the years could have probably written that article for him, he's about as predictable as rain at Wimbledon!!!

Dear Mr. Furlong
c/o Allison Brown
Special Assistant
I would first like to take this opportunity to commend your VANOC organization for a very good Olympic Opening Ceremonies. I can only imagine the tireless dedication and commitment your team has exhibited for the past seven years. As a Canadian, born and raised in this great country, our family is extremely proud that our nation once again has the privilege of hosting the Olympic Games.
From its inception, the Olympic Games are not only an athletic competition, but an opportunity to promote the Olympic values of friendship, excellence and respect. The Olympic family embraces all cultures and religions under a spirit of collective solidarity and peace. One would suggest, Canada would be the ideal nation to host such an event, as our country is a cultural mosaic of tolerance, understanding and respect for all. Canada is a country of immigrants such as yourself, who have built this nation and also allows each citizen to express their cultural identity freely. We are the country, that most embodies the Olympic spirit, and in which immigrant first suggest they would like to migrate to because of our values and policies.
Mr. Furlong, it was with this immense pride, that my family and I were looking so forward to the Opening Ceremonies last Friday. As a visible minority and someone who understands the sacrifices of our immigrant pioneers I envisioned an Opening Ceremony which showcased to the world, 鈥渢he True Canada.鈥� A Canada, which rightfully paid respect to the First Nations community, and to the two founding fathers of our nation, Anglophone and Francophone. But regretfully, your VANOC organization missed a significant chapter in our history since the early 1900鈥檚; a picture in which immigrants from Europe, Asia and other continents came to this land of prosperity to 鈥渂uild this great nation.鈥� Immigrants with little or no funds or education, working on the railroads or in mill towns with a sincere desire to settling in Canada. As we are well aware, many of these immigrants were subjected to different forms of discrimination and could only lean on 鈥渆ach other for support鈥�, and these setbacks only made them more resolved in being Canadian. These pioneers have paved the way for each ethnic community and their sacrifices and contributions are recognized by our own federal government. For a second, let s just view Canada from a visitor鈥檚 point of view when he/she first lands at Vancouver International Airport. Immediately upon arrival, you observe many cultures, all working together and in harmony. In Canada, our federal policy of Multiculturalism fosters the promotion of cultural events, such the Chinese New Year, or Vasaikhi because this is our opportunity to celebrate, learn and educate fellow citizens.
I would suggest, the opening ceremonies should have included cultural items from various immigrants communities, each dressed in your their ancestral dress. (ex. Its a small world at Disneyland) I did not also see many visible minorities participating in the Opening ceremonies, or proudly portrayed in the background. For example, in the past, RCMP members from visible minorities have been stationed in key public positions to sensitively portray the 鈥渢rue image of Canada.鈥� Lastly, and most disappointing of all, was the exclusion of any visible minority in the final flag bearer or torch relay. Please do not take this criticism to those outstanding Canadians who were given this privilege. Each of them has made our nation very proud and I do not dispute their contributions. However, I think in selecting these final role models, I believe your selection criteria overlooked the basic criteria, 鈥渄o these selections represent our nation鈥檚 diversity.鈥� If this question would have been asked by someone in the boardroom, then the names of Donovan Bailey and Daniel Igali would have never been omitted. They are both most deserving gold medalists and proud Canadians. But more importantly, they represent the 鈥渢he dream of every immigrant Canadian, the ideal that Canada is the Land of Opportunity.鈥� Some may reply to my criticism by stating that Daniel Igali participated in the Torch relay in Surrey, but this answer only further exposes the lack of sensitivity or understanding to ensuring diversity was displayed at the ceremonies.
In closing, please do NOT label my criticism as a protestor, grandstanding or dissatisfied with the games. Yesterday, my children and I proudly attended the Canadian Women鈥檚 Hockey Game at Canada Place because I wanted them to share the Olympic dream my parents provided my sisters and I in 1976. In that year, my mother and father saved hard earned money to travel by car across the country to experience these Olympics. My father drove 15 hours a day, because he wanted to watch the Opening Ceremonies at his cousin鈥檚 house in Montreal. Many years later, I felt the urge to attend the unity rally in Montreal, when it became apparent one of our founding provinces, Quebec, may separate. And today, my children and I proudly put up an 8 foot Canada flag on our front hedge as our neighbours honked their horns in approval. Similar to our parents, we try our very best to instil in our children that Canada is the best of both worlds, you are Canadian and you have the freedom to express your cultural heritage.
I would hope your organization may learn from this error in judgement. I also rightfully blame our ethnic members of your organization who fail to understand their responsibilities in conveying this inclusion of all cultural groups in the Olympic Ceremonies. Our nation is a cultural mosaic, and our diversity is our strength and frankly I am surprised in 2010 we need to continue educating our leaders on this Canadian Value. There is no shame or justifiable reason to not showcase this significant part of our Nation鈥檚 identity.

Sincerely
Sukhi Sandhu
Surrey, BC

Well, I for one have enjoyed this Olympics immensely, even if there have been some minor problems. The competition itself has already thrown up some memorable moments and the location has been a spectacle in itself, especially in HD.

As for the tragedy of Kumaritashvili's death, anyone who would use this to attack Vancouver and Canada in any way is a disgrace and if it has been mentioned in this way anywhere in the media, could someone please tell me which publications or organisations have done so, so I remember never to read or watch them again. As DCHeretic said, "The International Luge Federation approved the track and the IOC acquiesced to the training restrictions imposed on non-Canadian athletes"

... and criticising the weather in Vancouver is just stupid, it's weather for gods sake!!

I would also like to reflect some of the comments of the people above. I am a Vancouverite living in London and have done for 10 years. I am lucky enough to have my home and adopted cities hosting the olympics in the space of two years. Due to my work here I have also had the privilege of touring the currently under-construction Olympic park in London. I know almost every venue in both cities. They are very different but equally potentially great.

I know how generous Vancouver's people are and i know how remote Londoners can be. I know the reasons both games could be successful and I detest the spin that the British media are bringing to the winter games. I know most of what you read here is not true or taken from such a negative perspective it renders the value of the comment obsolete. Vancouver is doing everything to make the games great and there are tonnes of stories of people and the values of the games being promoted. But i am interested to see how the people in this glass house will be affected by throwing rocks.

The question should be raised about this inaccurate, biased and possibly xenophobic reporting. I have no doubt the furore at home will be noted by other countries and have affects. The two most obvious could be towards the current World Cup bid and the London Olympics. Other countries don't always appreciate the attitude from this country typically referred to as arrogance. The target being placed on London's games is huge.

My personal belief is there are too many reporters with not enough British athletes to cover so as opposed to investigating the interesting stories of the athletes, the city and the olympic ethos (the first zero carbon games) they would rather criticise. But how can you ask a female snowboard cross athlete about how she threw the gold away and how she can ever look at silver? Do you 'reporters' want to ruin people's lives? Its easy and typical of the press here.

Did anyone else see the 大象传媒's interview with the British Athletes that said these were the best facilities they had ever had? At least some people are enjoying the games.

It is also interesting to me that the press would highlight issues like transport and weather which are going to be extremely difficult and unpredictable in london. Or do none of the British press live here either.

The British press is being negative at this Games because people in Britain have become a lot more negative, envious and horrible in the last few years. Just look at the daily offerings in the Mail, a paper with a huge readership - almost all stories will be whinging about something and trying to whip their readers into a state of righteous indignation. I dread to think what their tone will be during our Games in 2012, a time which should see the whole country projecting a positive image of itself. Why should we not get it right? Yes there could be an issue with the weather, but there was in Beijing. Remember the horrible conditions Nicole Cooke won her gold in? didn't detract from the event at all.

The British media is increasingly nationalistic and xenophobic. It feeds our largely nationalistic and xenophobic populace. We get the media we deserve.

The only thing that matters in the Olympic games is the sport - and the sport has been fantastic.

The people of Vancouver should be proud of their games and ignore the shrill howls and shreiks from the tiny little nobodies in the press - they do not reflect everyone's views. It's just vultures selling hatred to ignoramuses to sell papers.

I wish our media would stop bashing the Vancouver games, despite whats happened, its been brilliant and the Brits are doing are best to show that we can become a good team in these games.
But the media bash our games....god sake...we havent host the games and already the daily mail screams how much it will cost, lighten up, may cost 拢9.3bn (or supposedly) and its critised, the 大象传媒 sent more reporters then British team members and gets critised, no-one in the British media actually took their rose-tinited glasses and actually saw that there are many more countries then just Team GB.
The 大象传媒 and Eurosport have done a really brilliant job and both have given us the games when they didnt really need to bother and this shows how much we enjoy the games whether Summer or Winter.
So, I would like to thank the 大象传媒 for such brilliant coverage and presenters like Barker, Irvine and Balding and a supporting team like Graham Bell and Ed Leigh from Ski Sunday, Paul Dickenson and Matt Chilton as commentators..its just gets better and better topped off with Eurosport's great coverage as well.

Who are the Olympics really for? Are they for the press, the athletes or, dare I say it... the residents of the city they reside in?

The answer to that question is an important one, and directly affects the validity of the criticisms Vancouver 2010 has been receiving of late (particularly from our friends across the pond).

Well I for one believe the Olympics is about the people of the city. Of course it's for the athletes and spectators too, but bottom line is that we, as Vancouver residents, are paying for it and that's got to count for something.

If anyone were to take a look at Downtown Vancouver, or Whistler over the last few days, they would see that to Vancouver residents as a whole, the Olympics have already been successful.

One other thing... Good luck with 2012 England. How is your bankrupt economy even going to pay for it?

Hold, hold on! I think we should all get some perspective here. From what I can work out, Martin Samuel wrote a piece in the Daily Mail, The Sun have written a few sniping pieces about the 大象传媒 (no change there then) and a few wags wrote the usual jokey pieces about the opening ceremony. This idea that the whole of the British media have been frothing and gnashing their teeth about what's going on in Vancouver is well wide of the mark. Without meaning to sound disrespectful, the British media and the British public, for the most part, are treating the Winter Olympics as they always treat the Winter Olympics: with a mixture of indifference and mild amusement. The average bloke on the street doesn't have an opinion on Vancouver's transport system or the weather on Whistler or the state of the luge track - not out of arrogance, but out of ignorance, in that this is a country that has no real tradition in or understanding of winter sports. For the record, this being Britain, most people would probably find it highly amusing if we made a hash of London 2012, that's just the way we are.

#16

' If anyone were to take a look at Downtown Vancouver, or Whistler over the last few days, they would see that to Vancouver residents as a whole, the Olympics have already been successful.'

I will never forget when Manchester hosted the commonwealth games in 2002. The fantastic atmosphere, people from all over the world being excellent to each other, the joy and celebration - the best of humanity (unlike our press who are the worst of humanity). I was as proud to be a part of that as I bet you are now. Drink in every day Luke - I wish I was there I really do.

A nicely balanced blog/opinion.
It's a bit rich that the British press have taken issue with the to be expected demonstration of national pride by Canadians especially coming from a country that goes into a national collective spasm on an annual basis singing "Land of Hope and Glory" The "hope" part I get but the "glory" seems a little presumptious. ...
In any event everyone is having a wonderful time and even the jaded jeremiahs have conceded that the Olympics are coming off just fine.

The observations in the English media regarding the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, particularly the unfortunate death of the Georgian, but include transportation issues, refunding of ticket money due to weather related issues, the weather itself (which of course we can control),etc. leaves one, as a Canadian, to think England must be so wonderful and without problems any sporting occassions. (Soccer teams banned from Europe, fans killed because of inadequate security or stadium, I could go on)

And what is the latest from this great land. A country that is designing an "unbreakable" beer glass because of injuries inflicted by drunken idiots in bar brawls.

As they say "People in glasshouses should not throw bricks".

Roger,
I thought your comment about not criticising the Vancouver Games was really interesting. Isn't it amazing how you feel different when you know it's your turn next? If you can, you should go back and look at 大象传媒 coverage of the Confederations Cup in Germany in 2005. The 大象传媒 were lining up to criticise some of the stadia with such glee. In particular, I think was the stadium in Frankfurt which had a leaky roof. But the Germans being the perfectionists that they are delivered a perfect World Cup in 2006. This is just 1 example, There have been countless others where the 大象传媒 has been the first to criticise.

So, suddenly the 大象传媒 doesn't make "snap judgements" any more? Wow, just like that? Cold-turkey? I wonder how long that will last!

"Humility"? I was convinced that every dictionary in the UK had that word removed. Here you are, a relic of WWII, that still believes it has a god-given right to win almost every world title in sport and how long has it been since you had a tennis grand-slam winner...only 74 years and counting.

If this really the dawn of a new type of behaviour from the 大象传媒, then I welcome it.

But let's not get away from the fact that London 2012 is going to be a hugely difficult operation. Of course things are going to go wrong, that's just the nature of these things. But if the 2 weeks can pass off without incidents like the Georgian Luge competitor in Vancouver, then 2012 can be hailed a success. Somehow, I doubt it.

Personally I've really been enjoying the Games. I agree with one of the first posters that said that with Britain not featuring in the medals at all they've had to find something else to focus on, heaven forbid they should write about the great performances from athletes not from these shores. So they choose to do what they think will sell more papers, create sensationalist stories about the problems. From what I've seen these Games are going really well, other than the weather which you can't blame anyone for.

The British written press no longer interests me as it is often so biased or so unresearched as to make it irrelevant. I do not care about the ratio of 大象传媒 staff to Team GB competitors I just want to enjoy the Olympics. Loads of excitement even to the extent of ignoring UEFA matches UK women beating China a highlight, womens downhill fantastic,Canada's first home medals all great.
If we deliver as friendly an event it will cement London to the world.
I hope Nova Scotia gets a Canadian medal.

Sorry, got to comment on something else - rjaggar, who are these "lies about British sport" supposedly propogated by? Certainly not the British themselves - I don't know anyone in Britain who would say our stadiums are the best in the world: everyone in Britain knows Wembley is in the back end of nowhere and is a pain to get to and from, as is Twickenham. Indeed, the British media are just as likely to criticise the planning, building and outcome of our stadiums as anyone else's stadiums.

And FoxesofNuneaton, I would be seriously worried if the British media weren't picking up on the inflated price of London 2012. People have every right not to agree with that amount of money being splashed out on a one-off event when it could instead go on schools and hospitals and all the rest, and I'm glad there are journalists giving us a nudge now and then pointing out exactly how much we're spiralling over budget.

It's easy to criticise from afar, and even easier to do so from close by. It's because the organisation has been dreadful.

When yesterday I got my email saying that they will be refunding my Ski Cross tickets, I was more relieved than disappointed. Now I won't have to drive 10 miles across Vancouver at 5am from our accomodation at the base of Cypress, in order to get the obligatory bus back up the mountain for a 9-30 event.

I just hope that there's a good enough atmosphere up there to make me forget all the money that's been hoovered out of my wallet by VANOC and their pals. Because right now, $1500 seems an awful lot of money for two nights in Vancouver and a curling qualifier.

Perceptions of Vancover 2010 from a far are just that...perceptions. I have never been there and most of the UK TV audience haven't either.

Forget newspaper commentaries very few folk in UK buy a paper anymore.

Therefore we rely on broadcasters and the web to provide an insight.

Before the Open Ceremony for the Winter Olympics, 大象传媒 News reported on the widespread drugs problem in downtown Vancover and the demostrations held in the city protesting the cost of the games. This happens at every Olympics, the issue will never be resolved if you don't like sport you won't care for the Olympics.

Vancover's problem has been the weather but the organiser's cannot be criticised for that!

There is little or no heritgage of Winter Sports in UK, and no core fan base. So the 大象传媒 has a hard task in establishing an interest particularly as their are very few British medal hopes this year and the fact the action takes place overnight UK time. Britons love a medal winner, finish anywhere below Bronze and the critics start, it's the wrong host city, it's the lack of snow or too many 大象传媒 staff on site.

But the 大象传媒 Sport does insist on 'over-producing' their coverage. I don't need a guide to tell me the first person in a snowboard or ski race in the quickest time wins! Niether do we need 15 minutes of intro chat by Ms Irvine at 23.20 it's late most of us have drudge in morning - please just show the action.

Tonights Womens Downhill race was very exciting, but the Champions League game kicked-off during the race so I switched channels as did everybody else.

That's the point, football in UK is sport, everything else doesn't get close like it or not. Yep F1, Rugby 6 Nations, Test Cricket -love em; Downhill Skiing, Snowboard Cross top stuff. In my opinion we don't need the gold medal production of live coverage of Vancover 2010 on multiple digital platforms. We need a decent highlights show.

Save some money and the blow the budget on London 2012, our city, our nation, our Olympics, our 大象传媒.

Did someone say there's a league two match on Sky?

Sorry bye for now.

18 Ben Dirs - 大象传媒 Sport,

There's also a few sniping articles in "The Times" and also on their website as well, and they are apparently a reputable tabloid/broadsheet. I agree though that people do perhaps exaggerate to sensationalize with regards to the negativity surrounding the British media, but the majority of that negativity that I've read is completely accurate.

It's been a fantastic games so far. Thoroughly enjoying the extensive coverage by the 大象传媒 and worth the license fee alone.

Media from over the world is accessible to anyone who has Internet. People read it at home, on a bus with a Blackberry, work, coffee shops...everywhere. Local papers are no longer local. Journalists must take responsibility for what they write and this is why Mr. Mosey I salute you. Your writings are respectful and honest. A chosen few British journalists should learn from your fine example.

The 大象传媒 has done a fine job covering the Olympics.

Welcome to Canada, Ladies and Gentlemen.

As a new Canadian living in Vancouver who was born in the UK I am extremely proud of the city I live in and the work that the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee has done to make these games successful. There will always be things that don't work out perfectly no matter how well planned and ready a city and country thinks it is to host games such at these, its a huge undertaking. Let's hope that when London hosts the summer games in 2012 other countries are more generous with their comments and generous of spirit than the UK press has been to us here in Vancouver. Usually, one finds that its the people who know the least that have the most negative comments to make of others. The people of Vancouver and of Canada are happy, friendly, and hugely welcoming, I did not always find that to be so of people in the UK. Despite the negative comments of the Press in the UK we are all enjoying this wonderful event. Its time you all joined the party, come and see what you are missing - I promise you will love it !!

The 大象传媒 is clearly a diamond in the rough of the British press. As some have stated, it wasn鈥檛 just the Daily Mirror--the worst hack job on the Olympics came from the Guardian. I think the vibe and the atmosphere of the Olympics is incredible and from the opposite end of the country it appears to me that Vancouver, aside from some inevitable glitches, is doing an amazing job. However the one area that clearly deserves criticism is the ice skating oval鈥攈opefully things will settle down there for the duration though.

Good fortune on your Olympics London.

As a Canadian having called London home for several years now, I find the criticism of the games by the UK press quite bemusing. How ironic,to critice Vancouver for bad weather (!), a mechanical glitch which many live spectators said they were not even able to see, and the very unfortunate accidental death of a relatively novice athlete having committed an error in a very dangerous sport. The women lugers were subsequently complaining when their start point was lowered on the run after the accident.

As an expat in London, here are my observations: it is always raining, my public transport is never on time, and when it snows half an inch, the City goes into a state of chaos. If the transport system can't cope on a regular day, I don't see how 2012 won't be a disaster in that regard. The UK press needs to chill out, as its is simply opening itself up for a deluge of international criticism in 2012.

PS: free the Flame in Vancouver!

We have some serious problems with our press here in Britain and 'self-regulation' leads the way.

With the likes of Kelvin MacKenzie, Matthew Wright and Piers Morgan, all making huge wages, all employed occasionally by the 大象传媒 on shows like Question Time, yet all have been found printing outright lies at one time or another too. (this is a FACT, no need to moderate)

In Kelvins case, he wouldn't last an hour in Liverpool before being lynched after the vile allegations he made after 'Hillsborough', yet he like the other two (and I've no doubt numerous others) always get away with it and worse, get paid out of the license fee for the 'services'.

Why do the press and any individual journalists in Britain get away with things that, if said by someone else, would see the end of a career and in some cases prosecution?

After reading today's 大象传媒 Sport article about Furlong hitting back at British press i felt like i should comment here.
These have been fantastic games, the luge accident was unfortunate, but the nessessary adjustments have been made to the course. These games have been well organsised, yes there's been mistakes, but there's going to be in London, there probably was in all games previously.
When will the British press decide to give credit to VANOC for organsing a good Olympic Winter games. The only problem with the games (which is out of VANOC's control, and they've done well to make contingency plans) is the weather.
Secondly, in regard to the sun article about 大象传媒 staff in Vancouver, all i can say is that the coverage has been top knotch and i've enjoyed it throughly, the red button output is fantastic and the 大象传媒2 stuff is also very good.
So in short, give VANOC and the 大象传媒 a rest and enjoy one of the biggest sporting events on the planet - it's only once every 4 years.

Well the PCC have shown today the British press can get away with anything - and although there are questions over how the 大象传媒 Trust regulate the 大象传媒, it's clear a formal independent regulator of the press needs to be a priority for the next government, whoever that may be.


Back to Vancouver and lack of or too much snow is a common problem with the Winter Olympics, so nothing new there and things have been rescheduled appropriately. There are questions to be answered over the death of the Georgian Luger, but the thrill of these games is the danger of some of the sports, so such events have to be put into context.

I still though do think the opening ceremony was the worst of all the ceremonies I've seen in the last 20 years, and that there has been a complete disrespect for the Olympic flame by firstly the farce of lighting a temporary cauldron indoors which served no purpose and secondly by not considering the aesthetics with the outdoor cauldron - it could have been kept out of harms way much more subtly.


The events themselves though have been superb - and though I'd always like a bit more from the 大象传媒, you are the only British media organisation treating them with the respect they deserve. Only when the press dedicate more than a couple of columns a few pages from the back to the event can they even come close to being qualified to comment.

Get over yourselves.

If Vanoc are so thin-skinned they can't take a bit of criticism, they shouldn't be doing that job.

Now you are most likely to be criticised, especially by the British press, where the next Olympics is in our back yard, and the Games are currently on. It will back off once they are completed.

But look; 2012 is going to cost an absolute fortune. So in order to justify the costs, our own organising committee is going to have to get their skin leathered in time because not only are the British press going to want to skin them alive if there is so much as a poster out of alignment, but the rest of the worlds media are going to want to do almost exactly the same.

It's a big bad world out there. Get used to it!

As a Canadian living in the UK....I have been impressed in some instances and not in others. Unfortunately, the times for coverage aren't the greatest and by the time you can see the events you already know the result....what can you do time differences suck.

However, I have been disappointed with the commentators...particularly Sue Barker (Tennis player). She and Mr Cousins coverage of the figure skating is great when they say nothing. However, why an ex-tennis player is trying to be an expert on Figure Skating is besides me.

Her comments of the Canadian press, spectators and athletes is uncalled for. It just isn't the recaps that are being negative against the Canadians it is also the commentators.

What Britons find hard to understand is we aren't trying to pressurise our athletes or the committees we are behind them 100 percent - we say they should go for the Gold because that is the support we want to give them. We want them to know whatever their international rankings we all we expect them to do is to go out, give it all they got and have fun. Go for it! Ignore the rest....we are proud of our athletes no matter what!

Maybe Britain would learn something from being behind their athletes with no fear of recourse or insults if their all just isn't good enough or someone is better. Who cares as long as we see their effort and dedication.....

So instead of being negative towards the Canadian Spirit, get behind your country, cheer for them, support them.....win or lose. They are doing this nation we live in proud (despite our nationalities)...are you with every negative comment against other athletes, countries or when the British Athletes are forgotten about?

Sport isn't about winning or losing or drunk fans fighting with each other. It is the example the athletes send through hardwork, dedication, sportsman like behaviour, the ability to face disappointment and greatness and giving their lives to making themselves and their nation proud.

Too bad every citizen of the world couldn't be an athlete or Olympian in what they choose to do!

We should know better than to hurl criticism at the Canadians, when we host a tennis cup event every year at Wimbledon and weather is an issue on almost every occasion. We tend to make it sound as though it's good because it provides a true test for the athletes having to deal with psychological challenges as well as physical. It's silly to be disparaging towards other nations leading up to hosting a global event. Are we going to be so faultless as to justify this kind of coverage?

I'm from Canada. In my opinion,, I don't think that most Canadians believe that the British media represents that of the British people. I find myself cheering for the British athletes as my third choice (next to Australia). Cripes, you spawned us.

Do we take the British media criticism personally? I think that many of us do. We're all devasted by the Georgian luger. For that I have no explanation. I am so sorry for that tragedy as we all are.

We'll continue to screw up but, British media, please reserve judgement until Day 17 before you tag us as the "Worst Olympics in History" after Day 4.

This is the first time that I have ever commented this way. So I am not entirely sure of the protocol, however these are my comments.

There is not much coverage of the Winter Olympics on the 大象传媒 as it is and what there is seems to me to do more with cover stories of socalled 'Sport Celebrities' instead of Sport Coverage. I would like to see sport, whether we compete in it or not. This constant reporting on past glory, personalities, what they wear and socalled 'emotional moments' of the past is not what we watch the Olympics for. I know there are 74 reporters out there, but I don't want to see them fill the screen with what seems like never ending interviews with sports people, past and present and personal observations and sports moments of the past. A little bit of it is fine, but we need to see more sport, there is a major competitions going on here. We like to be part of that.
It can almost be called 'The 大象传媒 Reporters Show'.
The other night we were waiting for the skiing to start. Three quarters of an hour later, we saw the first skier. The rest was what I call 'fillers' very 'nicely' put together by the Reporters Team, no doubt. We could have watched loads of sport that had taken place during the previous night.
Please, please let us have more of Vancouver 2010 Olympics and less of this what I would call 'The 大象传媒 reporters chat show'.
Let us be part of the Olympics and enjoy the excitement of the competion!

You can bad mouth Canada all you want. The Canadian Olympic venues are designed by what the athletes of the world wanted. If you get a Gold Silver,Bronze or even 10th place here you EARNED IT. This is not a place for "Eddy the Eagle" or "Jamaican Bobsleigh" ( We do love them here, they even ran the Torch.) However we may have reached the human limits of what a body can stand mentally and physically. Training for this moment is the athletes day job, not just anybody who thinks "Hey I'll give that a try today." The athletes, their families and employers all have put in alot of years for this moment. "Celebrate their effort!" nothing else matters. So what if the Torch had a problem, or there was fog, rain or the snow wasn't just right. I ask you this: "When was the last time you had a day that went perfectly planned?" If it has...then your probably not a parent. Any morron can point out what went wrong. But when they go right, we sail on not knowing how deep the water really is. London 2012 "Welcome to the deep end!" Look over the railing, you will see who is responsible for 2012's problems. "Smooth seas never made a good sailor."

Oh dear, yet another thing that Canada has 'cocked up' Despite giving their team free run at the bobsleigh/ luge/ skeleton track, thus giving the Canadian slider team an unfair advantage, they have now had the utter audacity to lodge a complaint against Amy Williams' helmut.

Desperate for medals ? It certainly appears that way.

The olympics are not longer for amatuers, and thus the organisation also has to keep pace with the quaility of the athletes. Shame the Canadian organisation has been so unprofessional this time round.

"Ake" Hey we are starting half way down the track after the accident. The track has been in operation for 3 years, everybody had time to practice and from the top. Join the line of winers that everything is to scary here, well I guess we found your limit. We have the right to question other countries, something that was never done as much by Canada. Stick to the standards and its a fair playing field. Every Winter Olympics a Euro hockey team will wait till the gold medal game and in the last 5 minutes of the game they order a hockey stick curve check on Canada. Every one is trying for a edge and I mean everyone, so suck it up princess its our right just as much as yours.

Totally random, nothing to do with this article, but any news on when the 大象传媒 and ITV will announce who has which games for the World Cup?

Here is a link by a American born,lived in Canada most his life reporter. He has also covered the last three olympics, check out some of his other blogs.

I hope following these games and the dozens, if not hundreds of complaints, across the 大象传媒 blogs, 606 and other forums the 大象传媒 get their act together in time for 2012.

There are two absolutely clear problems which need resolving. Firstly, coverage on 大象传媒1/2 needs to be maximised - not as little as possible. OK, this won't be so much of a factor for the summer games but on those days when we have swimming and athletics finals in the evening, 大象传媒1 and 大象传媒2 (or 大象传媒3) need to be used to offer full coverage of both, whilst the 大象传媒 should be unafraid to dedicate their schedule entirely to the games, not break away to show other programming - programming which can be shown the other 50 weeks of the year. And I include EastEnders in that too.


Secondly and most crucially is the interactive situation on Freeview. The axing of one stream has been an absolute disaster for the Winter Olympics (especially when idiots decided to replace live coverage of a medal event with a pre-recorded EastEnders quiz - at a time EE fans were watching EastEnders - rather than stick around to show the final three jumps which determine the medalists).

Freeview viewers will expect at least the same interactive options as Beijing for London - so that's three 24 hour channels in addition to 大象传媒1/2 - so even if it's just 301 and 大象传媒 Parliament that won't be good enough. The responses about the Winter Olympic coverage show that choice is much more valued over HD - amongst the couple of hundred complaints over interactive content on Freeview I've not seen a single comment of praise for being able to watch the games in HD. And it's no good making plans to put all events live online before the 大象传媒 can tackle putting more than just one extra event on the UK's most popular digital TV platform.


I think it's also disappointing that on the Sport Editors blog there has been no response to the complaints either - in the past yourself and other sport editors haven't been afraid to respond to such complaints however difficult they were, and although we may not always agree with your response, it's appreciated to know comments are at least being acknowledged.

These situations all need to be addressed by London because if they're not they just detract from the quality of the 大象传媒's coverage. With the exception of just one commentator the coverage we've been able to see has been of the quality we expect from the 大象传媒 - but the questions over the quantity of coverage has overshadowed all that. The 大象传媒 were innovators in giving viewers control over their Olympic viewing - and now that control has been taken away they're quite rightly paying the price.

I agree entirely as usual with Brekkie #49.

I am also greatful for the positive response from Roger Mosey #50.

Thanks Roger - your responses are appreciated as always. Us blog regulars do understand you (and your colleagues in both 大象传媒 Sport and the interactive teams) are as frustrated with losing the interactive stream as we are, but we need to know our corner is being fought as the Winter Olympics have clearly shown one interactive stream isn't sufficient to cover such an event to viewers expectations.

Forget about solutions by 2012 - even Wimbledon will suffer hugely from the loss of one stream, especially as it clashes with the World Cup this year (and I believe with an F1 weekend too).

Come 2012 though if 302 has not been restored by then (I am hoping that with the generally progression of digital TV it would be anyway) the 大象传媒's current plans are not going to cut it. 大象传媒 Parliament may give that second stream, but we had three in Beijing so expect at least three for London. You may be planning to broadcast all events, but people want to watch these events on TV, not their PCs.

And although Freeview HD may have taken off somewhat by 2012, it will still be just a simulcast of 大象传媒1/2, which is essentially one step forward, two steps back. I'm sure most people here would have preferred the capacity be used to make an extra 2 or 3 interactive channels available, meaning even if they were ditched afterwards for London 2012 at least we could have had the multiscreen service enjoyed by Sky/Cable viewers.

Roger - a direct question that I very much hope you will answer...

Why is Paula Radcliffe commentating on the curling?

In my opinion, the 大象传媒's coverage of the Olympics has been appalling. There's been no proper highlights programme, the commentary has by and large been dreadful (why did you sack Dougie Donnelly for the curling? What does Rob Walker know about biathlon?).

The truth is, 大象传媒 Sport is celebrity obsessed and a sad shadow of its former self. It also has a self-congratulatory tone which I find grating.

I wish these Olympics were on Sky.

Roger

You obviously didn't listen, then.

Sample commentary:

Rhona Martin: Have you ever tried curling, Paula?

Paul Radcliffe: No I haven't

Well I certainly learnt a lot from that

She was on because she's famous and the fact it spoilt the coverage of what was a very important match obviously doesn't bother you

Perhaps you could get Archbishop Desmond Tute to commentate on the World Cup final to provide the 'wider South African context'

Give me Desmond Tutu over John "wasn't he retiring?" Motson anyday! ;)

'corruscating [sic, should be 'coruscating']' is not an intensifier for 'scathing'. It means 'to flash with intermittent pulses of light; to sparkle'. While I would agree if the Olympics themselves were so described, it's unlikely that any commentary on them could be.

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