London business board

tarix	25.06.2016
ölçüsü	48.5 Kb.

LONDON BUSINESS BOARD

Written submission to the House of Commons Select Committee for Culture, Media and Sport

Inquiry into Winning the 2012 Olympics

Friday, 10^th January 2003

Introduction

The London Business Board (LBB) is an overarching body, comprising the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the London CBI and London First. As such, it speaks on behalf of its members and thereby represents business in London.

This submission from the LBB to the House of Commons Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport is in response to the Committee’s announcement that a short inquiry will be carried out into the merits and prospects of a bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The arguments it puts forward deal with the impact that we anticipate such a bid will have on business and what business can do to support such a bid. It is not intended to be a universal assessment of the arguments surrounding this debate.

The LBB believes that a world city of the stature of London could win the bid. This would obviously be dependent on the bid being well constructed. That means two things: that government (national, London and local) wholeheartedly supports the bid. And that business is involved right from the very start, from the initial stages of preparations through to the submission itself. Achieving this means being focussed on realising all the benefits of the Games, both at the time around the event itself, and also thinking ahead about the legacy it will leave. We believe that the quality of the business acumen and skills of the person who is chosen to lead the bill will be crucial to this success.

It is absurd to think that a city of the nature and stature of London could not win. We are already considered a global centre in other fields and, when it comes to major world cities, we are on a par with the best. As a nation and a city we have the skills and expertise to make this happen.
The business community very much hopes that those conditions will be satisfied as it keen to play its part in supporting a bid, in the full knowledge that this will require financial support without the certainty that the bid will be successful. It is also keen to be involved substantively in the development process from the beginning, and on through the bidding and implementation stages, in order to ensure the best chance of success. Preparation for a bid should also look at the lessons – both successes and failures – of other host cities as part of our preparation. Most importantly bidding should focus on delivering a legacy for London and the UK.

. The LBB believes that we have within the London business community the skills and resources to make this happen.

The Merits and Prospects

Favourability in the International Olympic Committee

It is widely acknowledged that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is considering a bid from Europe for the 2012 Games. Jacques Rogge, President of the IOC, has publicly encouraged a bid from London and has said that he is impressed with the opportunities to deliver regeneration in East London. . So a bid from London should be well received. The only other serious, likely European bid is Paris; we believe that London is capable of beating Paris. The LBB is also of the view that London does have the size and status to be selected and that the timing is right, so a bid is realistic.
If the British Olympic Committee (BOC) does not submit a bid from London (the only city in the UK from which the IOC have said they will accept a bid) then the chances of being realistically considered again are not expected to come around until 2024 at the earliest. This is because the IOC operates a rotation basis and it will not consider Europe in the subsequent rounds. This would mean that the UK has not hosted an Olympic Games for virtually three quarters of a century. A gap of this length undermines London’s status as a city of stature and our attempts to both promote and support our sportsmen and women in a sporting environment.
It is vital that we take this opportunity to demonstrate that we are a great city and a nation that can host major world-class events and deliver infrastructure projects whilst also promoting and supporting our sportsmen and women in a sporting environment.

Benefits for the areaeast London and the Thames Gateway

REGENERATION AND HOUSING

There are potentially huge benefits for regeneration of the area considered in the specimen proposal – already acknowledged as one of the most deprived areas of Europe, suffering particularly from high levels of unemployment and poor health. The games would:

provide a focus for the continuing regeneration of the east London and the Thames Gateway area
reinforcing existing and planned investment (both public and private) in the area including the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, ExCel, the Jubilee Line extension, DLR, the Dome and Greenwich Peninsula
create real incentives and a deadline to deliver improvements to transport and other infrastructure including sports and healthcare facilities which are vital to successful regeneration
improve infrastructure, including the provision of at least 4,000 new and much needed homes in East London
stimulate a comprehensive upgrade of the East London environment and provide a catalyst for site assembly
stimulate a comprehensive upgrade of the environment and the development of contaminated and under-used land

EMPLOYMENT AND SKILLS
Staging a Games will generate additional opportunities for employment and inward investment before, during and after the games. It is estimated that it would create around 9000 new, full-time jobs, of which 3000 are thought to be in the East London economy. In addition, there will be a large number of volunteers that will acquire new skills that will be attractive to employers in growth sectors, including hospitality and customer services.
INWARD INVESTMENT

Bidding for and hosting the games will raise the profile of the area and the tremendous opportunities it offers, nationally and internationally. This is a key element of the inward investment strategy for the area. This change of image, together with improved technological and transport links and access to better skills, would be an incentive for business to relocate to the area.

EXISTING CAPACITY
Current indications are that existing accommodation capacity in London and airport capacity are sufficient to tolerate the extra influx of visitors that hosting a Games would bring. The amount of available accommodation is thought to compare very favourably with other cities.
The Thames Gateway area has been identified as an opportunity for tourism and has already seen an increase in moderately priced accommodation.
Wider Benefits
This is a British bid to host the games and the benefits will be nation wide. The Games gives the Britain an opportunity to showcase itself to the world.
POLITICAL COHESION

Staging the Games would require improvements to infrastructure projects, wider transport provision and other similar works. Major projects in, around and supporting the capital have frequently and publicly been bedevilled in the past, due to political wrangling. The LBB, while acknowledging the very real difficulties such projects have experienced, is strongly of the view that the prospect of hosting a Games would help diffuse this and help bring about An even more successful outcome to infrastructure projects already in the pipeline. As we said in our letter to the Financial Times, “…this is an opportunity to confront our sceptics and prove that we can do it”. All the main opposition parties are believed to be in favour.

WIDER INFRASTRUCTURE BENEFITS
Much of London’s and the UK’s infrastructure is long overdue for improvement and requires real investment. Hosting the Games presents a realistic opportunity for Britain to give a boost to its capital city in this way, with the chance to concentrate minds and release extra funds. Many of the projects would benefit those from outside London using the capital city, providing real, lasting and concrete benefits that would last long after the Games is over. It is worth noting that the cost/benefit analysis conducted by Arup quite reasonably did not include in its quantified benefits the potential of European funding for which it is thought the UK could then apply (the area proposed is currently eligible for Objective 2 funding). This has been the case with Athens who has funding for transport on this basis. The LBB would welcome the additional availability of such funding for infrastructure improvements that are long overdue anyway.

OTHER UK CITIES

It is not only London that would benefit. Other parts of the UK would benefit from the staging of events such as the sailing competitions and the use of multiple football stadia. UK cities will act as training camps and bases for overseas teams. The camps will provide an incentive to improve the facilities (both sporting and for accommodation) already on offer as well as leading the way for improvements in provision elsewhere. The Great Britain camp for the 2000 Olympics was located in the Gold Coast and it contributed over £1million pounds to the local economy over a 12-month period.

TOURISM AND INWARD INVSTMENT

With Britain centre stage, we have an opportunity to develop co-ordinated National campaigns for tourism and inward investment. An independent study has shown that there was over £2 billion in inbound tourism spending in Australia attributable to the staging of the Games in Sydney in 2000. An Olympic Games gives us a unique chance to showcase what Britain has to offer to a global audience.

Inward and outward UK investment, expertise and the raised profile of staging the Games would have a beneficial impact on UK exports. Staging the Sydney Games enabled Australian companies to win 10% of capital projects in Beijing, bringing in £1.1 billion.

INDUSTRY
Staging the Games would also bring a significant boost and other benefits to a wide range of industry sectors. Sectors that are likely to benefit include construction, property, hospitality, leisure and retail, ITC, healthcare, higher and further education, media and the creative industries. The Premier of New South Wales reported that the Sydney Games created bookings for £233 million worth of international business conferences.

SOCIAL INCLUSION

The Olympics, followed by the Paralympics, would provide a good environment to celebrate and promote diversity in the UK whether it is age, sex, race or religion.

SOCIETY
Hosting the Games would encourage participation in sport and that in turn would benefit society, as, anecdotally, participation in sport appears to bring about a reduction in youth crime and acts as a stimulus for education. There are also obvious health benefits.

“FEEL GOOD” AND “CAN DO” FACTOR
There is an unquantifiable “feel good” factor that is associated with the staging major events, such as an Olympics. We have already had a taste of this from the Manchester Games and the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. The benefits of a “feel good” factor are most directly shown in the higher tally of medals that host countries often win. As it has been suggested that the money the Government will need to spend on submitting a bid could be better spent on supporting athletes to further enhance their chances of Success, the LBB argues that failure to support a bid on this ground would be misguided.
These factors are also manifest in how London performs as a player on the international stage. London is already a world-leader in fields such as finance; hosting an Olympic Games would entrench and develop this perception of our capital city. This in turn would encourage subsequent opportunities and roles for London, creating a longer lasting benefit.

SPORTS AND COMMUNITY LEGACY

The provision of facilities for both elite and grass roots sports would leave an obviously defined legacy to the world of sport. Up to 100 training venues will be required in the form of refurbished school and community facilities.

Security
Security has always been a major concern for organisers of the Olympic Games, and there is also a history of terrorist incidents. In the wake of September 11, concern in this area can only have increased still further. Given the political stance of the UK, our “special relationship” with the United States, and recent arrests in connection with a possible toxin attack, the attraction of a Games in London to militant terrorists cannot be ignored. The IOC may take the view that a bid from London would represent a particularly high-risk location. However, London also has a particularly high level of experience and success in dealing with counter-terrorist activity, not least as a result of IRA activity on the mainland. While Paris may seem a lower risk European bid, it is worth noting in this context that other bids from outside Europe, including New York.
Public Support
The Evening Standard has commissioned YouGov to conduct a survey which found that overwhelmingly Londoners have given their backing to a bid with 69 per cent in favour of the financial risk of bidding. Support falls off slightly for the older age groups. When respondents are reminded about the Dome and Wembley fiascos support falls just below the half way mark, to 45 per cent. There is also support across the board from celebrities and former gold medal winners, including Sir Steve Redgrave and the Princess Royal. The ICM poll in the Daily Telegraph, commissioned by the Government, found a similar but slightly higher percentage of Londoners are in support of a bid. These figures represent high levels of support.
Conclusion
The London Business Board has three main strands to its argument in favour of submitting a bid for London to host the 2012 Olympic Games. These are:

London is a city that is on the global stage. It would be absurd for us to say that we are unable to compete with other such cities and put on such an event. We have the resources and skill within the business community to construct a successful bid.
Business must be involved in the preparation for a bid from the very beginning. Without the skills and resources – including the financial support that is required in addition to Government money – any resultant bid will be the poorer for it. And therefore less likely to succeed.
It is vital that the Government supports a bid. This must be wholehearted and genuine support, not lip service. This support must also come from other tiers of Government, both London and local government.

Unified and wholehearted support for a London bid is key to achieving success and winning this prize for London. We would urge the Government to seize this opportunity with both hands and go for Gold.

Friday 10^th January 2003