‘Mound plan gets an initial thumbs-up’

It looks like sense has prevailed in the plan to find a high-profile spot to place the large Olympic rings in the Capital to promote the London Games.

The News makes no apology for its part in scuppering the original proposal, which would have stuck massive rings on the side of the Castle from Hogmanay for nine months.

We regarded that as tantamount to sacrilege and, given the response to our “Say No To Coe” campaign, it is clear that most people in Edinburgh agreed.

As we report today, the Games organisers and city council are now in talks about a compromise plan which is likely to see smaller rings placed on or near The Mound.

The exact positions have yet to be revealed but it is understood that the favourite is the grassy slope itself.

This was the alternative site favoured by the News when we opposed the Castle plan last November. It is still a prominent position which can be seen from Princes Street and it still has the Castle as a backdrop, albeit from a more subtle angle.

Moreover, the embankment is already used to put items on public display, including, of course, the Christmas tree each year.

So while we will reserve our full support until we see the final, detailed plans for the rings, the News is happy to give the Mound move an initial thumbs-up.

After all, we never opposed Edinburgh showing its backing for London 2012, just the stupid plan to obscure our most famous landmark in the process.

Besides, we could hardly let Glasgow take the rings – and the ensuing global publicity – along with Cardiff and Belfast, and present itself as some sort of alternative national capital.

We’d always “say no” to that.

Voting rights

The calls for a return to overnight council election counts are entirely predictable – especially as most of them are coming from politicians.

They and other political anoraks live for the excitement of immediate counts – and they can’t wait to find out if they have won or lost.

It would be possible to do it in the wee small hours of May 4 too, given that the local elections stand on their own this year, with no Scottish Parliament poll.

But there are clear advantages in waiting for the next day – not least that vote counters will be fresher. It will also make it easier to tackle any technology problems.

Better to be right than fast.