“Tube commuters whose journey is delayed by the Olympics will not be able to reclaim the cost of their travel,” reported The Evening Standard, “despite dire warnings of having to wait 30 minutes to board a train.”

Meanwhile, The Daily Mail, whose unofficial motto appears to be “What Fresh Hell Is This?” has published articles noting that hundreds of thousands of tickets are still unsold, that no one wants to watch women play soccer and that some of the paths for the mountain bike competition will not be finished in time. “Security Shambles Could Cause Chaos for Spectators,” the paper said this week, next to an article with the headline “London’s Transport System Fails Again.”

Many Londoners feel that they are getting the worst parts of the Olympics — the cost, the hassle, the officials telling them not to do things or go places — without any of the benefits. The security company hired by the government at huge expense proved to be wildly incompetent; the Olympic brand managers have made it clear that no one, apart from official sponsors, will be allowed to appear to capitalize on the Games.

“It’s like living in a police state,” said a business owner, explaining that her company had wanted to start a social media campaign tied to the Olympics but had been warned by lawyers that it would be prosecuted and fined if it used the word “Olympics.”

“That’s why you don’t see any references to the Games in shop windows or on the streets — people are too scared,” she said.

Also: What if it does not stop raining? Even amid the wettest summer since records began, characterized by deluges and floods, officials keep saying they hope the rain will go away before the Games begin. There really is no contingency plan; the Olympic Stadium, where the opening ceremony is to take place, has no roof.

Sebastian Coe, the chairman of the Games, said this week that some of the Olympic sites outside London were “waterlogged,” and he urged spectators to wear raincoats and rubber boots. Should the bad weather continue, even the beach volleyball players will be allowed to change out of their bikinis — one of the things that many spectators appear to like best about them — and into “long pants and/or tops,” officials said.