There is no doubt that the word ‘legacy’ has appeared more than usual across the media spectrum this week. Should I go ahead and guess that some people turn off upon hearing it now? Well, be that as it may, I am compelled to write about it this week.
I will once again admit that I was not in an Olympic spirit up until the Opening Ceremony. Perhaps it was Her Majesty appearing with her favourite secret service employee James Bond, or perhaps Boris dangling from a zip line that put me in the spirit. I had started watching my favourite sports and was following things closely, as I’m sure many other Olympic cynics did. And on Sunday this leg was over. It’s now onto something much much more extraordinary: the Paralympics.
The Paralympics deserve a lot more attention than they get. Simple as that.
Many locals I’ve spoken to over the last two weeks have said the Paralympics ‘are not as important as the Olympics’. The hyping atmosphere that was ever so present leading up to the Olympics is nowhere to be seen just yet for the Paralympics (in fairness though, I am aware some of the advertising campaigns will be starting this week). And on a global scale, while the Olympics have 11 worldwide sponsors, the Paralympics are supported by a mere three.
Nevertheless, people who believe ‘it all ended on Sunday’ need to remember: No. There’s more to come.
The Paralympics are – frankly – much more telling of the human spirit and determination. And the way it is shown as the little sister to the ‘real thing’ is not only wrong but also hugely inappropriate.
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Legacy definitely should be questioned during our two week break between one set of Games and another. As much as I want to avoid the soppy emotional speeches made about ‘how will we remember the games’, it is still worth questioning this rationally on the anniversary of the riots.
Once the emotional high of having had a good time over last two weeks washes away, one fact remains: it is not that difficult to carry team spirit.
As I said in my very first column, Londoners tend to let pessimism get to them too much. Yet the opposite happened during these two weeks. So why not take this further? Make it a motto that we will be a team from now on?
London has clearly come a long way over the course of a year. Although reasons for the riots are still being sought, it was clear that people were genuinely unhappy for such a massive fire of hatred to spark. But now, perhaps if all of us try, we just might be able to ride a bit of a wave of optimism.
Şeref İşler is a journalist at the BBC World Service’s Turkish section.
