How will The London 2012 Olympic Games affect the U.K. economy - Essay Example

How will The London Olympic Games affect the U.K. economy? The United Kingdom economy has been among the best performing economies in the world for a long time. During the period that lasted from 1990 to 2008, the U.K. economy comfortably managed a 2.3% GDP growth factor. However, in recent times, the economic state of the United Kingdom has been performing poorly (House of Commons, 2009:33). This has elicited doubt among critics that the economy may be taking a down ward turn, and that the United Kingdom may be facing imminent recession. Recent research has revealed that the United Kingdom did not manage to gain substantial growth in 2011. Records collected from the research show that the U.K. financial system only managed a skimpy 0.8% development in 2011. In calculation, the main reason behind the growth was the 0.2% plunge that happened towards the end of the year (Fussey, 2011: 79). This has driven researchers to scheme a very small band of escalation to happen in 2012, amounting to about 0.4%. The analysts forecast that the financial system will undergo a double decline before it starts budding back to its former circumstances. However, the wealth faces a latent growth aid in the form of the 2012 Olympics. London is set to host the 2012 Olympic Games, an event that possesses the potential to favor the U.K. economy greatly, and on an optimistic note in terms of direct and indirect revenue (House of Commons, 2009:47). The Olympic Games event has been a major highlight ever since its inception. The games started long ago in Greece. However, the particular date of the start of the games, and the reason behind the start, is still unknown (Young, 2004:24). What is definite is the fact that the idea of the games was a direct result or offset of the conventional norms and ethics of the ancient Greek culture. The conventional culture of the Greek people praised excellent physical vigor and vast mind control. This was because these attributes were in line with their belief of the actual abilities of their god, Zeus, who they revered above all their other gods. As a result, most of the folklore regarding the source of the games involves Zeus. Tradition holds that Zeus once took on his father, Kronos, in a fierce battle due to a raging dispute over their supremacy and dominance in the control of the world (Young, 2004:73). The battle took place at the crest of a mountain that shadowed a gorge in the southwestern region of Greece. Zeus managed to conquer over his father in the battle. As a result, the Greece citizens put up a shrine and built an enormous statuette in the gorge in a bid o honor him. The name of the gorge was Olympia. Soon after, the citizens began conducting religious ceremonies with the main agenda being the reverent worship and adoration of Zeus. This was in an attempt to try to gain Zeus’ famed strength and athletic capabilities. Folklore has it that these ceremonies led to the idea of starting the Olympic Games. Though the actual date when the first Olympic event took place is still in doubt, the first recorded event took place in 776 BC. The games consisted of only one occasion, the 190-meter race, which a chef, Coroebus, won. This marked the initial Olympiad. The Olympiad was the name given to the four-year duration by which the Greek citizens traced their history (Guttman, 2003:198). As time went by, athletic contests gained so much significance to the Greek people that the occasions now tended to influence a peaceful nature on the military states. For example, Sparta was famous for its strict military rule and intensive battle training of its population. It reached a point where the Sparta administration would patiently wait for the successful completion of the games’ events before engaging in battle with rival states. Soon after, other cities imitated this unwritten rule. The initial consecutive thirteen games offered only one event, which was the one-stade run (Young, 2004:129). However, as time passed, the then administration gradually brought in more games to the event. The games included the Hoplitodrom, a game whereby the competitors ran while donning full body armor kits. Then there was the pentathlon, a game in which the participants contested in five different types of events. This type of competition first started in the Olympics in 708 BC (Guttman, 2003:213). The events included jumping, sprinting, discuss and javelin throwing, and wrestling. In 648 BC, the Pancration, a cruel and bloody game, was introduced. The sport had no regulations, and participants boxed and wrestled each other until one conceded defeat, or an opponent managed to beat the other into submission, usually death. The advent of the games brought major change to Olympia’s infrastructure. The games influenced the building of a large number of outsized buildings and stadiums to help house the rapidly growing number of events and competitors (Young, 2004:176). A big structure, the Hippodrome, hosted the chariot races, an event that made its first appearance at the games in 648 BC. The Paelestra hosted boxers and wrestlers, while the Leonidaion accommodated the athletes. According to the then prevailing structure, only noble men and boys could join the games. Servants and slaves only got a chance in the horse events. Women could not even sit as spectators, and they risked instant death if they contravened the rule (Guttman, 2003:225). Initially, only Greek habitants could participate in the games. However, as time went by, Romans gradually gained access to the games, both as spectators and as competitors. All competitors took a vow pertaining to their expected honorable conduct during the games. However, there were no available monetary rewards, and each participant had to cater for his accrued expenses. Conquerors in the games received olive wreaths as gifts. Physical gifts were sometimes available to them, and they had a special inlet passageway for them in Olympia. Milo, a wrestler hailing from Croton, was the greatest athlete of the era. He could carry a mature bull with no help (Young, 2004:223). He managed to win the wrestling championships six times. The games also heavily influenced and rewarded artists who made relevant contributions to the successful acclamation of the games. Examples of the artists’ works included the magnificent Olympic structures, and the Zeus statue, which were the works of the renowned Athenian architect (Guttman, 2003:279). In the 100 BC era, Greece fell to Rome. This detrimentally affected the Olympic Games, due to the drastic influx of Roman unethical champions, who used the events for personal gratification rather than for the common good of the population. In AD 67, Nero, the then Roman emperor, cheated in a chariot event. Subsequently, in AD 394, the current Roman leader, Theodosius 1, who was of a Christian following, deemed the games as glorifying pagan worship, and immediately banned them (Guttman, 2003:303). 1n 426, he directed the destroying of all Olympia shrines of Zeus. Natural calamities, including floods and earthquakes, aided in the complete damaging of Olympia. About 1500 years later, Pierre de Coubertin, a youthful Frenchman, tried to re-introduce the games. This was after he attributed the fall of France to Germany to the utter lack of exercise and physical fitness in the French soldiers. Before he came to this conclusion, he extensively studied the German, British, and American youth lifestyles. His attempt faced excessive and intense criticism, but he did not detour from his objective. In 1892, he proposed the return of the Olympic Games. This attempt failed. In 1894, he hosted a conference consisting of bout 79 representatives from nine countries. This time, he easily won their hearts. The representatives wholly agreed to the idea of reviving the event, and decided that Courbertin should put together a committee to help start the event. The delegates settled on Athens as the venue for the revival of the games (Davis, 2012: 156). This marked the revival and full internationalization of the games. The event happens every four years. In 1992, the Winter and Summer games were separated, and, though they both follow the four-year period in between events, the events are separated by two years. The summer games basketball, canoeing, archery, boxing, horse events, field hockey, handball, rowing, cycling, tennis, soccer, shooting, water polo, wrestling, weight-lifting, yachting, and judo. The Winter sports include skiing, luger, ice hockey, biathlon, and bobsledding (Guttman, 2003:352). Each participating region must form its own National Olympic Committee. This committee is responsible for coordinating its team competition in the event, sourcing equipment, and safe and comfortable transportation and accommodation of its athletes (Monfort, 2010:78). The Olympic Games have currently grown in statue to a point where countries fervently vie for a chance to host the event. This is because the games enjoy huge support and adoration from a majority of people around the world. The games have lured a large number of ardent followers and fans, who throng the locations where the events are going on. This usually results to an outsized quantity of tourists in the venues, who inject a large amount of revenue into the host nation. This happens through accommodation and general tourist bills. In addition, potential host countries must exhibit the potential to offer excellent services in form of safety, accommodation, infrastructure, and relevant facilities (Monfort, 2010:129). This forces the countries to upgrade their systems completely, a move that usually favors the host regions. All this, directly or indirectly, affects the economic status of the host country. Usually, most of the impacts are positive, though there are few detrimental effects to the host’s country economic situation. However, in overall, hosting the Olympic Games leave a deep positive impact wherever they happen (Monfort, 2010:286). Ever since London, the United Kingdom’s capital city, won the proposition to host the 2012 Olympic Games in 2005, analysts have been researching on the possible impacts the games will inflict on the British economy. Findings from intense research of the topic have revealed that, since 2005, the UK economy has experienced a great boost from the relevant doings both in and outside of the new Olympic village. Buildings’ costs in Stratford and the adjacent regions have substantially risen. The games have directly influenced the creation of over 40,000 job opportunities in the country. The government has experienced a major infrastructure overhaul, including the putting up of Westfield, which is currently the biggest shopping marketplace in Europe (Monfort, 2010:331). The city has lured intense trading activity from both tourists and the local citizens. Westfield has attracted extensive popularity and hype. For example, the shopping center served over 160,000 shoppers on its first day of work. The UK population is relying on the London 2012 event to bring in ample revenue to lift the country’s economy from its current negative spiral. However, uncertainty hovers among the locals on the performance of the Olympic village after the event. The country expects to host tens of millions of tourists during the games, who ill potentially bring in billions of pounds in revenue. All accommodation and entertainment spots are preparing for the forecasted influx of people (House of Commons. 2005: 29). As a result, the country’s retail traders are confident about making a kill out of the games. When the country unsuccessfully vied for the chance to host the Euro 2008 event, it lost about 1.5 billion pounds in general trade opportunities. The London 2012 Olympic event is expected to bring numerous key benefits to England. These results include sports advancements, tourism increase, and general enhancing of the economic doings all over the country. Authorities have proposed that England is set to benefit from the games in the form of a lasting legacy (Dwer, 2010:134). Most of the expected benefits already hold an important spot in the local public’s perception. The games present a distinct catalyst to realize new market bases, form new business associations and deals, and greatly help the relevant local authorities to realize gigantic targets. This is because, apart from positive fiscal impacts, the games will also enrich England’s sporting tradition, and support the celebration of London’s diversity (Dwer, 2010:157). The games offer a lifetime prospect to present to the planet the best that London has to proffer, and will bid numerous returns to the city’s inhabitants and workforce. The London 2012 event has influenced the drastic acceleration of the building of state-of-the-art sports facilities in England. All of these will serve the community after the event ends. For example, the Aquatics Center, the Hockey Center, the Velodrome, the Indoor Sports Arena, the Athletics Stadium, and the Canoe Slalom will all be open to public use, as well as host training of elite participants (Dwer, 2010: 429). In addition, the event is likely to generate intense interest in the relevant authorities and related business ventures. This is likely to result to the realizing of ample funds that will support the development of all sport activities and interests at all levels. The accommodating of participating teams will heavily influence the overhauling of the currently available accommodation and sporting infrastructure. Generally, the games will rapidly increase the number of available job opportunities, present new skills to the relevant population, and greatly boost the related business activities. All branches of the economy expect a big change that will emanate from the hosting of the events. A large number of England companies, notwithstanding their actual sizes and scope of operations, will have to work together to realize the successful hosting of the games. This will happen through varying avenues, including construction, catering, the service sector, manufacturing, and general trade (Dwer, 2010:389). Research from the previous event that happened in Sydney, Australia, has revealed that the New South Wales business community raked in over A $ 1 billion dollars in successfully bid contracts for the Sydney games. Companies from the adjacent regions got contracts that were worth around A $ 300 million dollars. In addition, the Sydney event influenced the employment of around 55,000 citizens. Research indicated that about 125 groups of participants from various countries underwent their pre-Games exercises in various places in New South Wales. This training exercise brought in about A $ 70 million worth of revenue to the Australian economy. The country’s tourism trade will potentially get a substantial gain, during and after the Olympic Games (Fussey, 2011:134). This gain will include a substantial increase in the local tourist trade in the Dorset, Portland, and Weymouth regions. This is because the regions are set to accommodate the Sailing events of the games. The highly famous Spirit of the Sean occasion, which highlights the regions’ close relationship with the adjacent ocean, recently passed its second anniversary, and is rapidly gaining momentum (Fussey, 2011:293). Its last year’s event consisted of more than 50 games that happened in 27 locations around the regions. This occasion gathers a wide scope of sports and traditional cultures, which include beach concerts, water sports that accommodate people of all ages and sex, the famous Henri Lloyd Weymouth Regatta, the Dorset Seafood fanfare, and the Moving Tides Children Procession (Dwer, 2010:134). Apart from imposing on the people present the necessity of being accustomed to local cultural traditions, the occasion influenced each individual to spend an average of 70 pounds. This presented a substantial boost to the local economy. The Dorset authorities is currently partnering with the adjacent authorities to work out a successful strategy on how best to sustain the tourist boom that will be brought about by the 2012 games (Dwer,2010: 532). The London Games is also set to present numerous knowledge avenues to the local public to discover and develop various skills and talents. Millions of job opportunities will occur due to the estimated building of a new park that is set to link up with the tidal Thames river offshoot. Large figures of volunteers have the prospect to contribute to the triumphant hosting of the Olympic playoffs (House of Commons, 2009:86). The relevant authorities currently estimate that they will need over 70,000 volunteer employees to help in the hosting of the event, and as a result, they are set to embark in the largest volunteer registration drive that has ever happened in England’s peace era. This action will potentially provide a substantial increase in value to general and sports-related volunteer activities in England (Fussey, 2011:332). One of the main highlights of the drive is the Kent event group, which is exploiting the Olympics event as a major influencing factor to register volunteers in varying sport, cultural, and leisure activities. The creative industry sector is one of the currently fastest growing industries in England. It has been the main reasons behind the rapid rise in job opportunities in London. During the games, an Olympic cultural program will be one of the main happenings. The program will involve many activities, including park concerts and street-based theater and plays. These activities will give a chance to the industry players to present their skills and capabilities to a worldwide audience. A nationwide Olympic Torch Relay is slated to happen in the early months of 2012 (Fussey, 2011:367). Therefore, a large number of electricians, artists, stage supervisors, and producers will be involved to ensure the relay’s success. This event will therefore offer numerous additional job opportunities to the local citizens. In addition, the expected vigorous training programs that will ensue will make certain that the creative industry will be adequately equipped to perform efficiently for a long time to come. The victorious hosting of the Olympic sports meeting will potentially influence the England administration to support extensive membership in sporting activities and general physical fitness programs at all levels in all regions in the country (Fussey, 2011:332). The Games are set to trigger one of the world’s biggest and outstanding urban overhauls ever seen in England. The main area of focus will be the Lower Lea Valley in the east side of London. The construction of the Olympic Park and the other various event locations possess numerous positive social and economic impacts (Dwer, 2010:229). These benefits will positively affect the local population of London and the whole of the country in general. The main transport modes currently in lace in London will be drastically developed to facilitate the uninterrupted conveying of all involved individuals to and from the different event venues. Another major boost to the country will come from the building of around 5,000 residential houses after the restructuring of the Olympic village, a move that is set to commence immediately after the close of the event (Dwer, 2010:669). Generally, England will gain much from the Olympic Games in all sectors. The widespread positive effects will positively boost the country’s current economic state, and will potentially change its current downward swing. Bibliography Davis, A. 2012. The Olympic Games Effect: How Sports Marketing Builds Strong Brands. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons. Dwer, Larry. 2010. Tourism Economics and Policy. New York: Channel View Publications. Fussey, P. 2011. Securing and Sustaining the Olympic City: Reconfiguring London for 2012 and Beyond. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Guttman, A. 2003. The Olympics, a History of the Modern Games. Illinois: University of Illinois Press. House of Commons. 2005. London 2012 Olympics: First Steps; Oral and Written Evidence. London: The Stationery Office. House of Commons. 2009. Potential Benefits of the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics for Wales: Eighth Report of Session 2008-09; Report, Together with Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence. London: The Stationery Office. Monfort, Jaime. 2010. The Monfort Plan: The New Architecture of Capitalism. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons. Young, D. 2004. A Brief History of the Olympic Games. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons. Read More