The London Olympics - Coursework Example

Advantages and Disadvantages of Londons hosting of the Olympic Games The London Olympics took place in This was the third time that London is hosting the Olympic Games as they were previously held here in 1908 and 1948. London is the only city that has hosted the Olympics three times. The United Kingdom is one of the most developed economies in the world and quite capable of hosting the games given its world-class infrastructure. However, the United Kingdom made plans to improve the transport system and rejuvenate some areas like that of Stratford. Although the event benefited London in the short run in several aspects, the post-Olympics conditions in the economy raise certain questions about the actual benefits. This paper will address the question if Olympics will have a long term impact on London giving specific focus to both the advantages and disadvantage of the event. Evidently, the 2012 Olympic Games revealed some possible advantages and disadvantages of hosting such a mega event. The event made UK the centre of attraction during the episode and there was £2bn in tourism revenue. However, the disadvantages of the hosting cannot be undermined. In addition, we will also attempt to identify the disadvantages and give a report of them so that we can calculate the real usefulness of the 2012 Olympic Games. First, we will present the advantages of the London 2012 Olympics. The advantages will be divided into short term advantages and long term ones. We will present them and will give a short account of those long term and short-term advantages in order to recognize and understand them better. According to many specialists and experts, the main advantages for London include: the Olympics added significantly to UK Gross domestic product (GDP); the Urban regeneration, boosting the participation in sport in UK, housing improvement, Transport improvements, increasing tourism and creating new jobs. These are the most obvious advantages for the London 2012 Olympics. A short description of the above mentioned advantages will be given in the next paragraphs. As per reports, the Gross domestic product (GDP) was about $2.5 trillion; and the UK government spent around $20 billion over a period of 7-8 years for hosting the Games; and the amount spent for the games represents about one tenth of 1% of GDP1. The Olympic facilities built up were expected to generate a big return in the future. The strategic objectives of the game included “maximisation of economic, social, health and environmental benefits” through ‘sustainable development in East London’; and a considerable growth in employment opportunities and job skills also was anticipated as the positive result of the Game2. Another advantage for Londons hosting of the 2012 Olympic Games is the urban regeneration. The Olympics Games have fundamentally transformed East London. The area of East London is a vast area requiring redevelopment. Its area is about 100 square miles. The East-end of London was the main focus of the Olympic Zone. The UK Government built the Olympic Park in the Lower Lea Valley near Stratford. The new stadium with setting capacity of 80000 was the main focus area for the Olympic Games. This encouraged the investment is East London and many projects were established there. Therefore, due to the London Olympics 2012, the development started in this area and the experts expect that the area will be a developed area very soon. One of the most prominent advantages is that the Olympics boosted significantly and will boost participation in sport in the UK. This was prominent by the number of Medals won by the British athletes. The UK won 65 medals including 29 gold medals and this is the largest number of medals achieved by the UK since decades. The UK also finished third in Olympic medal table. This is an unprecedented achievement for the British sport. On the other hand, the experts claim that 1 million extra people are inspired to participate in sport in the run up to the Games. The surveys conducted by government authorities in UK show that participation rates were essentially high at the time of the Olympics and this increased participation rate will continue. Another projection regarding the GDP growth boosted by the Game was that the “Games could create and support a total of 354,000 years of employment across the UK – both through direct employment for the Games, and though developing skills of the working population that help raise their prospects of jobs in the future”3. The advantages also include the housing improvement. The housing improvement is one of the long-term benefits of the Olympic Games; and London Olympics is expected to provide 5,000 homes following the conversion of the Olympic Village after the games4. These homes are used now for housing of the local people after the Olympics. As the Olympic Games ended, the government is going to convert the Olympic Park into a new community that includes schools, nurseries, community spaces, health centres and 6,800 new homes, creating 8,000 permanent jobs in the process5. Moreover, as per the same reports, the blocks of flats where athletes were housed is going to provide new rental homes and the Press and Broadcast Centre will be transformed into a new complex with 91,000 square meters of business space, available for businesses to rent6. The advantage that is so clear for all visitors of London is the Transport improvements. The UK government spent 17 billion pounds on improving and upgrading London’s transport in order to increase East London’s connectivity and to transport the spectators, athletes, officials and media to the Olympic Games. The improvements of the transport means included: increasing the jubilee line capacity by 45%, increasing the jubilee line capacity by 45%, Extensions to the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and Major improvement work in East London line which is costing around 1 billion pounds. These improvements will contribute to the promotion of the British Economy and increasing the production. It will also help the local people of the area and enhance the tourism in the area and throughout the UK in general. Increasing tourism is undoubtedly one the most important advantages of all the Olympic Games. The number of tourists increased rapidly in UK due to the Olympic Games. The newly built Olympic Park, which is expected to be a centre for technology companies, is a base for a new tourism attraction. The other facilities used during the Games will also attract many tourists from all over the world. Tourism is one of the most important sources of income that provides a boom for the economy. This will evidently provide many benefits for the economy of the UK. Yet another advantage of the London 2012 Olympic is the newly created jobs. The east end of London is known as a area where unemployment rate is high. As this area has become the Olympic Zone, now there are lots of short-term jobs opportunities which may help to reduce the unemployment rate. In this regard, the UK government gave the priority access to Olympic jobs for local jobseekers. The hosting of the Olympic Games will also provide many job opportunities in the long term. The experts said that the Olympic Games are expected to help 5,000 locals find jobs every year for a decade7. On the other hand, there some disadvantages for the London 2012 Olympics. These disadvantages are represented mainly in the huge cost of hosting such a big event, which reached a record level. The other disadvantages include also the lack of long term jobs, the Olympic Debt and the increase in the consumer prices and rent. The following paragraphs will present a short description of those disadvantages for the London 2012 Olympics and finally will try to give an opinion regarding the feasibility of hosting the London 2012 Olympics. The main disadvantages for the hosting of the games are the huge cost it involved. The experts estimate the total cost of hosting the Olympic Games at the amount £ 9 billion. There would be a £ 500 million operating loss for the UK funding sources. This huge cost represents a drawback for the British government, which suffers from a financial crisis8. Moreover, another problem was that the London Olympic Games cost a vastly larger fortune than what had been budgeted. Another disadvantage for the London Olympic Games was the lack of long-term jobs9. Although the Games created numerous jobs for the local people, those jobs were short-term job and are not long-term jobs. As a result, after the Olympic Games, unemployment rate increased rapidly. So there was a risk that the public would be misled of the opportunities for jobs. The disadvantages also include what is called the Olympic Debt. With such a huge cost of the Olympic Games, there was a risk of ending up in huge financial deficit if preparations were not organized or overseen properly in the long run. The debt arisen from the games is expected to last for years. The final disadvantage is the rising consumer prices. If demand increases, price will also increase. During the Olympics, the price of the products and rent increased which had a serious negative impact on the residents. Finally, we can say that there are many different facts and opinions on whether or not the Olympics will have long term advantages for London. Undoubtedly, the advantages of the London 2012 Olympic Games overweigh its disadvantages. The Olympics will definitely have a long term positive impact on London and the UK in general. There are too many changes in London and its infrastructure that will present a basis for the future development and improvement of the quality of life in the United Kingdom. So we can deduct that the London 2012 Olympic Games achieved its goal which was having a positive long term impact on London. Works Cited Chindadaily.com. web 1 July 2013 http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/ Donovan, Tim. “London 2012: Olympics jobs legacy falls short. BBC London, Aug 9, 2012. Web 1 July 2013 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-19184807 Foley, Patrick. “How the London 2012 Olympics will boost the UK economy by £16.5bn”. The Telegraph, (July 6, 2012). (Accessed1 July 2013). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/london-olympics-business/9379815/How-the-London-2012-Olympics-will-boost-the-UK-economy-by-16.5bn.html Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Trade and Industry Committee. Future of UK manufacturing: oral and written evidence. The Stationery Office, 2007. Print. Olympic Games. Advantages for London. Web 1 July 2013 http://olympics.pthimon.co.uk/londonadv.htm Szymanski, Stefan. “The costs and benefits of the London Olympics”. Forbes, 25 July 2012. Web 1 July 2013. http://www.forbes.com/sites/stefanszymanski/2012/07/25/the-costs-and-benefits-of-the-london-olympics/ Read More