You can’t blame Britons for looking back fondly on the 2012 London Olympics.
It was possibly the last time the country did anything really well in the eyes of the world, an unqualified sporting success and an optimistic celebration of openness and diversity. After a decade marked by Brexit, public health failures, economic crisis and rising anti-immigration rhetoric, it’s small wonder the games retain a warm glow for many. But were they worth the money?
The model of using the games to regenerate a deprived area of east London served as an inspiration for Paris, which will host the competition next summer. Parallels are already building between the two, with the French capital seeing inflated budgets, complaints of high ticket prices and, most recently, suggestions of backtracking on commitments to social inclusiveness. Last month, the president of the French National Olympic Committee resigned after 18 months of internal conflict.