News

2012 Must Mean Lasting Economic Legacy for Entire Country

24th January 2006

Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell has opened the first-ever 2012 Business Summit by telling companies and their workers that every corner of the UK must see real benefits when the Games come to London in six years time.

She told almost 300 delegates from trade bodies, companies, Regional Development Agencies, trades unions and local councils, meeting at Cabot Hall in Canary Wharf, London:

"Winning the Games gave us the right to host hte greatest sporting spectacle on earth, but we need to do so much more than simply deliver 17 days of sport. After the closing ceremony, we still would have failed the Olympic tradition if we have not delivered a positive and lasting economic legacy for our entire country."

The summit was convened to give industry the latest information on how they can derive benefits from London staging the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2012. It will be followed by a summit for companies and workers outside London, in Leeds in July.

Tessa Jowell continued: "Today's summit signals our determination to ensure the economic benefits from the Games are maximised for all UK based businesses and workers.

"The Government will be spending £3bn on physical infrastructure for the Games and we want that money to work to the maximum benefit of our economy.

"This doesn't mean an outdated 'Buy British' campaign, but we do want to ensure that the public money spent on the Games is recycled into the British economy wherever possible to the benefit of British based companies and the people working in them."

The summit also heard speeches from the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, Sir Digby Jones (director-general, CBI) and TUC general secretary Brendan Barber.

Sir Digby Jones said: "The 2012 Olympic Games are an immense opportunity for Britain - to redevelop and regenerate the world's global city, to promote the whole of the UK around the world, and probably most importantly, to stimulate competitiveness and risk-taking among our young people.

"It is in the interest of every British business that the Games are an enormous success and the CBI will be with the London Organising Committee and the Olympic Delivery Authority all the way to the finishing tape."

Brendan Barber commented: "The Olympic Games and Paralympic Games are an opportunity for British athletes, businesses and working people to deliver a world-class performance. We have the talent and have six years to deliver the organisation required for an event of this scale. As a nation we must learn from the successes and setbacks of our own major projects but also from the achievements of others, such as the Sydney Games of 2000.

"For the London Games to succeed unions and business need to work together. And our measure of success will be a high-quality games delivered by well trained staff working with employers to get the job done on time and safely."

Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, said: 'The 'Olympic effect' should not be underestimated and I want businesses around London and the UK to benefit from the opportunities that hosting the Games will bring. Now, through my London Development Agency, we are investing in programmes to ensure that medium and small businesses are well positioned to compete for the work that needs to be done.

"I also want ordinary Londoners and local people to benefit too and we have committed £9 million of investment now, with more to come, in major skills development programmes. This will help them secure these new jobs - as well as equipping them with new skills that they can build on throughout their working lifetime and ensuring that businesses delivering the Games have a plentiful supply of skilled workers to draw from."