OpEd: Why Seb Coe Should Worry for London Olympics

(ATR) The London Olympics seem to be heading for a smooth landing in just 30 days. So why should London 2012 chair Sebastian Coe have any worries?

The same could have been said about the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and its chief John Furlong at the month-to-go mark. A well-run lead-up to the Games left organizers with little to worry about as they faced the final countdown to the Games. Then on the morning of the day of opening ceremonies, a 20-year-old luger from the Republic of Georgia died in a horrific crash during a training run.

The death of Nodar Kumaritashvili cast a pall over what was to be a celebration of the open of the Games. Yes, the opening ceremony took place. But for Furlong, where the buck stopped at VANOC, the emotions that evening clashed between grief and relief. His job making sure the 17 days of the Winter Olympics unfolded successfully were just beginning after seven years of preparation. And then before the caldron could be lit – tragedy.

Out-of-nowhere events are the bane of Olympic organizers. Most of the time they are easily dealt with through good management and are quickly forgotten. But sometimes the unexpected is too big to fade away.

Ask Billy Payne, president of the Atlanta Olympics. A bomb blast at Centennial Olympic Park midway through the 1996 Games shattered the joy in downtown Atlanta. After dealing with transport headaches and complaints of an over-commercialized downtown, it was the bombing that led to an asterisk next to Atlanta in the annals of the Games.

Fortunately, no security breach at the Games has matched the tragedy of Munich 1972, the incident that shattered the innocence of the Olympics – and triggered vows by Games organizers since then that it won’t happen again.

But Coe knows that London is not immune to carnage from terrorism. Without getting the chance to savor the selection of London to host the 2012 Games, Coe and Britain were stunned by the deadly mass transit bombings just 24 hours after the IOC vote.

It can’t happen again, you would think. But little comfort along those lines was offered this week when the head of Britain's MI5 security service warned there is "no such thing as guaranteed security" in comments about the Olympics.

While Jonathan Evans says the London Olympics will be a tough target for mayhem, he says "the dog you haven't seen may turn out to be the one that bites you."

Still, Evans believes that security planning for London has gone well and that the Games should be safe for all.

If Coe and London 2012 escape the unthinkable from striking their Olympics, plenty of other nuisances are possible to dim the 17 days of glory.

Transportation snafus are the most obvious possibilities. Already cautions have been issued for tube travelers to expect trains and stations to be at capacity during the Games. Breakdowns, emergencies, the unexpected, could lead to extraordinary delays. Top side, London bus drivers threaten to strike during the Games if they are not awarded Olympic bonuses as other transport workers have received.

The situation with transport, like any number of other possible problems, is outside Coe's control. He can only rant and rave about transport problems, but it’s up to Transport for London to fix things.

Coe is also powerless against another famous potential distraction, the weather.

Other potential trouble spots include: protests, opening ceremony critics, empty seats, touts and ticketing, scandals with athletes or VIPs.

And as much as Coe is liked by the British media and internationally, there may be some who want to embarrass him on his own doorstep. Who knows what some unscrupulous elements of the media might try?

Our Doomsday list might seem to be enough to keep Coe awake at night, but when recently asked about his sleep, the London 2012 chief said he is losing none over Olympic worries.

That is likely a tribute to the team that’s been assembled to stage the Games in London, one which has largely remained in place for the last seven years. If trouble comes calling, Coe knows his colleagues are ready.

Still, neither they nor Coe can be ready unless they truly worry about the un-thinkables that could sink the Games. Sleepless nights are optional.

Written by Ed Hula

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