Olympic Opportunities

When London’s bid to host the 2012 Olympic games was successful, most public comment focused on either the egg and other British delicacies all over the face of Jacques Chirac, or the colossal cost that was now going to be paid by the taxpayer, ratepayer and lottery player. Jigs of joy in Singapore by union-jack clad members of the winning bid team were matched by public delight at sticking two fingers up at Paris … again.

This national high crashed the next day with the carnage on London’s transport system, so the implications of what could be a major opportunity have never really been explored. And this opportunity is far greater than the prospect of cheering on what will hopefully be a hatful of medals for the home team, no matter how satisfying that may be.

What was recreated over 100 years ago as an event for a few amateur athletes hoping to rekindle an honourable and idealistic event from the ancient world has changed drastically in recent years. Never could games founder Baron de Coubertin have imagined sports like beach volleyball and synchronised swimming being elevated to Olympic status, with others, including golf and polo, being long since discarded. Changes in the sports are mirrored by those in the competitors. There is little room for true amateurs nowadays, with Olympic titles worth millions in equipment sponsorship and motivational speaking fees.

The games are big business. Each sport requires its own arena or indoor stadium. Major sponsorship is confined to the few multinational mammoths that can afford it, while smaller beasts feed from the financial fringes. While commercial interests slug it out with glitzy advertising campaigns and slogans stuck on every available surface, countries will be doing much the same with nationalistic fervour partially concealed behind diplomatic smiles, pious prime ministerial and presidential expressions of hope for fair competition, and promises that the 2012 games will be the biggest and best to date.

We know that, however the precise plans turn out, London is in for a rebuild. The construction industry already needs the best part of 100,000 new recruits a year to cope with existing building plans, so this figure cannot fail to increase in the short to medium term. The Olympic village will have more than 17,000 beds and will convert into 3,600 homes after the games, while a total of 9,000 homes will be created in the Olympic park area. There will be employment opportunities in everything from design to decorating and from project management to plastering; constructing and renovating arenas, accommodation, training facilities, media stands and the like.

Clearly, too, security is now an even bigger headache than it was just a few months ago. Balham and Barking may not yet equate to Baghdad and Basra, but recent events have turned an unwelcome spotlight on the ability of the UK to deal with people who want to destroy, damage and disrupt western society and its symbols. Abnormal criminal activity levels can also be anticipated with such a vast influx of people, and this is likely to involve everything from violent robbery to ticket forgery. As a result, there will certainly be a need for more people to work in all branches of security.

Transport will need an urgent upgrade too. Athletes, spectators, VIPs and the media will not accept anything like today’s typical journey time from one part of the capital to another. London is promised a new high-speed tube shuttle between its centre and the East End (seven minutes) to back up existing links, with a dedicated road network, bus, and park and ride schemes, to deliver 240,000 people an hour to the Olympic park. Whatever the final solution, it will need staff to drive and maintain the machinery, manage the networks it uses, and interface with the customers.

There is good news as well for the hospitality and catering industry. All the visitors will need to sleep, eat, drink and enjoy themselves. The 10,000-plus athletes in the Olympic village represent just a few of the people expected to come to Britain as part of the Games, and the tourist and entertainment industry country-wide will be gearing up for its busiest season to date. Most visitors will visit other parts of the UK, while it may not be fully appreciated that the east London-centred Olympic footprint stretches to Essex, Windsor, Broxbourne, the Lea Valley, Weymouth, Cardiff, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle and Glasgow.

Many other employment sectors will also benefit from the Games, from now until they finish in seven years’ time. With the UK last hosting them in 1948, they quite simply offer a massive opportunity across all parts of Britain’s diverse economy. From small shopkeepers to souvenir manufacturers, and from people working in the utilities to printers and designers, the Olympics are huge. For many of us they will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we will want to enjoy to the full. And that is very good news indeed.