A rant about the lack of enthusiasm for the Olympic Games

I remember the day it was announced that London would host the Olympics in 2012. I was the only Brit in an office full of French people, crowded round the TV in the coffee area of the company in which I was working at the time. Everyone knew it was a close call between London and Paris, and everyone assumed Paris would win.

Let's face it, they had a better bid, better infrastructure, and, to be honest, it just felt right. And the French were right behind the bid - they were enthusiastic and wanted the Games to come to Paris.

My colleagues were crouched on their seats ready to jump in the air and celebrate when Paris was announced winner. Instead there was disappointment. Silence, broken by the odd "non, c'est pas possible".

Over the pond in the UK the Brits, who had been very unbothered to the point of being negative about the Games up until then, went mad, celebrating in the fountains  in Trafalgar Square and generally being very gleeful about the whole thing.

Well, at least it looked like the Games would be welcomed. But then the mood changed, and I don't think it has anything to do with the bombings the next day, or the recession, or anything much then the general negativity about lots of things that one notices about Britain and the Brits from abroad.

I am sure that the grumpiness about the Games will disappear as they approach, and people will be swept up about the enthusiasm. It will be fun. It will be great for the UK, and all the nasty swipes at the organisers not being ready will hopefully fade out as the time grows closer. At least, I hope so. Yes, it is an expense. Yes it will play havoc with the traffic. Yes yes yes there will be lots of inconveniences.

But it will be the Olympics. In London. The top sportsmen and women of the world will be there, fighting for ultimate glory. I find it hard to believe that people get more excited about Celebrity Big Brother than the Olympics. You can guarantee the French wouldn't have been so negative about the whole thing.

There's one person though who I think should shut up about the Games. Your unelected PM is trying to jump on the bandwagon and drum up good will for the Games. No Mr Cameron, when your country is in crisis the handball courts are not the place to hold Cabinet meetings. No, your government's enthusiasm will not catch on. You are doing nothing for the Olympic cause, so please, please crawl back into your proper offices and take your useless government with you. Resign if you feel the need to. Not that that is relevant to the Games but I just thought I would add it in there.

To the rest of the country, embrace the event. It's going to be so much fun, and a once in a lifetime experience for all of us. You. I'm not going. But I will enjoy watching the events and maybe just maybe being proud of the Mother Ship for organising such a wonderful event. Only 200 days til they start!