Parisians make healthy Olympic bid for 2012

London's Government-backed Olympic bid speaks of the legacy that success would bring.

London's Government-backed Olympic bid speaks of the legacy that success would bring.

The capital, at a mere £20-a-head for the city's taxpayers, would have an improved transport system and there would be sports facilities for young people that would bring us in line with some of the more advanced third-world countries.

Meanwhile, we are asked to be impassioned by the drive to beat off the challenge of Paris. Why is it so difficult? Maybe because France has long taken sport seriously, and the government emphasis is not to ride on its back but concede its value to the health of the nation's youth.

This is no doubt why much of the Paris bid is already physically in place, and the centrepiece, the beautiful Stade de France, has long been the celebrated national home of a highly successful sports programme.

Our Government on the other hand spends millions on some half-baked propaganda against the dangers of fast foodwhile mandatory exercise for our schoolchildren is at a record low and playing fields continue to be flogged off.

For France the Olympics, as the 1998 World Cup, would be a reward for a brilliant understanding of the value of recreation. For Britain it would be the undeserved, hand-out solution to decades of neglect. The London bid is asking for patriotism and passion. Unfortunately, they forgot to hand out the blindfolds.