Thursday, September 04, 2008
Olympic update
2012 medal map
Forget Boris's statistically-suspect crime maps. Here's a much more reliable geospatial graphic - the London 2012 medal map. It shows which boroughs will be hosting Olympic events, and which boroughs are getting diddly-squat. And what do you know, some of the official host boroughs are getting diddly-squat.I've used the same colours as the new crime maps:
Red means more than 50 gold medals, yellow means 2-5 gold medals and purple means no medals whatsoever.
High Above average Average Below average Low
(The green kidney shape in East London is the location of the Olympic Park)
(H = Host Borough)
Let me explain how I've worked out the figures, taking the borough of Westminster as an example. Westminster's hosting the Archery (4 gold medals), the Triathlon (2 golds) and the politically suspect Beach Volleyball (2 more golds). The cycling road races take place in both Westminster and Camden, so I'm sharing the 4 golds between them (2 golds each). And the marathon runs through several boroughs, so I'm sharing the two golds between all five (0.4 golds each). Total for Westminster = 10.4 gold medals. So Westminster is coloured orange.
The table below shows the medal totals for all the boroughs hosting events in London 2012. Please note that several of these boroughs are outside the capital (and therefore not on the map).
2012 medals, borough by borough 186.1 golds: Newham Athletics, Swimming, Wrestling, Weightlifting, Judo, Boxing, Track Cycling, Fencing, Taekwondo, Diving, Table Tennis, Synchronised Swimming, Water Polo, Hockey, BMX, Walk, Modern Pentathlon, Basketball, Marathon
45.8 golds: Greenwich Gymnastics, Shooting, Equestrian, Badminton, Basketball, Modern Pentathlon
26 golds: Windsor & Maidenhead Rowing, Canoe & Kayak (Flatwater)
11 golds: Weymouth and Portland Sailing
10.4 golds: Westminster Archery, Beach Volleyball, Triathlon, Road Cycling, Marathon
4 golds: Broxbourne Canoe & Kayak (Slalom); Hackney Handball, Hockey; Merton Tennis
2 golds: Camden Road Cycling; Kensington & Chelsea Volleyball; Castle Point Mountain biking
1.9 golds: Tower Hamlets Walk, Marathon
0.4 golds: City of London/Southwark Marathon
0.3333.. golds: Birmingham/Brent/Cardiff/Glasgow/Newcastle/Trafford Football
The lion's share of our 2012 Olympic medals will be competed for in either Newham or Greenwich. Newham (186) scores extremely highly because it contains the Olympic Stadium, the Aquatic Centre and the ExCel exhibition centre. Greenwich (46) does well because of events at the Dome (but might lose ground if organisers decide to shift the bang bang and the gallopy gallopy elsewhere).
But Newham and Greenwich are just two of the five councils that have been designated official "host boroughs" for the 2012 Olympics. The other three, despite being part of the Olympic Park, aren't hosting very much at all. Bad luck Hackney (4), there are only three mini-stadia within your boundaries, so all you'll get are the medal-feeble hockey and handball. Poor old Tower Hamlets (1.9). We were expecting the basketball stadium, except the latest round of cost-cutting shifted it over the river into Newham, so all we'll see are the middle sections of the marathon and some walking races. And sod off Waltham Forest (0), because you'll be generating absolutely no Olympic medals whatsoever. Which is rubbish.
Almost a sixth of London's 2012 medals are being awarded outside London. A bit of water outside Windsor gets to be the site of a giveaway paddling bonanza. The lovely Dorset Coast will be doling out 11 golds to capable sailors. Hertfordshire's whitewater slalom and an Essex mountain bike course will both be more productive than my home borough. And even far-flung Newcastle, host to a few football matches at St James' Park, will see more Olympic competition than supposedly-central Waltham Forest.
But never fear, Waltham Forest, because the Paralympics are coming to your rescue. The former Eton Manor sports centre is being transformed into the venue for the Paralympic Archery (9 golds) and the Wheelchair Tennis (6 golds), which means 15 precious ribboned discs are on their way. And Hackney at least scores highly in the legacy phase, gaining a new industrial resource when the huge International Broadcast Centre is handed over to the community.
But as for Tower Hamlets, being a "host borough" looks like being an underwhelming disappointment. One corner of our borough has been needlessly razed to build a food court and a non-existent basketball stadium, and all we'll see otherwise are a few brief sweaty-limbed athletes. Not one single Olympic or Paralympic event will either start or finish in Tower Hamlets. My local council has been reduced to crowing that "the world's greatest sporting occasion will be happening on our doorstep". But, alas, not at home.
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