Already barred from Olympic traffic lanes Londoners and commuters are now being advised not to use the Tube during the 2012 Games. Instead they should walk or cycle to work to enable Olympic visitors to move around more easily. If possible they should just stay home!

Now it's Delhi's turn to discover that tourism does not prosper at mega events. Travel agents report cancellations of almost 50%.

Looking at some recent stories in the Indian news media about the construction of the Commonwealth Games facilities it is apparent that the 'same old same old' influences of privatisation, poor institutional oversight, greed, corruption and the brutal exploitation of the vulnerable poor labouring on the project have been clearly highlighted for some time.

The European Tour Operators Association has warned that the London Olympics may well turn out to be toxic to tourism in the UK. The ETOA's latest report says: "The problem is not restricted to the host city. London is the gateway to the UK and its biggest draw. If you remove London from a visit to the British Isles, everywhere else becomes far more difficult to sell. Athens has nothing like the central importance that London occupies, yet when its visitor arrivals dropped by 6% in the Olympic year, regional Greece fell by 11%."

VisitBritain has finally admitted that tourist numbers will fall during the Olympics. VisitBritain Chairman Christopher Rodrigues said: "To maintain visitor numbers across the year would be a quite extraordinary achievement; we are seeking to do just that but I am pragmatic enough to know it would be difficult.' Claims of tourism benefits from the Olympics are now replaced by vague assertions of long term gains although these are not borne out by research by the European Tourism Operators Association.

Mayor BoJo plans to spend £32million on dressing up the centre of London around 'iconic' Trafalgar Square for the Olympics even though the Games are actually happening several miles away to the east. As has already been noted East London just isn't iconic enough. This culturally vital project includes covering a large area around Trafalgar Square with flags, inflatable boxers and an arch over the Westway in the shape of a high jumper. A zip wire will take people eye to eye with iconic Nelson atop his pillar. Well, if they can put up a 115 metres tall leaning sculpture on the Olympic Park and a cable car over the Thames why not a zip wire over Trafalgar Square?

'There appears to be little evidence of any benefit to tourism of hosting an Olympic Games, and considerable evidence of damage.' Findings of the European Tour Operators Association 2006 Report and Updates from 2008 and 2009.

Valery's eyes burn ice blue as he stares towards the Black Sea coast just yards from his house. The local government has given him three months to pack up and leave, as the country begins preparing to turn Sochi and its environs into an Olympic playland. "We built our houses with our own hard-earned money, unlike [Prime Minister Vladimir] Putin," said Valery, who makes his living fixing refrigerators. "Why should his children and the oligarchs' children get to play in the sea while ours are chased into the mountains?"