Russell Brand, Geri Halliwell and other unwanted Olympic legacies

Russell Brand, Geri Halliwell and other unwanted Olympic legacies

Russell Brand, Geri Halliwell and other unwanted Olympic legacies

The comedian and singer are an item, after meeting at the closing-ceremony rehearsals. And that's just one unfortunate consequence of staging the Games

There has been much talk of the Olympic legacy, which may stretch to include a health dividend, the regeneration of east London, an ongoing financial commitment to sporting excellence and a brief summer spike in otherwise miserable growth figures. But what of the unintended consequences of staging the Games in London? Here are a few Olympic legacies we did not expressly ask for.

Russell Brand is dating Geri Halliwell. At any rate, that's the word at press time. Apparently Brand and Halliwell met during the closing-ceremony rehearsals and just clicked, like two ends of a seatbelt. Their relationship, whether sanctioned by the IOC or not, creates one of those two-headed celebrity monsters that boasts its own name, Brandiwell. There was nothing about this in the original bid.

Boris Johnson has become an international figure. If you had read that two months ago, you would probably have said: "Hey! You left the words 'of fun' off the end of that sentence." London's mayor is now being seriously talked about as a future prime minister. And not in spite of the fact that he spent 30 minutes dangling from a stalled zip wire, but in part because of it.

We have developed a strange and enduring ease with the idea of soldiers in the streets. The polite, helpful, smiling army people who stepped in to rescue Olympic security made the possibility of martial law seem almost inviting. At the very least it seems preferable to being ordered about by poorly trained people in tabards.

Danny Boyle is now the unofficial arbiter of national identity. Britain was formerly a place that delighted â€" or at least wallowed â€" in having no cohesive identity. Now, thanks to the opening ceremony, it has an engaging and inclusive sense of self that, to the rest of the world, makes no sense at all. Progress, of a sort.

Olympic legacyOlympic Games 2012Russell BrandGeri HalliwellBoris JohnsonDanny BoyleTim Dowling
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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/shortcuts/2012/aug/28/russell-brand-geri-halliwell-olympic-legacies

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