Caught up in Olympic fever?

Written by Claire Weekes

Wednesday, 27 August 2008

I've seen many surveys and polls bandying about over the past few days post-Olympics. Are us Brits excited to be hosting 2012? Will we all take up swimming or cycling after team GB's massive success in these sports? (Apparently yes - according to Tesco, its sales of swimsuits and goggles have increased by 135% and sales of bicycles have risen by 130%).

But the piece that caught my eye yesterday was about the newly named Adlington Arms in Mansfield, hometown of double gold medal swimmer Rebecca Adlington. The former Yates's bar has renamed itself after the Olympic heroine. A nice gesture, but I can't help but wonder whether this is merely a publicity stunt on the part of the bar that could end up falling flat. Customers associate the name Yates's with a specific type of pub experience (drinks deals, reasonably priced food) - could it be in danger of losing its identity once the media hype dies down?

That aside, there are hints that Rebecca is actually tee-total anyway after she told national reporters that she "only drank orange juice on the flight home." Not much chance of a bit of celebrity endorsement of their latest ale on tap then...