Just Left

Olympics

Have you been watching? I've seen the odd bit on Prime and plan to see the closing ceremony this morning.

Britain's neurosis about whether it would be able to pull the event together has been a sight to see the past few years. I never thought there would be a problem: the idea a big developed country would fail at organising a sport tournament was never tenable.

I'm glad they're pleased about it. Seems to have gone well. And soon the Spice Girls will be on stage once more...

A Serious Question

Why are New Zealand taxpayers and Auckland ratepayers having to stump up with $40million (so far) for a 'party central' venue on Queens Wharf when there is a purpose built (yes, it was built for the America's Cup defence) venue just over 300m away at the Viaduct Harbour?

I admit that there is a need for a cruise ship terminal on the Auckland Waterfront, but I fail to see the point of building a new 'party' venue when there is an existing venue with over 30 restaurants and bars within spitting distance.

Have I missed something? Is there something fundamentally wrong with the Viaduct? The only advantage I see for Queens Wharf is that it's ever so slightly closer to the Britomart Transport Centre, and feeds directly off Queen St, but I would have thought that an existing, popular venue would have worked just as well - if not slightly better.