Should This Be London’s Official Tourism Video? – It’s Got To Be London

Last month when I was back in Canada, one of my oldest friends said in all seriousness: “What is there to do in London anyway?” As the video above shows, pretty much nothing.

‘It’s Got To Be London’ was shot by Tim Benzie and Paul Joseph who are trying to convince their niece and her boyfriend to come to London instead of taking a cruise (as if that’s really an option). To be honest the last thing London needs is more tourists in the summer. (With apologies to my family members who will be doing exactly that)

Nevertheless, if you’re trying to convince someone to come here versus anywhere else in the world try sending them this video. You can find out more about the whole project from their website: http://www.itsgottobelondon.com.

100 Days Until The Olympics – A Look At London 2012 By The Numbers

With 100 days to go, it’s no secret that opinions about the Olympics are heavily divided in the UK. According to a BBC poll, 64% of people think we’ve spent too much on the games. However, 51% of people in London think the games will be good for the city according to a separate YouGov poll for the London Evening Standard. Yet, no matter what your opinion is on the games, there is no argument that they are going to have a big impact on London. Here’s a look at some of the numbers:

Browse more data visualizations.

Some key highlights for me are:

  • The fact that London will host the world’s largest McDonalds.
  • There are more than twice as many reporters as athletes.
  • 29.4 million tourists will supposedly visit the UK for the Games and surrounding events. (This number seems absurdly unrealistic considering the UK recorded 29.8 million visitors in the whole of 2010, according to Visit Britain.)

So what do you think of the London 2012 Olympic Games? Love them? Hate them? Meh? Leave your comment below: