15.6.12 Torch Bearers

I was curious to know who'd be carrying the torch in a few days, as the Olympic relay will be passing my front door shortly.  Even TMWSC will show some mild interest considering the thing will be eight feet from my garden wall.  I logged on to the London 2012 site, and the details of the route and torch bearers.  I was able to learn about the person on this leg of the relay, and felt suitably informed.  As a result, I was prompted to look at the other listings.

Now, we all know that the event was hijacked in the earliest stages by Will.i.am, because he was all over the knews, managed to be clueless about where he was (Taunton) and mispronounce the name, and he later appeared on The Voice waving the fucking torch all over the studio.  His involvement defies the rules under which the honour of carrying it was to be bestowed on individuals.  He is American (which isn't a crime, but this is the London Olympics and the torch relay is for British people to participate in) and he is certainly not qualified in terms of sport-related, youth-related, inspirational or anything else.  His sole qualification for being given a leg of the journey was his public renown.  The world is of course corrupt in so many different ways, and there are far worse things going on, but on principle, I think this demonstrates the obsession with 'celebrity' that dominates everything we see, hear, do and applaud.

I am aware, through newspaper pictures, that Emeli Sande completed one of the recent legs, and she may be British but, again, is a beneficiary through being a singer and a 'celebrity' rather than for proper reasons.  I decided to look at their listings (hers and Will.i.am's) on the official site.  Fuck me!  Neither appears!  I checked by name, location and date; nothing.

As bad, if not worse, was the inclusion in the Torch Relay of people who had in fact bought their way into consideration - well, via company sponsorship, anyway.  So, instead of worthy individuals from around the UK being given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to run with the torch, we've had the General Manager of Intersport and the Product Director of Next completing legs.  Talk about abuse, or do we now accept that we've sold out?  Is the need to acknowledge sponsors and cater for corporate perks now a greater driving force than the spirit and history of the Olympics?  Are we expected to accept that there will be an element of distastefulness associated with every endeavour because without sponsors we'd all be fucked?  It would seem so.  Sadly, there's nothing that's declared 'up front' these days, and we all find out after the event, and when it's too late to object.  Things get 'sneaked through' and this is an example.  To claim that a firm's manager or director (whose name was probably drawn from a hat in the boardroom) is someone who fits in with the ordinary people who inspire and work hard at local level is a sick joke.  I am sorry, but if the person running past my house were an executive, I'd be heckling and protesting, banners and all! 

My last word on this subject involves the plight of the runner who was removed from the schedule.  Anyone seeing last week's newspapers may know the background.  Christos Angelides (from Next) is probably a nice chap, and no doubt pleased with his £900,000 annual salary.  Tom Foley from Intersport is perhaps equally affable.  One of them (not sure which, but possibly Christos, as he is listed as a torchbearer on the official site) was given his place at the expense of James Taylor, a 17-year-old silver-medalist from the Youth Olympics, because of some sort of flimsy (hotly contested and inexplicable) excuse - background checks etc. - and there's a whiff of something about the affair.  So, a businessman travels 40 miles from his home to run a mile in Stafford, while someone better qualified to participate is shunned.  All a bit mysterious, eh?  Call me a cynic, and I'll call you a cunt.

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