The majority of the Olympics might be taking place in London, but there might be side effects of the games felt as far away as Weymouth on the south west coast.
Some of the Olympic events will be taking place away from the capital in Southampton and Weymouth areas, but the Olympic sailing races which will take place in Weymouth mean that a large exclusion zone will have to be setup around the harbour and coastline.
This exclusion zone according to tourist boat owners could actually have a negative effect as they won’t be allowed to take visitors on the usual routes around the harbour and local area, thus any positive financial effects from the 2012 games might not be felt by all. Fishermen in the area are also likely to feel the effects as they will be excluded from their traditional fishing grounds for 16 days during the games.
One obvious solution, at least for the tourist charter boats, would be to take tourists outside the sailing area but to give them a closeup view from a designated viewing area. Unfortunately this proposal was turned down by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games [LOCOG] (organisers of the games).
The impact is likely to be doubly felt by the local fishermen and fish traders as demand for their fish, especially spider crab, is very likely to significantly increase when 10,000 visitors flock to the town, but any fish will need to be imported from elsewhere.
Local Councillor John Birtwhistle told the BBC – “I want the Olympics to be welcomed to this town. I don’t want people saying ‘we don’t want it here’.”
Do you think the Olympics should be paying compensation for the loss of income due to their events? Or is something like this happening in your town? Have your say in the comments section below (or click the speech bubble if on the home page).
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