www.spectacle.co.uk

Lance Forman is managing director of H Forman & Son, a salmon smoking factory, that has been based in East London for over 100 years. In these interviews he speaks about the obstacles his business has had to overcome in connection with the Olympics.

After having build a brand new factory with a grand by the LDA, H Forman & Son were faced with a compulsory puchase order by LDA and the task to relocate, along with 250 other businesses.

Part 1 deals with the history of the factory and the bad luck the company has faced during the past 10 years.
Part 2 is an account of the negotiations and dealings with the LDA
Part 3 takes a different view on the Olympic Legacy
Part 4 talks about the public presentation of the Olympics
Part 5 is the story of the search for a suitable site for a new factory
Part 6 tells about the last obstacles that had to be overcome when building the new factory

Battersea Power Station Community Group urge you to take the chance to nominate Battersea Power Station landmark to be used as the design on a set of commemorative pin badges. We here at Spectacle thought about just how great an opportunity this is to raise awareness about Battersea Power Station and the current state it’s in.

You are able to submit one vote on the landmark of your choice, and so this is a very good chance to kick-start some action dealing with the Battersea Power Station problems!

The website can be found here

Visit Spectacle’s on-going Battersea Power Station Project

Watch a video trailer here: Battersea Power Station – The Story So Far

Subscribe to our newsletter mailing list, visit our contact page to subscribe

If you live in the neighbourhood and would like to get involved, contact us here putting Battersea Power Station in your message.

Click here for more Battersea Power Station links

Spectacle Home Page

Mnikelo talking

In may 2004, South Africa became the first African nation to be nominated to host a football World Cup. Following that announcement, South African’s were overwhelmed by the prospect of much needed development and new business opportunities.

Since then, a lot (mainly the poorest) have been evicted or resettled  as the government try to show a “clean” image of South Africa to the world.

Spectacle has recently uploaded and interview with Mnikelo and Zodwa from Abahlali baseMjondolo, the South African shackdwellers’ movement, talking about the negative effects of the 2010 World Cup on South Africans. This can be viewed on the Spectacle archive page (World Cup, South Africa) and was filmed in connection with the London Olympics 2012 and the recurring effect of mega sporting event.

Mnikelo’s interview gives an insight into the World Cup backstage and its effect on the host nation.

The Olympic site risks becoming a white elephant due a plan that “lacks detail” and a  budget which is “underdeveloped”. The London assembly’s economic development, culture, sport and tourism committee, stressed in a recent report “There is concern that, given the experience of other cities that planned long in advance of actually staging the games, we are missing the boat”.

The Guardian reported that the committee charged with overseeing spending on the £9.3bn game has concluded that the lack of a tenant for the main stadium means there are “serious doubts as to the future financial viability of the venue and hence attractiveness of the park site to business investment”. Aspirations to create between 9,000 and 10,000 jobs in the Olympic Park could be at risk without private funding, it warns.

In a letter to The Guardian on July 4th, an assembly member argued that the lack of affordable housing being created by the Olympics, particularly for families meant that the legacy was going to leave nothing but a concrete eyesore.

Source:http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jul/01/olympics-london-assembly

Will the Olympics develop any of the promises it made to Londoners in the bid?

Given the destruction caused by the Olympics and the lack of solid plans for after the event, is it worth it?

To find out more about Spectacles Olympic project please visit our Project Page

In The Fog of Games, the first casualty is the truth. The Olympics are brief and transitory television events that disguise and justify mega projects of vast urban restructuring that permanently distort our cities for the benefit of a few business interests. Common features of such projects are unprecedented land grabs, the peddling of myths of ‘regeneration’ and ‘legacy’ benefits, the sweeping away of democratic structures and planning restraints, the transfer of public money into private hands, and ‘information management’ to hide truths and silence critics.

Mark Saunders from Spectacle will be showing clips of Spectacle’s ongoing Olympic Project The Fog of Games: Legacy, Land Grabs and Liberty.

Also Reporting the London Olympics Martin Slavin from Games Monitor website will discuss the gap between the media image of the Olympics and the historical impact they have had on communities.

This free event will take place at The London School of Economics on Thursday 28th May at 7pm. Everyone is welcome.

For more information on Spectacle’s Olympic project visit our Olympic project page

To see more clips from our Olympic project please visit the the Spectacle Archive Page

It has been revealed that several firms working on the Olympic site, including Sir Robert McAlpine who is building the stadium, were subscribed members of the Consulting Association which is accused holding sensitive information on 3,213 workers. This information came to light after a raid by the Information Commissioners Office.

Contract journal writes

‘Union leaders are demanding the Olympic 2012 site is purged of all blacklists held on construction workers.

Olympic Stadium builder Sir Robert McAlpine is believed to have spent nearly £30,000 last year alone on information to vet potential employees.

Unite joint general secretary Derek Simpson is calling for an immediate probe into all Olympic contractors caught up in the Consulting Association scandal.

He said: “On the basis that many of the employers concerned will be winning billions of pounds worth of public and private sector work, the government should announce an immediate investigation into the practices that exist in the industry.”‘

source:http://www.contractjournal.com/Articles/2009/03/11/65585/construction-unions-demand-olympic-blacklist-ban.html

For more information on Spectacles Olympic Project please visit our Project Page

For Spectacles latest film on the Olympics please visit our archive page.

You can view video clips about the displacement and destruction of the 100 year old Manor Gardens Allotments to make way for a walk way for 4 weeks of the London 2012 Olympics.

These clips are part of our on going project about the effects of the Olympic mega project on the fabric of London and its citizens.

view clips

For more information on Spectacles Olympic Project please visit our Project Page

For Spectacles latest film on the Olympics please visit our archive page.

The current batch of medals being won by team GB in Beijing seem to be centre around sports mainly, not exclusively, practised by the well-off. These include sports such as  sailing and rowing that require large amounts of expensive equipment. The idea of the Olympics having a large number of participants maybe distorted if further focus and funding is given to these already affluent sports because they are going to bring in Gold.

However smaller sports that are not going win gold or clubs that are not linked to the olympic triumph will lose out on funding. This is highlighted by the example of the Europa Gym in Erith, Kent which is facing closure despite playing a vital role in the community. Its rent has recently increased by £30,00 forcing, Yvonne and Len, who run the gym, to sell their house and move into the property. Despite providing an essential space for gymnastic and boxing in a deprived area as well as featuring in the award winning dance film ‘GOLD’ by the Spectacle, the gym receives no core funding and is being left out to dry by the Sport England.

Is the legacy of the 2012 Olympics going to be a full trophy cabinet or really engaging young people with sport?

For more information on Spectacles Olympic Project please visit our Project Page

For Spectacles latest film on the Olympics please visit our archive page.