The Impact of Olympic Games 2012 on London - Report Example

The impact of London Olympics preparation on London The summer Olympic games also known as 'Games of the XXX Olympiad' will be celebrated in London from 27 july to 12th august , 2012 followed by Paralympic games from 29 August to 9 September . With this London will become the only city in the world to host three Olympiads (the previous ones were in 1908 and 1948 respectively). London won the battle for hosting Olympic games after a close competition with Paris. The 6th July , 2005 announcement about the selection of London as the host city of 2012 summer Olympic Games, lead to one of the biggest construction and regeneration initiatives in the world . There are several parameters which will come across direct impact of the 2012 London Olympics. The impacts of preparation of London Olympics are described as follows: Impact on infrastructure development: The London Olympics and Paralympics 2012 will use both the existing facilities as well as the latest new architectural wonders such as 'Olympic park' and 'Olympic stadium' (Construct UK, 2005). The whole process is developed keeping in mind that no 'white elephants' are created while carrying out 2012 Olympics projects. This is also called as '2012 legacy'. Some of the newly developed infrastructure will be used in their original form whereas the others will be reduced in size and relocated elsewhere in the UK after the completion of the Olympiad. The Olympic park(Newman, P. 2007) is being developed on a wasteland near Stratford, which is claimed to be the biggest engineering and construction project in Europe. Significant cleaning up of the 2.5 sq. km contaminated land is already in progress. After the Olympiad is over , the Olympic park will be transformed into an urban park which will be the largest in Europe. The other venues such as aquatics centre, hockey centre and the multi sports arena will lead to the overall development of sports infrastructure in UK. Some of the sports facilities like ExCeL in Newham (which will host Weightlifting, Boxing, Judo, Wrestling, Tae Kwondo and Table Tennis competitions), O2 in Greenwich (Gymnastics); Greenwich Arena (will host Badminton and Rhythmic Gymnastics), Horse Guards' Parade (Beach Volleyball) and Wimbledon (Tennis) already exists and need only some renovation. While developing the new venues and infrastructure it was necessary to purchase and demolish some business and private sites and properties. This has led to some controversy as the proprietors complained of inadequate compensation. Thus the overall infrastructure development taken place is really beneficial in the long run for the development of UK Impact on transport: The need to get the entire Olympic family as well as the spectators safely and on time to the venue has led to the proposal of improvement in the existing transport system. The main aim is to complete the games related transport improvement work well before 2012 so that people can enjoy the benefits before, during and after the Olympics. The Lower Lea Valley will be transformed into one of the best connected areas in the capital, in accordance with the transport improvement plans, thus bringing economic and social benefits. East London will see long term benefits as a result of this. Rail lines, stations and platforms are being upgraded which will serve the public interest in the long run even after the games are over. The London Underground's East London Line is being expanded; the Docklands Light Railway and the North London Line are being upgraded. The new "Javelin" high-speed rail service, using Hitachi 'bullet' trains is being introduced for the fastest surface transit. Buses: The 'iBus' with automated vehicle control systems and a comprehensive communication system will be introduced by end 2008. These buses are particularly helpful to aged, disabled and foreign tourists who have language problems as these are equipped with audio visual systems for information on upcoming bus stop, live information on board the buses. River transport: The inland waterways connecting the River Lea to the River Thames will be improved and used to allow materials transportation to and from the sites. Cycling and walking: A cycling lane and walking route development programme is in place to attract the health conscious and environmentally aware persons. The aim of the public transport is to reach 80% of the athletes to their venues at a time less than 20 minutes. Park and ride schemes are being introduced to reduce traffic congestion. Some of the events like sailing which is scheduled at Portland are having underdeveloped public transport which should be taken into consideration. The overall development of public transport will be very much useful to the English people in general and Londoners to be specific. Economic effect: The estimated budget for London Olympics is around 9.345 billion. The cost of hosting Olympic games is being shared by the common public, government and private funding agencies (Digby, B. 2008). The escalating costs of inputs have made the profit smaller as projected earlier. The high cost of infrastructure development and related utilities will be recovered from tickets sold, commercial rights , media coverage rights and the likes. The economic impact can be assessed by calculating the following(Blake, A.2005): The construction phase Other pre-Games costs Visitor impacts in the run-up to the Games Revenues from staging the Games During-Games visitor impacts Costs of staging the Games Legacy visitor impacts Legacy infrastructural impacts The small business owners benefit in a larger way by getting the orders for the small and large consumables in the proceedings towards Olympic games. The local youth gets employment opportunity created by the engagement of large scale manpower. Thus it is overall beneficial to the whole country's economy. Cultural impact: Olympic is the melting pot of cultures. In a cosmopolitan city like London it is most likely that, it can showcase its own cultural heritage and the ethnic diversity to the whole world. It acts as a link between the different cultures of the world. In a world where we are divided by the 'clash of civilizations' and acts of terror , Olympic creates a bonding and true sportsman spirit among individuals. The four year (2008-2012) long cultural Olympiad will celebrate the different cultural spectra around the world with participation from communities across UK and around the world. The Olympic games is scheduled in the month of 'Ramadan' which puts a Muslim athlete in a disadvantageous position as compared to others. This has led to some sort of controversy. Impact on sports: The sports overall will get a thrust for 2012 Olympic games in UK. The performance pressure may cause some athletes to take some performance enhancing drugs(Kelso , p. 2008). This is clearly a disturbing phenomenon. The choice of smart drugs which are undetectable can cause several detrimental effects. The awareness of the athletes about the deleterious effects of doping has to be increased. The success of the Olympics depends on the death of the doping menace. The thrust in sports will lead to the overall health and wellbeing of UK nationals and thus improving the fitness level of the nation. Tourism: London is a international tourist hotspot(Gold, J.R. and Gold M.M. 2008 ,). It is already a globally recognized tourist destination. The Olympics celebration in 2012 will add new dimension to it(Walton , H. et al 2008). The mega event has always attracted a dedicated lot of tourists from all over the world increasing the revenue. Development of tourism takes place by the architechtural and other legacies generated for the Olympics and the effect lasts long after the games. As London is one of the modern cities in the world, there are plenty of hotels, restaurants, pubs and bars. London is also well - known from its numerous attractions, which will make everyone's stay in this city a marvelous time. The 2012 Olympics is going to be the most attractive event for tourism boom Technological impact: The 2012 London Olympic game is ushering a new era in the usage of technology (Johnson C.W.2008). The technology involved in this event can be broadly classified into 3 categories : 1. Operational technology 2. Business technology 3. Communications technology The use of existing, proven systems are already in use for the games. Advanced, sophisticated new applications will also be developed and tested under extreme conditions to achieve the overall integrity and reliability of those systems during their use in Olympic games. Innovative use of these technologies will result in a well-connected world audience. Environment: The London 2012 Olympic games is considered to be the first of its kind 'sustainable' games(Walton , H. et al 2008). It means that satisfying people's current and long term needs and improving quality of life by preserving the nature. The optimum use of the planet resources is the main goal of the London 2012 games. The London 2012 olympics organizing committee are focusing on five key areas: Combating climate change; Reducing waste; Enhancing biodiversity; Promoting inclusion; and Improving healthy living This can be achieved by: 1. Reclaiming demolition materials for recycling or reuse. 2. Reusing materials in designing venues and parklands 3. Translocating wild life and creating new habitat for them. In terms of environment protection and preservation, the London Olympics is claimed to be the green Olympics. The Olympiad legacy( London 2012, 2008): Every Olympics has rendered benefits to the hosting nation in some or the other way. The lasting contributions of London Olympics can be summarized as follows. The Olympic park will be converted to the largest urban park built in Europe for more than 150 years, after the end of the Olympiad. It will enrich the local ecology , restore wetland habitats, natural flora and fauna. The canals and waterways of river lea(Gold, J.R. and Gold M.M. 2008 ) will be cleaned and broadened. The ecological balnce will be achieved by restoration of wildlife habitat. The world-class sports facilities will be later used by communities for development of sports. The Olympic village will be converted into homes for key workers such as nurses and teachers. The transport facility will get an upliftment with the improvement in rail, road, inland water transport and through the access of open space via the tow path, foot path etc. The local youth will get employment opportunity through the conversion of international broadcast centre into a new employment centre. The Games will leave a key legacy of national benefits in culture, sport, volunteering, business and tourism. Thus the overall impact of the preparations towards London Olympics 2012 will contribute in a positive way towards nation building. This is a mutually beneficial situation where there is opportunity for improvement for the general public, private and government agencies galore. This should be taken as a task for overall improvement of the image of the country in the world. Let the true Olympic motto of 'Citius, Altius, Fortius' (latin meaning faster, higher , stronger) prevail and bring glory to our nation . References: Blake, A. 2005 "The economic impact of the London 2012 Olympics" Nottingham university business school, Report funded by DCMS Construct UK, 2005 "Construction Projects of the 2012 London Olympics" Riba, London Digby, B. 2008 "This Changing World: The London 2012 Olympics", Geography spring 2008 Gold, J.R. and Gold M.M. 2008 "Olympic Cities: Regeneration, City Rebranding and Changing Urban Agendas" Geograpky Compass Vol. 2, No. 1, pp.300-318 Johnson C.W.2008 "Using evacuation simulations for contingency planning to enhance the security and safety of the 2012 olympic venues" Safety Science,Vol. 46, No. 2, pp. 302-32 Kelso , P.2008 "Uk Sport Fears Surge Of Doping For 2012games" The Guardian,Newspaper Online Retrieved 5th Aug 2008 Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/aug/01/olympicgames2012 Newman, P. 2007 "Back the bid: the 2012 summer Olympics and the governance of London" Journal of urban affairs Vol.29, No. 3, pp.255-267 Walton, H., Longo, A. and Dawson , P. "A Contingent Valuation of the 2012 London Olympic Games" Journal of Sports Economics, Vol. 9, No. 3, pp.304-317 Homepage London 2012 "The official site of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games" Online Retrieved 5th Aug 2008 Available at: http://www.london2012.com/ Read More