London as Olympic Games Host in 2012 - Report Example

ECONOMIC IMPACT REPORT: London as Olympic Games Host in BY YOU YOUR ACADEMIC ORGANISATION HERE APPROPRIATE HERE OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION HERE ECONOMIC IMPACT REPORT: London as Olympic Games Host in 2012 Introduction It is ready, set, go as London gears for hosting the Olympics in 2012. There appears to be a rather mixed social viewpoint regarding the importance of the Olympics for the local economy, with a variety of citizens in the UK believing the event will bring significant growth and improvement whilst others are more ambivalent and cautious about potential wasteful expenditures. However, there are clearly a wide variety of positive and negative issues associated with the 2012 Olympics, each of which will be described in this economic impact report. Advantages of the Event During the 1992 Olympics, Barcelona experienced significant positive changes in terms of infrastructure development. The city approved an aggressive modernisation initiative to include development of a waterfront zone to improve tourist patronage and the allure of the city as a viable tourist destination (Corkill, 2002). Costs for this programme were estimated at approximately £21 billion. Despite the high costs, clearly Barcelona recognised that the Olympic games would bring substantial tourist revenues, thus improving the city’s image was designed to bring long-term value to Barcelona. Additionally, the 2008 upcoming Beijing Olympics have significant construction efforts underway for arenas and stadiums to provide adequate facilities for visiting Olympiads (CriEnglish.com, 2008). London is considering several infrastructure improvements in anticipation of the 2012 Olympics, including a 500-acre park consisting of an athletic village, swimming pool and other indoor arenas in the lower Lea Valley which is currently a somewhat dilapidated region in close proximity to Olympic events (The Economist, 2004: 82). Such efforts tend to suggest that London governmental officials are vastly aware that infrastructure developments are required in order to secure a positive sense of consumer awe and splendor during visitation to this region. In terms of economic growth, the 2000 Sydney, Australia Olympics brought the region 110,000 international tourists with a total economic benefit exceeding six billion Australian dollars (Cooper & Hall, 2005). This represented a 2.6 percent increase in total tourist volumes and associated revenues (Cooper & Hall). London is anticipating large-scale increases in tourist volumes, in the short-term during 2012. However, despite these measureable increases in Australia, London is not expecting the city to become reinvented as a tourist attraction as this area already enjoys ample profitability from being a quality tourist destination in contemporary society (Donovan, 2006). However, city officials expect similar-scale increases in tourism but only during the Olympic games events specifically in 2012. Thus, it might be said that the prestige of London will not be impacted substantially through hosting the events as the country already maintains a quality reputation within the tourist marketplace. It has been said that the Olympics bring together diverse international cultures which all share a common belief in the value of Olympic games as a measure of individualism and national success (Kleiner, 2001). London will receive an ample volume of international tourists associated with the country of origin of competitors, thus any potential misconceptions about foreign cultures may be dismissed or redeveloped through the camaraderie exhibited by international travellers in events such as these. Employment issues, however, will likely receive the greatest economic impact from the Olympic games. Sydney experienced an increase of 150 in new jobs creation (Cooper & Hall), a notable increase, however London officials estimate that the 2012 Olympics could create as many as 100,000 different job opportunities in retail, construction, restaurant, night life and other consumer-oriented businesses (Sydenham, 2006). Largely, the jobs creation will come in the form of the construction industry, estimated at approximately 60 percent of total new jobs created (Sydenham). Why? As London gears toward using the Olympics as a catalyst for urban renewal and city regeneration efforts, wide-scale infrastructure changes and business construction will be required, thus providing ample construction jobs as a positive outcome of preparatory efforts. The long-term infrastructure changes, including the development of Lea Valley Olympic Park, will provide the region with increased athletic events opportunities (such as hockey and football) as the new arenas will be equipped with facilities not currently available in this poorer region of London (Price Waterhouse Coopers, 2005). Hence, even after the Olympics have moved on to another location, the long-term positive impact of new constructions and other renewal initiatives will sustain London as a viable community environment well into the 21st Century. Disadvantages All of the infrastructure changes and community improvement initiatives described in the preceding section are costly efforts on behalf of businesses in the UK and the greater London governmental authority. The new Olympic Park is estimated to cost the city £650 million (Blackstone, 2005), thus representing significant strains on urban renewal budgets. However, the revenues expected to be generated from these infrastructure changes will likely offset these expenses in the years following the Olympics as individuals continue to maintain usage of the Olympic Park recreational and sporting facilities (Price Waterhouse Coopers). Mental health and well-being is also considered a negative outcome of the Olympics, as many individuals in the London region are likely concerned about issues of security, personal safety or potential theft as an outcome of increased tourist volumes. Further, London Olympics planning commissions estimate that local residents in close proximity to the upcoming events will experience over five years of continuous, disruptive construction and infrastructure development (Price Waterhouse Coopers). This tends to build consumer anxieties and reduce mental health and well-being of citizens facing these environmentally-disturbing construction efforts. Though none of the construction initiatives or urban renewal objectives appear to be without long-term merit (even after the Olympics have moved on), there may still be citizen concern that the city is spending more than should be allocated for these types of infrastructure improvements. However, these arguments could potentially be countered through various quantitative surveys or questionnaires aimed at the local consumer regarding the levels by which they continue to frequent the new Olympics-inspired facilities in London. Finally, there are some large-scale disadvantages to all of the infrastructure development campaigns in this region in relation to determining what to do with homeless individuals in the city as well as governmentally-protected gypsies. It has been suggested that there are over 800 gypsy encampments spread throughout London as well as 209 congregations of gypsies which are unauthorised by governmental policy (Mahon, 2007). Adding to this crisis, there are approximately 71,000 individuals in London and the surrounding regions who are temporarily displaced or living in temporary shelters (Mahon). It was quite important in the pursuit of identifying potential hindrances to the Olympics in the form of homeless and gypsy encampments which appear to make up a tremendous volume of citizens in this region. They are protected by legislation, thus gypsy encampments cannot be simply moved or relocated in order to appease development activities. In the United States, in Detroit, Michigan, during a Super Bowl event, the city temporarily arranged housing and other accommodations for the city’s large volume of homeless individuals. The rationale: Hide the homeless to make the city appear more progressive, modern and economically-sound (Davison, 2006). Perhaps in the United States, in order to appease the mental health expectations of more affluent travellers to the region, simply offering temporary shelters to homeless as a means to obscure their existence is considered a viable strategy that is protected by legalities. However, in London, despite any concerns about the perceived impact of homelessness and similar economic problems in the region, gypsy and homeless congregations cannot be effectively managed. Thus, any negative perceptions of London’s plight in terms of securing the needs of the less-advantaged will simply have to plague the city as a somewhat uncontrollable outcome during Olympics preparations. Conclusion Clearly, there are wide-scale advantages to the Olympics planning efforts, including some very long-term gains to the local citizens in the form of improved business facilities and new recreational facilities. Jobs will most definitely be created in the pursuit of catering to a large, yet temporary group of travellers and to sustain the new developments being constructed. Similarly, the city appears to be hoping for improved economic growth as Olympics tourists put considerable sales revenues back into the local business economy. Despite the positive issues, obviously the disadvantages to the plan begin to erode the excitement over positive infrastructure and economic gains. However, it does appear that the city planning bodies are well aware of the problems facing the Olympics in 2012 and are working on creating viable solutions to these drawbacks. From homeless and gypsy encampments to mental health outcomes created by continuous regional construction efforts, London actually maintains an ample timeframe to address these issues before they begin to erode positive gains. It is clear that the Olympics will bring significant value to the London region in far greater proportion than that of any negative outcomes. Even though the region is already an important and viable tourist destination, there can be little doubt that the local area will experience similar explosive gains in economic reward, similar to that of Barcelona or Sydney as an evolution of increased, but temporary tourist escalation. References Blackstone, A.R. (2005). Environmental Accounting. 3rd ed. United Kingdom, Thomson South-Western: 209-211. Cooper, Chris & Hall, Colin M. (2005). Oceania: A Tourism Handbook. Clevedon, Buffalo Multilingual Matters: 88. Corkill, David. (2002). The Development of the Portugeuse Economy: A Case of Europeanization. Contemporary Economic History of Europe Series. London, Routledge: 114. Davison, Amy N. (2006). ‘Salvaging City Image: Detroit’s Homeless and Olympic Reputation’. Planning and Corporate Strategy. 33(12): 43-47. Retrieved 2 Mar 2008 from ProQuest Database. Donovan, Paul. (2006). ‘UBS Investment Research: Winning by taking part – East London’s economy and the Olympics’. Retrieved 3 Mar 2008 from http://www.ibb.ubs.com/Institutions/R50559C.pdf Kleiner, Bridget A. (2001). Creating Cross-Cultural Connection: An International Perspective. London, Hamish Hamilton Publishers: 71. Mahon, Claire. (2007). ‘Hosting the 2012 Olympic Games: London’s Olympics Preparations and Housing Rights Concerns’. Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions. Retrieved 3 Mar 2008 from http://www.cohre.org/store/attachments/London_background_paper.pdf Price Waterhouse Coopers. (2005). ‘Olympic Games Impact Study – Final Report’. Government and Public Sector. Retrieved 3 Mar 2008 from http://www.culture.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/E88F2684-F49E-4F45-B826-2F19F21374F8/0/OlympicGamesImpactStudy.pdf Sydenham, Tim. (2006). ‘2012 inspiration can rub-off for renewal’. Regeneration & Renewal. 6 Oct 2006: 14. The Economist. (2004). ‘Britain: London’s Olympic Spirit’. 22 May 2004. 371(8376): 25. Bibliography Insert whatever references you find appropriate. No other materials were consulted than the referenced items. Read More