London’s gold medal

Article based on ‘The real gold won by London’s Olympic bid’ by Henk Potts, City AM newspaper

Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney, Athens and then we have Newham. The whole world wants to be in Newham in 2012 and it will be a great opportunity to show off to the world the greatness of Newham but hosting the games could come at a very high price.

The citizens of Montreal, who hosted the games in 1976, are still paying off the interest after hosting the Olympic Games and tax-payers in Athens will be paying for some time to come.

Not only will London benefit directly from employment ranging from builders to security guards but London may see benefits which extend far into the future – the revamped infrastructure and increased tourism will stimulate London’s economy. After the Barcelona games, tourism sky-rocketed and hopefully the additional demand will apply for the whole of Britain, not just London.

This money will have a secondary impact as it is spent again, which introduces the multiplier effect. It will result in extra employment and more spending by local businesses and also an increase in spending by consumers.

In the longer term, London’s commuters will benefit from the developed infrastructure. The games have acted as the catalyst for transport projects and now Ken Livingstone has put in a further £18bn for London’s transport system.

The stock market should see a boost in share value of engineering and construction firms. Builders will also see extra demand from new residents, tourists and the influx of workers.

So, it’s not just athletes going for gold.