Counting the real cost of the Olympics

BY any criteria, the Beijing Olympics have been a resounding success – and the opening ceremony was quite amazing – resetting the benchmark for future games.

However, that is no less than should be expected from a totalitarian regime with unlimited resources – both human and financial.

One only has to hark back to the spectacular rallies staged by Nazi Germany and the former Soviet Union to realise what can be achieved by threat and coercion.

But the games of the XXIX Olympiad were marred by the fact that thousands of ordinary Chinese were dispossessed of their homes without compensation to accommodate the building of Beijing's Olympic venues – and that many opponents of the Chinese Government were placed under arrest or removed from Beijing for the duration of the games.

As for those who predict that Britain doesn't have a hope of coming anywhere close to equalling the Chinese extravaganza with the opening of the London 2012 games, we shouldn't even try.

Britain is a small island with limited resources and a 25th of China's population.

But when it comes to pageantry and putting on a show, Britain has long been the envy of the world, and I have no doubt that, in its own way, the opening ceremony of London 2012 will be just as amazing, if not more so, than Beijing 2008 – as long as the organisers stick to doing what we do best.

And, more important, we will do it without having to take the big stick to a large proportion of our population.

Yes, Beijing 2008 has been great – but China's smiling face hid a great deal of ugliness.

Robert Readman Bournemouth