But London (and Olympic athletes) survived the pre-pollution hysteria days of the 1948 summer games.
From the left-leaning Guardian:
The latest correctives to the feelgood offensive being stoutly prosecuted by the government, Boris Johnson and Seb and Co are a mixture of doomwatch forward planning and performance impairment fears. The health service is gearing up on a global scale for fear of epidemics triggered by the impending influx of overseas visitors bearing exotic ailments, while experts on respiration have warned that should the summer bring hazy days the capital’s unwholesome air could stop champion athletes’ lungs from working properly…
Boris could learn some lessons from the Chinese. Their authorities, you’ll recall, took extreme steps to save the Beijing games from smog suffocation, first putting a stop to all construction work then banning banning 50% of cars from the city’s roads. London’s air in 2012 is nothing like as foul as the Chinese capital’s was in 2008. Even so, Boris’s record on air quality gives grounds for Londoners to cast both their first and second preferences votes in the coming mayoral election campaign for rival candidates.