The Scale of London Olympics - Assignment Example

Executive summary London was awarded the opportunity to host the Olympic Games of the year 2012 and also the Paralympics Games in the same year. There are economic benefits which are projected although this is not a guarantee. If there is no action which is taken, there will be no impact that will be got from these two major events. If there are interventions done in key areas, then the benefits will be realized the soonest. It is expected that the enterprises will benefit and especially the hotel industry. The report focuses on the likely opportunities and impact of the event in London. It is a culmination of the need to research on the necessary information to use in order to reap the benefits that come with major events. Previous researches have dealt with the research looking for impact of these major events in cities that are hosting the major events. There are very few researches that have been done on the surrounding areas compared to the well-researched areas of the host cities. The report will also give the strategies that can be applied so that the maximum benefits can be achieved for the East England. It entails how East England may maximize the profits and minimize the costs. Table of Contents Executive summary 1 Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 The scale of London Olympics 5 Location 6 The London Zone 6 River Zone 7 Central Zone 7 Hotel market in London 2012 7 Hotel market in London 2013-2016 8 PESTLE Analysis 8 Political factors 9 Economical factors 10 Social forces 12 Technological factors 12 Environmental issues 13 Legal factors 13 Conclusion 13 Works Cited 14 Introduction The Olympics Games is one of the most popular events in the world and is held after a period of four years; it has around 10,000 participants and is watched by approximately four billion people. Due to this, there is no prize fro a cit greater than having an honor to get the bid to hoist the famous Olympics and Paralympics events. The event is watched by many a fan over television while hundreds of thousands visit the host country to have a look of the event. The cities getting the chance to host the event will have a swell in population and will also get the chance to have greater popularity around the world. Bedford is located in Bedfordshire County. The hotel is located along the Southampton Row from the Holborn Tube station. It is rated three star. It is strategic in the location so that it is the default hotel for the leisure traveler looking for good standard accommodation and is recommended in London City. The county has secured aspirations that it will achieve the maximum benefits from the games. Most of the research findings have been found from reports of the previous games that were recorded previously in big sports events like the FIFA world cup and Olympic Games. There will be a need to have effective communication and transport system which will also be a legacy system for the whole region of East England. The links that will be established between the programmes in London, ands also achieving regional and cross regional working and networks will be significant in achieving maximum benefits to the East England. The event will also provide an opportunity to develop and improve the structures that are found in the region so that the area will be developed and effect communication network even after the events are over. One of the overarching success factors will be the maximizing of the legacy benefits. This will be the yardstick that will be used to measure the success that will have been achieved. It will be essential to forward partnership and cross working in both public and private sectors. This will help to attain the maximum benefits and bring with the required and desirable cultural opportunities. The sections that follow will define the achievement that the Olympic Games will bring to the region of East England in the long run. One of the achievements will be the fact that it will put the region to the world map. After the event, it is expected that the tourists visiting the area will have been increased by 3% ever year and the business tourists will also be increased to 3% per annum. Sport events will be used to showcase the region in the world map. The business that will be achieved in this region will be increased as well. The contracts that will be achieved will be aligned to the Olympic contracts. The construction industry will be seen to contribute approximately 50 million pounds. Another 50 million pounds will be contributed by other industries like the art and transport sectors. The scale of London Olympics It has been found out that the media staff, athletes, sponsors and spectators is fond to go up from one event to another. It is expected that the London event will be the highest in all the events than ever before. The statistics from the previous Olympic events show the following figures: Media statistics from the previous Olympic Games Barcelona 13082 Atlanta 15108 Sydney 16033 Athens 16245 The projected statistics in the 2012 event, which will take 12 days, will be projected as follows. Athletes 11000 Coaches and officials 5000 – 6000 Members of the Olympic family 4000-5000 Media 20000 Sponsors Over 7000 Total Minimum 47000 Paralympics statistics (will take 12 days) Athletes 4000 Coaches and officials 2500 Members of the Olympic family 8000-9000 Media 20000 Sponsors Over 7000 Total Minimum 41500 Location It is expected that the events that will make the 2012 Olympics will be located in the City of London although some of them will be located in different places. The event will use the facilities which have been newly built and also those which have been there before. The places have been subdivided into three different areas which are Olympic Zone, The River Zone and the Central; all are located in London. The London Zone This will encompass all the 500 acre of the Olympic Park that is found in Stratford. The park will have to be developed on the waste and industrial land. The nearest Bedford Hotel is found in canary wharf and there is another one at St. Pancras. River Zone This zone will feature five very important venues which are located in the Thames Gateway area which spans the River Thames. The closest Bedford hotel in this area is also the Canary Wharf which is located close to River Zone. Central Zone These are the locations which are found out of the stipulated areas that are stated above. This location is regarded the greatest of all the Olympic Zone and has many Bedford Hotels. Hotel market in London 2012 According to the research by Drayton (65), if London Olympics will follow the trends that were seen in Athens, Sydney, and Atlanta, then the number of visitors will substantially drop from now up to the year 2012 when the Olympics will be done. This has been attributed to the fact that the visitors fear that there will be overcrowding in the hotels because of the Olympic Games. The tourists that will normally be seen to visit these cities will reduce in tourists. The trends that were seen in Los Angeles and Tokyo saw visitors postponing their trips to these cities as they anticipated due to overcrowding and delays (Sunday Times 72-74). What was experienced in Sydney, for example, can be described as “displacement” where visitors were expected but they did not arrive. The visitors that came were not coming because of Olympic Games. Athens also experienced the same phenomenon in time leading to Olympic Games. Some of the reasons that were given for this phenomenon include the fact that the air fare was hiked, overcrowding and lack of accommodation (Pateman 58). In the Olympics period, there will be no reason for complaining as the visitors will be more than the normal visitors that are seen in the normal operations. According to the statistics that have been got from the previous cities which have hosted the events before, the rate of occupancy will be expected to rise to 100%. The revenues will also be expected to rise in the same proportions. If London will be in a position to cope with the increase in traffic due to the increased tourists and visitors, then the hoteliers will have something to celebrate about. Hotel market in London 2013-2016 The period after the Olympics is not favorable at all. It is especially not favorable for the hotel industry. In all the cities that have hosted major events before, the period after this will sharply decrease (Deloitte 57). An example is that in Sydney, there were over 2000 hotels which were converted to accommodation homes. This was not the case with Athens because of the fact that the rooms in Athens were not enough and therefore there was no much repercussions felt for the same. It is only in Barcelona where they are seen to be the winners of the Olympics. There has been an increased tourist attraction. The tourist attraction is 40%. In the 2002 ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) meeting, it was rated as the second popular tourist destination and has occupancy levels of 75% (PKF 45). It is projected that London may follow the path followed by Sydney and not that followed by Barcelona, because of the fact that the living conditions in the city of London. There is also an overcapacity that is seen in London. This trend will be overturned if the operators in the hospitality industry will come together and capitalize on the situation in London and make the tourists to continue flowing. PESTLE Analysis The sections that will follow will analysis the Bedford area to get the factors that will affect the outcome of the success of the Olympic Games. The PESTLE analysis tool is found to be the most effective when it comes to the analysis of the same. Political factors There will be social unrest in the quest to bring together the Olympic village that is common with most hosting cities. There will be the need by the government to finance many projects so that the city has many facilities that are required for Olympics. It is important that thee government sets various projects that will enable the smooth running of the Olympics. It also projected that the government will have to invest in taking care of suspected terrorist attack. This will take up approximately 213 million pounds. There is also the issue of social organization view of the Olympic Games. There are claims that the preparations for Olympics just before the Recession are more ambitious than when the economy is not in a recession. In the year 2000, for example, the cities which hosted the event were seen to count losses in the events. This is because the government did not take in the logistics of the events and the economic situation that the events will bring to the country. The country will also have to deal with the human rights organizations. There are claims that the relocation of the human population is not human. On the international arena, there are issues that the government will have to deal with. Iran has been said to be boycotting the event as they are not happy with the logo. This is a political issue which will need a political; solution. It has been found out that the Iran is threatening to boycott the event because the logo that is used is racist in nature. The claim is that the logo has Zion in it; Zion is a term that is used by Christians to denote Jerusalem. The National; Olympic Committee secretary of Iran, Bahram has written a letter a letter to the International Olympic Committee president, Jacques Rogge, complaining about this logo and has urged other countries which of Muslim origin to also join in the protest. The logo was unveiled in the year 2007 and has no connection with the claims. For those who read vertically and not horizontally, then there will be the interpretation of the letter I to mean Zion but those who read horizontally will read as Izzo and may bring some copyright issues with Jay-Z and the fans from the Ohio State. The request has been rejected and the spokesperson of the committee has regarded as laughable because eth logo means 2012 and there are no other insinuations in this. Economical factors It is expected that the Olympic Games will stir economic growth in London. It is expected that the economy will see a contribution of over 7.5 billion pounds from Olympics alone. It is therefore expected that the there will be increased job opportunities between the year 2009 running up to the year 2012. There will be the need to have preparations in the construction, development and logistics in order to take care of the Olympics period. In the East of England alone, it is expected that employment will reach 40,800 people in the activities that are related to sports. This will account to 1.75 % of all the employment in the region. It is worth noting that the employment that is said in this area is that of the paid employment. There are many employment activities which are for voluntary basis. This number will increase and is projected to exceed the normal employment (paid employment). Although this is the same proportion that is found in England, the regions is the 5th out of the 9 regions in terns of the people that are employed in the region. The turnover that is got from the event is projected to be above 3 billion pounds every year. The annual value that is added to the economy of London by the East London is one billion pounds per year. This is equivalent to 1.25% of the region’s economy. This is the lowest in the region in terms of economic growth. In terms of funding, the region gets about 80 million pounds from grants which are related to sports. This will be from the Central and Local Government. In all the regions, this is rated at number 7 in terms of the funding that they get from the government. The plan is that the developments that will be seen to span to the year 2030. It also estimated that 75000 businesses will be established so that they supply the goods and services that will be required in the run up to the Olympics. It is expected that there will be 42% of workers migrating to the East England for the job opportunities that will be opened. It is also expected that the people who will het these employment opportunities will not get the best packages as they might be exploited by the agencies which they work for. The transport system will be seen to improve. It is said that transportation is one of the success factors that affect the Olympics. It has been approximated that 17 billion pounds will be used to improve the transport system in the area before the Olympics Games arrives. This will enable the athletes and those watching the games in the playing fields to travel to and from the play areas. 80% of the athletes will be having their games within 20 minutes of time and 97% will have the same in periods of 30 minutes. Most of the spectators will be expected to use the rail and that the railway system, will have to be improved so that it carries 240000 people every hour during eth Olympic Games. It is expected that there will be 240 lines which will be dedicated to Olympic transport. It is expected that 500000 people will attend the events each day and also that eth people will have to travel and making about 320000 people being taken to and from the stadium. All the systems are being put in place so that the spectators and athletes will have an easy time in going to and from the venues where the events will take place. Social forces During this period, it is expected that there will be many festivities by the local community. These are the social factors that are expected to be taken into consideration. There will be health factors which will be considered in the run up to the Olympics. People will be expected to make sure that they observe health issues. This is especially true for the athletes who will be required to stay health for the event. It is also expected that the effects that come with events concerning the moral standing. People will try aping the iconic behaviors which will sometimes be regarded as not being moral. There are unsocial behaviors which will come about due to the youth wanting to do what the iconic figures do. These acts are not always moral without any good judgment; the youth will be seen to go astray. Technological factors There will be high-tech technologies which will be used in the construction of the stadium and the water system in the venues. It has been seen in former Olympic events that technologies which are advanced are used to manage the systems in the events. The medial will also be seen to come up with the technology that they will use to bring the news to many areas. They will be seen to use advanced technologies in broadcasting the events from the area. This will introduce many information and communication technologies. On top of these, there will be the introduction of construction technologies which will be used to make the railways systems in the venues and in the city at large. There will also be the use of CCTV technology in the events. Environmental issues Large events in the caliber of Olympics will result in carbon emissions. There will be need to have carbon emissions kept in check. The event will also result in pollution from sound to environmental pollution. Legal factors There will be the issue of legal aspects of the event where the intellectual property will have to be dealt with. The goodwill and the good name that the event has gathered will have to be protected. The effect that the Iran has aroused is something to be taken seriously. Sponsorship is also a factor that needs to be considered in run up to the event. Conclusion In conclusion, there are factors which could affect the success of the Olympics Games. Some of the factors include the doping case, the testing of positive in HIV/AIDS and also the issue of terrorism. This is the factor which will have to be addressed as it is becoming a serious factor for a long time. Works Cited PKF. “Do hotel managers have sufficient financial skills to help them manage their areas?” International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality. 4.6 (2006): 43-67. Deloitte. “The economic importance of major sports events: A case study of six events”. European Sport Management Quarterly. 53.4 (2006): 54-56. Drayton. “A memetic understanding of the Cultural Olympiad of the 2012 Olympic and the Paralympics Games”. The Olympic Legacy. 7.4 (2005): 54-67. Sunday Times. The 2012 Olympics countdown. Sunday Times. 532.34 (2005): 65-76. Pateman. “The impact of technology on the supply of sport broadcasting”. European Sport Management Quarterly. 57.9 (2004): 53-61. Read More