sport

Benefits of the Olympic Games

Benefits of bidding
Benefits of hosting
Benefits of staging the Olympic Games
Evidence of the benefits
Why London?
Improved transport
Benefits for the whole country
Benefits for all sport
The cultural olympiad

Benefits of bidding
Bidding for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012 has already greatly benefited London and the UK. 

The bid has raised the profile of sport and physical activity for health to all ages and levels of ability. This has the potential to increase participation at all ages and all levels of ability – from grassroots to elite sport.

It has accelerated decisions on a number of major transport and sports infrastructure projects. As the International Olympic Committee (IOC) acknowledged in their Evaluation Report:

"Based on such in-depth reflection and analysis, the investments made throughout the bid process can be seen to generate positive legacies from the bid irrespective of whether the city is awarded the Games. Bidding for the Olympic Games is also proving to be a catalyst for the regeneration of city areas, accelerated construction of general infrastructure and sports facilities and for high-level political, financial and administrative collaboration, showing the unique nature and influence of the Olympic Games."

It has also showcased the whole of the UK through the excellent promotional activities of London 2012 which have received worldwide positive media coverage. 

Benefits of Hosting
"As well as being a wonderful sporting and cultural festival, the Games would also deliver practical benefits for the capital and the country. They would drive the environmentally-friendly regeneration and rejuvenation of East London, give a huge boost for tourism across the UK and provide thousands of new opportunities for work and volunteering."

Benefits of staging the Olympic Games
There will be a lasting legacy for cities and regions across the UK through the development of sports training facilities by National Olympic Committee's, for World Class Athletes competing in the Games. The whole nation will also benefit from the extensive cultural, educational and community initiatives which will be held prior to and during the Games.

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Evidence of the benefits
The Manchester Commonwealth Games showed what a successful major sporting event can do for a city and the nation. The Government is confident that the London bid gave the best opportunity for the entire country to benefit from hosting the greatest sporting event in the world. Hosting the Games will direct further investment to speed up the current regeneration east of the city. Communities will benefit from much needed housing and modern sporting facilities. London, and the rest of the UK, will be reinvigorated as a focus for international tourism.  

Vancouver, hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics, are already benefiting from legacies now.

Bidding to host the Games also fitted with and supports the vision for sport for the next decade as part of the 20-year plan expressed in the Government strategy for sport, "Game Plan". 

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Why London?
The rules of the IOC state that the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of each country nominates one city as a possible host city. In the United Kingdom the NOC is the British Olympic Association (BOA).

The BOA nominated London as the preferred UK bid city as it felt it had the best chance to bring the Olympic Games to the UK in 2012. Although London is the nominated city, some Olympic events could be held in suitable existing venues outside of London. The calibre of the cities who bid against us - Madrid, Moscow, New York, and Paris - was also very high.

East London is already seeing the  benefits of the Olympic bid, with a new 1,500-seat velodrome to be built, and an aquatics centre and hockey facility.

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Improved transport
London has a large and mature transport network which copes with several million passenger movements a day. It is therefore well placed to cope with the pressures of staging an Olympics.

The bid also included a transport plan. The Olympic Transport Strategy Team, responsible for developing the transport plan for the bid, are based at Transport for London and bring together the key transport providers and interested parties. This team is working very closely with the Masterplanners.

A series of major improvements to transport in London are already planned which will see further improvements in capacity and reliability.

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Benefits for the whole country (not just London!)
The Olympic Games held in London will engender a "feel good" factor across the whole country, just as the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games did. Other UK cities and regions could gain through the investment from some of the 201 National Olympic Committees who may prepare their teams in training camps around the UK. Other areas are also likely to benefit as some events requiring specific facilities will be staged at suitable locations outside London.

Staging the Games will also provide a unique chance to showcase London – and Britain – to the world and the opportunity to benefit tourism as a result. Sports tourism provides huge direct and indirect economic benefits.

London Olympics will present a unique national opportunity. It has the potential to:

• Inspire greater participation in sport
• Increase the medal success of our elite athletes
• Leave a lasting legacy of community facilities across the country.

It is intended that hosting the Olympic Games should also have a positive impact in terms of regeneration, investment and tourism, and that benefits should be spread across the whole of the UK.

Yorkshire Forward, for example, has recognised the potential the Olympic Games would have on Yorkshire and the Humber, and has already show London 2012 its support. Yorkshire Forward: "Yorkshire, proud to be part of the winning team" (PDF 5.7 Mb)
 
One of the major opportunities to spread the benefits of staging the Games across the country is to provide training camps for visiting nations to base their athletes prior to the Games. Such training camps are not just needed for the Olympic year itself but are required in the years leading up to the Games in order to enable visiting teams to get used to UK conditions. 
 
It is intended that the Olympics football tournament would be played across the UK in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and in Birmingham, Newcastle, Manchester, as well as London.  Also, a 2012 Olympic Torch Relay would visit virtually every major town and city in the UK in the months leading up to the Games and a UK-wide cultural festival would also take place as part of the celebration of the Games.
 
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Benefits for all Sport
The Government has used the bid to boost the existing strategies for grassroots sport. From 2002-06 £1.2 billion is being invested to improve sport in schools, assist amateur sports clubs and improve coaching and talent development. It was also announced in July that further funding of £100 million would come from the New Opportunities Fund to improve community facilities across the UK.

The Government is committed to maintaining the level of lottery funding to elite athletes at the same level as provided in the run up to the Sydney Games. This investment helped lead to our best ever medal haul, in terms of gold medals won, since the Antwerp Games in 1920. It was also the greatest ever performance by a British Paralympic team. In the four-year Olympic cycle leading up to Athens 2004, approximately £100 million will have been invested in support for our Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

TASS 2012 scholarships.

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The cultural olympiad
Under the guidelines of the IOC, the Games are preceded by a three-year cultural and educational programme which can be used to build community support and involvement. That celebration which continues throughout the year of the Olympics is known as the Cultural Olympiad.

As part of creating a world class bid we looked seriously at how to involve the arts and culture in shaping the identity of the London bid for 2012.
 
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