London Pride & the Olympic Games

6 July 2005 was a Red Letter Day for anyone in the UK. It was the day we found out we beat France and were chosen as the host city for the 2012 Olympic Games. The city felt something it had not experienced in a very long time; National Pride. It was only strengthened when the next day, four suicide bombers attacked the tubes and a bus, slaughtering dozens of commuters on their way to work.

Fast forward to now, 2007. The Games are still five years away, but they have come up with the symbol of our Pride, our Heritage, our Dynamicism. The logo was designed by Wolff Olins for a mere $800,000. Yes, you heard that right. Instead of the fanfare they expected for the "new, innovative, modern" design, they have been slammed with a backlash of gargantuan proportions. What were they thinking? Modern? Are you serious? Heaven forbid they hold a competition amongst our nations schools, or amongst British artists, both of which would cost a fraction of the £400,000 pricetag. This logo is meant to capture the "essence of London" (oh sorry, I mean london, with a small "L", because that's modern and appeals to young people, apparently).
On a lighter note, they had to remove the video that goes with this Logo from the Games' website over fear it would cause epileptic fits. Charming.