Those canny marketeers at Eurostar got it right last week for the announcement of the 2012 Olympics winning city. They staged celebrations at both Waterloo and Gar du Nord. We have no reports of the party in the French capital but the one in London went down very well. Wellington would have been proud of Lord Coe and his team. It was truly ”a close run thing” and perhaps fitting that the win was celebrated with equal vigour at Trafalgar Square in the year of the 200th anniversary of Nelson”s dramatic victory. At least Seb did not come back to London in a casket.
ABTN is proud of its support of the Olympic bid over the last two years. London is the hub of the world as far as international travel is concerned and in spite of its drawbacks in terms of runways Heathrow continues as number one for global traffic. By 2012 T5 will be well established and perhaps even Gatwick sorted out as a presentable gateway. The two terminals have improved but the railway station looks and feels like a throwback to a less prosperous era. In seven years” time it will be a working museum piece. BAA made noises about backing the bid and so did BA. But only noises. Hardly any action. Virgin Atlantic put in a real effort. All will prosper, not only for three weeks as the world focuses on east London, but also during the build-up which started at 1245 on Wednesday 6 July. Well done Sebastian Coe, well done the Prime Minister and well done Ken Livingstone. In fact well done everyone concerned in a mighty victory.
This issue of ABTN cannot ignore the terrible battering taken by London and the freedom that we stand for last Thursday. The cowardly attack is not just an attack on our capital but an attack on the citizens of the world, for London is the most cosmopolitan of cities. The murderers have accomplished nothing. They cannot boast of their achievement. The assault on London may well go down in history as the turning point of the war against terrorism. Killers will never succeed. Their contract was with Hades.