The 2012 Olympics start three years today and I ended up listening to a debate on Radio 5 Live as @whitespider1066 spoke his views. I disagreed and decided to blog.

I remember the day we won the Olympics. It was the day of my Nan’s funeral. She died just months short of her 100th birthday. As we went to the church we were building up to the announcement and as we returned to my Aunts house we found out we had won. Even on such a day my family, over 250miles from the Olympic site, were excited and happy we had won the bid.

If winning the bid can bring joy and enthusiasm to a (mostly) un-sporty family, in Wales, on a day of grief, then why can’t the rest of the country get behind it too?

Yes, it is costing 10 billion pounds. But that isn’t just being spent on pretty stadiums. It’s also being spent on housing and infrastructure in an area needing development. That 10 billion pounds is predominantly being spent in the UK, paying UK suppliers and workmen. Not just those from London, but from around the country. We won this bid four years ago, before we knew the financial state the country would be in now. I’m glad we did win, as I believe the 2012 Olympics is keeping businesses going that might of otherwise collapsed thanks to the global recession. 10 billion pounds has to be keeping people across the UK in jobs that would otherwise be unemployed right now.

And it isn’t just the South East that’s benefitting sports wise. Money is being invested in sport throughout the UK. If we could all be positive and celebrate the Olympics we would be passing a message to the children of the UK that sport is something to be passionate about. There are kids and adults throughout the UK who are benefitting from the 10 billion pounds and will hopefully be gathering us medals in London. (Don’t forget our tiny island came 4th in the Medal table in the 2008 Olympics).

We also have to remember it isn’t just London hosting Olympic events. For example, in the North East there will be football in St James Park.

I remember Euro 96 taking place in the UK. I lived in Southport, down the road from Liverpool and Manchester, and the atmosphere was fantastic. It was amazing having a variety of nationalities enjoying the competition and, for the most part, getting on and enjoying themselves. This atmosphere and enjoyment was repeated for the Commonwealth Games 2002 in Manchester. Both events were a success for the UK.

I’ll admit that seeing Boris Johnson clumsy Olympic handover last year did worry me slightly. But we’ve pulled it off before and we can again. Ultimately though the success of the Olympics depends on ourselves. Our media can be our own worst enemy. The Millenium Dome should have never been a failure, the media killed it. And I believe the perception of the dome created by the press led to a much greater hemorrhaging of cash over the years than there ever needed to be. It seems that certain sectors of the British media will go out of their way to prove that the UK can’t do anything right. If we can’t defend and celebrate ourselves, who else is going to bother?

We have won the Olympics. London 2012 is happening whatever anyone says or does. Let’s get behind it and show the world a fantastic time! We don’t have the words ‘Great’ and ‘United’ in our title for nothing!