There are now just 24 days and some hours until the July 27 opening of the Games of the XXX Olympiad, otherwise known as London 2012. For many people, it will seem far more than 476 days since the "countdown clock" in Trafalgar Square was unveiled. After all, London won the "rights' to host the Games almost seven years ago to the day, on July 7, 2005. Since then, there has been construction work and controversies galore.
This year's London Games - the third the city has hosted, following on from 1908 and 1948 - will be held in a variety of locations, including some existing, historic venues; some new arenas; and some temporary.
The biggest controversies have been, as might be expected, around the matter of cost - and the figures are indeed mind-boggling. Some estimates have been as high as more than $18 billion just for sports-related costs, such as the building of new and temporary sports facilities. On top of this, many, many more public billions have been spent on various infrastructure "needs", including roads, rail and even airports. And then there has been private expenditure, as businesses seek to capitalise on the staging of the Games and any ongoing opportunities that may arise.
The creation of the 200ha "Olympic Park" in the city's East End continues to generate bitterness and praise in equal measure. The project required compulsory purchase orders of property, was the scene of heated protests and many drawn-out disputes, and eventually saw - as well as the Olympic Park - the construction of the largest urban shopping centre in Europe. The latter project has provoked criticism all on its own, while others have welcomed the "rebirth" of the area.
To help pay some of the costs, internationally-recognised companies were signed up as "partners" (sponsors to most of us) of the Games. These deals - and the companies with which they have been made - have also been subject to much comment and contention. In recent days, UK media have reported on protests against some of these companies, as campaigners with various axes to grind seek to make their points of view known. It is expected such protests will ramp up during the next three weeks - and throughout the Games themselves - to try to capture at least some attention of a world-wide audience.
So we can expect in the next five weeks to see plenty of coverage of the Games, much of it having little or nothing to do with the actual athletes or the sports in which they will compete. For many, sadly, the Olympic Games as a concept has been overtaken by big business, by nationalism, by boycotts and terrorism, by doping, bribery and cheating. It is perhaps easy to forget what the the event is supposedly all about.
The 2012 Summer Olympics will feature about 10,500 athletes, from up to 204 countries, competing in 302 events in 26 sports made up of 39 disciplines.
It is indeed a far cry from the first of the modern Games, held in Athens in 1896, when 241 athletes from 14 nations took part in 43 events. But as the countdown winds down, one hopes that the athletes, the officials and the fans - perhaps especially the latter - will pay more than just lip service to part of a speech delivered by the Bishop of Pennsylvania, Ethlelbert Talbot, in his sermon at London's first Olympic Games, on July 19, 1908: "The important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part, for the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well."
We can but hope.
