The London Olympic Games took place in July and August last year
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 report for the government and Mayor of London attributes new contracts, additional sales and foreign investment in the last year to the Games.
Independent estimates cited suggest the total benefit to the UK will be between £28bn and £41bn by 2020.
The projected cost to the government of hosting the Games was £8.92bn.
‘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.
Analysis
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: “There is no doubt that the London 2012 Games proved a success story for British business. This has created a multi-billion pound business springboard to take British expertise to the world.”
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.
It also takes into account companies who stated their decision to invest in the UK had been influenced by London 2012, which took place in late July and early August.
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.
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: “A year ago, the London 2012 Olympic Games wrote a thrilling chapter in the annals of Olympic legacy. London’s commitment to delivering a strong Games legacy was clear, and plans for sustainable legacies were explicitly detailed in the city’s initial bid to host the Games…
“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. “