23 Jul 2014
London 2012 economic legacy worth £14bn
BY Tom Walker
The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games have provided the UK economy with a trade and industry boost in excess of £14bn.
The figure comes from the second annual update of the Inspired by 2012: The legacy from the Olympic and Paralympic Games published by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, the London Mayor and UK Trade and Investment (UKTI).
Included in the £14.2bn are contract wins for UK businesses and additional sales and new foreign investment – generated in the two years since UKTI hosted the largest ever programme of business events held in Britain during London 2012. The total is already in excess of UKTI’s initial target of creating £11bn by 2016.
The news comes on the day the UK is set to host the opening ceremony of another major sporting event – the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Speaking to business ministers in Glasgow today (23 July), Prime Minister David Cameron said the figures show how sport plays an important part in promoting UK as a place for global business.
“London 2012 was not just an amazing sporting event, but also a great opportunity to secure a lasting economic and sporting legacy for the whole UK,” Cameron said.
“Part of our long-term economic plan is about promoting every part of our country to the world and Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games will give us another fantastic platform to do this”.
“I’m confident we can build on our experience in London and make Glasgow 2014 so much more than just an amazing sporting event.
“This government will continue to work on behalf of every hardworking business in the UK to drum up trade, encourage investment and pave the way for growth so we can generate jobs, pay our way in the world, and create stability, security and a brighter future for our country.
Lord Coe, the Prime Minister’s Olympic and Paralympic legacy ambassador, added: “This report shows just how much is happening across the country to keep the spirit of London 2012 alive two years on from the Games.
“The country has taken the inspirational performances of our athletes and the uplifting public spirit seen during those few weeks in 2012, and built on it, whether through community projects, volunteering, and new sporting facilities, or through new ways of working together and improved trade relationships.
“This report celebrates some of those achievements, but there are many more examples happening all across the country. I look forward to the next 12 months of this legacy journey.”
London 2012 and the economic legacy:
• Following London 2012, UK firms have been increasingly winning contracts to help stage major sporting events. There have been £150m worth of business won by 40 companies for the Brazil 2014 World Cup and Rio 2016 Olympics.
• Earlier this week, UKTI published record-breaking foreign direct investment results for 2013-14, with 1,773 projects spread across the UK and 14 per cent more than the previous year, creating 66,390 jobs – the highest in over a decade – and safeguarding 44,971.
• Tourism has benefited too, with international visits to the UK having increased by 6 per cent in 2013 to 33m with a 13 per cent increase in visitor spend to £21bn.
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