Olympics boost to UK 'nearing £10bn'

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 19 Juli 2013 | 15.36

19 July 2013 Last updated at 04:27 ET
Business Secretary Vince Cable

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Vince Cable: "A very considerable net benefit is going to come to the UK from the Games"

The UK economy has seen a £9.9bn boost in trade and investment from hosting the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games, research suggests.

A government report attributes new contracts, additional sales and foreign investment in the last year to the the Games.

Independent estimates cited suggest the total benefit to the UK will be between £28bn and £41bn by 2020.

Last autumn the government put the projected cost of hosting at £8.9bn.

'Social legacy'

As well as the financial impact of the Games, the report - Inspired by 2012: The legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games - highlights its influence on sport and regeneration.

Continue reading the main story

David Bond BBC sports editor


Having spent the best part of £10bn on London 2012, the government knows it has to deliver on Britain's legacy promises.

So it is no surprise that Prime Minister David Cameron wants to showcase the £9.9bn boost to the British economy from the Games.

But we should be cautious with this figure.

While the Games will have generated plenty of new trade and investment, it's impossible to know how much of the £9.9bn can be attributed directly to the Olympics. Much of it may have happened anyway.

There are also question marks over some of the other key areas in today's report. Sports participation since 2005 is up by 1.4 million but in the last year it's actually dropped by 200,000.

On school sports, the government is championing its new investment at primary level but many critics believe this is a patched up version of what was already in place.

While lots of progress has been made, after just 12 months it's simply too early to judge the Olympic legacy.

It also says the Games volunteers inspired more people to take up similar roles in their communities.

The report adds 1.4 million more people than in 2005, when the Games bid was won, are playing sport at least once a week, and the legacy of all the permanent venues on the Olympic Park has been secured within a year of the Games.

Prime Minister David Cameron said companies across the country were "harnessing the Olympic momentum and delivering the lasting business legacy of the Games".

He added: "The Games are also delivering a strong social legacy. Last summer, Games Makers changed the way Britain views volunteering. Since then, thousands of people have been inspired to get involved with their local sports club."

And Business Secretary Vince Cable said: "A lot of people were very cynical about this... but as a result of all the work that was done we have this very considerable amount."

He said there was an "upward estimate" that, by 2020, the Games could have benefited the UK by as much as £40bn.

The report examined international trade and inward investment won "because of the Games and Games-time promotional activity".

The figures for economic growth are based on deals already signed as well as predictions of the expected value of future opportunities.

One engineering firm which was behind the Olympic park on the 2012 site said the Games had boosted its standing with other host countries and governments delivering large-scale transport and urban regeneration projects.

Describing the park as a "best in class example" of design and engineering, Mike McNicholas from the Atkins consultancy said: "What we saw in the run-up to the games was a huge interest from overseas governments and industry to look at how the Games was delivered."

The report also takes into account companies who stated their decision to invest in the UK had been influenced by the London Olympics, which took place in late July and early August, and the Paralympics in late August and early September.

Some £2.5bn of additional foreign investment into the UK since the Games is cited, such as the redevelopment of London's Battersea power station by a Malaysian consortium, and projects involving Chinese technology company Huawei and Indian software firm Infosys.

The report says British companies won £1.5bn of opportunities overseas, including work on other global sporting events such as the Brazil 2014 World Cup and Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the Sochi 2014 Winter Games.

'Thrilling chapter'

It also says there has been £5.9bn of additional export sales following Olympic-related promotions by the Foreign Office and UK Trade and Investment.

Lord Richard, a restaurant owner and chairman of the Restaurant Association, said the Games were "a terrific advert for London" that would bring more people to the city.

But he criticised Boris Johnson and the government for discouraging people from coming into central London during the tournament, which he said hit restaurants' coffers.

"There may well be a benefit now, but it actually cost us an enormous amount of money," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

In a message in the report, Olympics legacy ambassador Lord Coe, who chaired Games organiser Locog, said: "Progress reflected in this report against each of the legacy commitments is a promising start.

"There can, however, be no room for complacency. Just as the Games took 10 years to win, plan and deliver, so legacy must be seen as a 10-year project to realise lasting change."

International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said: "The London 2012 Games have definitively served as a catalyst for development and improvements, both tangible and intangible, which would otherwise have taken decades to achieve."


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