Lots to get right, but London is ready to go

London is ready.

True, transport will be a nightmare during the Olympics.

Of course, we have had to call in the army to protect the venues after the company contracted to supply security guards simply failed to do so.

Also, no-one has the faintest idea what will happen to a number of the most high-profile arenas, including the Olympic Stadium itself, once the Games are over. There are a few strikes being threatened too.

But apart from that, everything is in place.

Today, the mood around London oscillates between nervous optimism and pure dread.

The next month could showcase the city at its very best or highlight the worst failings; those summed up by the state of the public transport system and the consistent failings of the corporations that run the city.

Take the latter first. The failure of G4S to provide security for the Olympics is simply astonishing, an incredible oversight that has been addressed at the last possible moment.

Contracted to supply 10,000 trained security staff, G4S have under-delivered to the tune of between 15% and 59% at every single event they have been supposed to protect so far.

That has led to 3,500 army personnel being called up in their stead, with visitors to the Olympic Park in Stratford reporting the volume of uniformed soldiers serve as a chilling reminder that we live in an age where terrorism is a constant threat.

As a specific example, a friend of mine has recently served a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan. Last week he spent three days sweeping Earls Court for ‘legacy bombs’, devices that were planted months ago and primed to explode during the Olympics.

Guaranteeing safety at the Olympic Games is almost impossible, but G4S have done their best to ensure there are more question marks than there should be. Ultimately, a thin silver lining from the war in Afghanistan is that we have a plethora of personnel trained in spotting and eliminating the risks of terrorism.

Yet G4S and their chief executive, Nick Buckles, should hang their heads in shame — and be forced to return the £57m (€73.2m) management fee they insist they are going to keep despite what Buckles admits has been “a humiliating shambles”.

So far, the one Olympic off-shoot that is being properly policed are the dreaded Olympic Lanes. These are traffic lanes that are only for the Olympic family. That is meant to include athletes, coaches and dignitaries, but in reality only means the latter.

Dubbed ‘the Zil lanes’ after those used by members of the Politburo in the Soviet Union, they ensured the president of the International Olympic Committee had his own lane, complete with five police outriders, when he arrived in London on Friday.

For your average Londoner, the prognosis is far less positive. Last Monday there were queues of 32 miles on the M4 — a week later, two hours.

True, there are only 30 miles of Olympic lanes compared to 186 in Beijing, but London is furious over the IOC’s strong-arm tactics. In total, some 120 junctions and over 1,000 sets of traffic lights have been altered.

In short, the roads are best avoided. What, then, of the public transport system? Some £6.5bn (€8.3bn) has been spent on upgrading London’s transport links as the city prepares for an estimated three million extra journeys per day during the Games.

There can be no doubt that some of that money has been well spent; the DLR (Docklands Light Railway) is much improved, and the ‘Javelin train’, the high-speed rail line that has reduced journey times between Kings Cross and Stratford to under seven minutes, is remarkable.

But there are still huge issues over whether London can accommodate the extra commuters expected to descend on the city.

Going to the website set up to guide people around, getaheadofthegames.com, is a chastening experience. With a series of colour-coded icons to demonstrate how busy each of the transport hubs will be, the tube map resembles a stroll around Soho — full of bright, flashing red lights.

The website seems to suggest that travelling around London is a foolhardy thing to do.

But there are almost 11 million ticket-holders, 15,000 athletes and 21,000 press and broadcasters who have no choice.

The public will is growing for this to be a real success.

Having just returned from a month in the Ukraine, I know first-hand how important that can be. Horrified by negative press coverage before Euro 2012, the Ukrainian people could not have been more friendly or welcoming as they attempted to alter perceptions.

Londoners have traditionally regarded change with an element of scepticism and could have been known by the moniker: ‘What fresh hell is this?’ Now, a wasteland in the east of the city has been transformed, no matter what happens to the venues afterwards. The arenas are superb, the athletes are ready.

There will be teething problems, of course. Coach drivers will get lost; getting around town will be difficult; the over-bearing presence of the army should have been avoided.

But a collective spirit is there to see, with Londoners accepting they may have to be helpful, talk to strangers or, shock horror, give directions to tourists if the Games are to be a success.

And the mental state of the city is best summed up by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, in a way that only he can.

“If you look at what Jacques Rogge had to say, he’s been in London for a few days, he thinks that our city is as well prepared as any city in the history of the Games,” said Johnson.

“I think possibly what we are going through at the moment as a nation, as a city, is that necessary pre-curtain up moment of psychological self-depression before the excitement begins on Friday.

“It is only natural that people should be tense, that they should be expectant and there are loads of things we need to get right.”

Indeed there are. But the negativity, the opprobrium and paranoia that everything can and will go wrong are almost over.

London may not be completely ready. But it is as ready as it ever will be.