Legacy of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games

Hugh Robertson Excerpts

Monday 16th April 2012 Written Statements

[The Minister for Sport and the Olympics (Hugh Robertson)]

In December 2010 the Government set out their plans for the legacy from the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games in the document “Plans for the Legacy from the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games” which I published under cover of a written ministerial statement. I undertook to provide updates. My Department has recently published “Beyond 2012—London 2012 Legacy Story” which tells the emerging story of the legacy from the 2012 games. I have placed copies in the Libraries of both Houses.

This document sets out some legacy achievements in a number of areas. These reflect the depth and breadth of the legacy reaching across the country, which Jacques Rogge, the President of the International Olympic Committee refers to in “Beyond 2012” as a “legacy blueprint for future Games hosts”. Some of the legacy achievements are listed below.

Sport

Government’s changes to the national lottery shares, coupled with increased tickets sales, should mean £560 million more in lottery income for sport over the next five years.

Over 12,000 schools across England are signed up for the school games with the first national finals on the Olympic park in May 2012.

£1 billion is to be invested in youth sport over the next five years through the new Youth Sport Strategy, which will include an additional £100 million investment in sports facilities.

6,000 community sports clubs are to be created by local schools, as well as better sports facilities and more professional support for colleges and universities.

60% of Government money provided to national sports bodies is to be focused on the key 14 to 25 age group, with a new payment-by-results system providing added rigour.

Up to 1,000 local sports venues are to be upgraded under the £135 million Places People Play programme, which also includes £30 million to support a regional network of major sport and leisure centres.

100,000 adults will participate in multiple Olympic or Paralympic sports under a nationwide “Gold Challenge” programme by the end of 2012.

200,000 Londoners are expected to benefit from the London Mayor’s participation programme, with more than 10% of these previously inactive. Mayoral programmes are also upgrading facilities and encouraging more people to become coaches.

118 major sporting events will have been staged in the UK from 2007 to 2012, covering 41 out of 46 Olympic and Paralympic sports.

30,000+ elite international athletes have competed in these events (2007-2009), with 27,000 officials and volunteers supporting them.

These events are providing a £105 million boost to the economy, with major events staged in 35 towns and cities across the country over the last five years.

Beyond 2012 the UK will continue to reap the benefits that come from hosting major events, including the Rugby League World Cup (2013), Commonwealth Games (2014), Rugby Union World Cup (2015), World Athletics Championships at the Olympic Stadium (2017), and Cricket World Cup (2019).

Across the world the UK’s international sports legacy programme, International Inspiration, has reached more than 12 million young people in 20 countries through sport activities and engagement with partner Governments and their agencies.

Growth

A £3 billion economic boost is expected through the GREAT campaign to drive trade, investment and tourism.

98% of the £6 billion worth of Olympic park contracts have gone to UK-based companies—two thirds of them small or medium-sized enterprises.

10,000+ business opportunities have been made available via CompeteFor, the brokerage service set up for the games and now used for many other major projects.

94% of the £1 billion worth of LOCOG contracts have gone to UK businesses, equating to over £900 million.

£30 million is to be invested in the UK’s first ever National Sports and Exercise Medicine Centre of Excellence to promote sport and physical activity within healthcare.

50 industry events are being led by the Olympic Delivery Authority throughout 2012 to share lessons of the games with professionals across the construction sector.

£2.3 billion worth of contracts are on offer in Rio and Sochi over the next four years, with some London 2012 contractors already on board.

£1 billion of extra business for UK firms is expected from games-related trade campaigns.

200 business Ministers and global chief executive officers are expected at the global investment conference in July 2012.

3,500 meetings between UK companies and potential overseas buyers are expected to be initiated by the British business embassy.

4 million extra visitors are expected to visit the UK from 2011 to 2015.

£2 billion additional spend by visitors to the UK is expected in the four years after the games.

90 million people will see the GREAT campaign adverts across 14 key cities worldwide: Beijing, Berlin, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Mumbai, New Delhi, New York, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto.

70% of the population in each of the target cities will see the advertising on billboards, TV or in the cinema.

12,000 additional tourism jobs are expected to be created through increased domestic tourism over three years.

£500 million additional money is expected to be spent by British tourists as a result of the VisitEngland campaign which is built around a unique 20.12% discount offer.

People

95% of people will be within easy reach of the Olympic torch relay during its 8,000 mile journey.

Approximately 70,000 volunteers will have been chosen as Games Makers to help in the staging of the Olympic and Paralympic events. There are 2,000 roles for Young Games Makers aged 16 to18.

40% of applicants for Games Maker roles say that London 2012 has inspired them to volunteer for the first time.

8,000 Team London Ambassadors will guide visitors across the capital during the games, with similar programmes in place in other Olympic and Paralympic cities.

2,000+ community projects have officially been inspired by the Olympics and Paralympics.

24,000 schools form the Get Set network, which is teaching millions of children about the Olympic and Paralympic values.

14 million people have taken part in or attended Cultural Olympiad performances.

1,000 events across the UK will form part of the London 2012 Festival, providing 10 million opportunities to enjoy the best cultural performances from the UK and abroad.

4 Paralympic flames will be lit in UK capital cities that will be united at Stoke Mandeville.

8,000 inspirational torchbearers will carry the Olympic flame during the 70 days it will spend travelling across the UK.

£2 million worth of commissions for the Cultural Olympiad have come through the Unlimited Fund, the UK’s largest arts programme for disabled and deaf people.

There will be 150 hours of Channel 4 coverage for the Paralympic games, aiming to double the TV audience compared to the 2008 games in Beijing.

200 disabled athletes will compete across eight disability sports at the National School Games finals, with all participating schools including opportunities for disabled people in their competitions.

East London

46,000 people worked on the Olympic park during construction, a fifth of them from local communities.

20% of the London 2012 workforce has been recruited from the six Olympic host boroughs, with 13% previously unemployed and 7% registered disabled.

10,000 people are now employed at the new Westfield Stratford shopping centre, at least 2,000 of whom are local people who were previously unemployed.

1 in 5 jobs in East London are now in the creative industries. East London also boasts the largest cluster of artists and arts organisations of any capital city in the world.

300 companies are now based in East London’s thriving “Tech City” which has grown from just 15 companies in the three years leading up to the games.

6,000 jobs could be created in the environmental technology sector as a result of the Green Enterprise District set up in East London.

£200 million has been spent on upgrading Stratford regional station, with new lifts, staircases, re-opened subway, wider platforms and a new mezzanine entrance.

The Docklands light railway has been extended by 2.6 km, with a new branch to Stratford International and three new stations opened.

Capacity of the Jubilee line has been increased by 33% with upgrades to signalling and additional trains running at peak times.

220 buildings were knocked down to make way for the Olympic park, with 98.5% of demolition waste being recycled.

2.3 million cubic metres of soil were excavated and cleansed of industrial pollutants as part of the most ambitious soil clean-up operation ever seen in the UK.

The accident frequency rate of 0.16 for the Olympic park is well below the industry average and below the national average for all workplaces.

4,000 recycling bins and composting bins will be placed throughout the venues and park to help meet the commitment to no landfill waste during the games.

£10 million is being invested in upgrading pedestrian and cycling routes to Olympic venues, with more than 60 projects promoting greener travel inspired by London 2012.

14 million is the target for the number of sustainably sourced meals provided during the games, setting new standards for supply chain management.

There will be 45 hectares of wildlife habitat on the Olympic park, including reedbeds, grasslands, ponds and woodlands, with 525 bird boxes and 150 bat boxes.

120,000 plants from 250 species from around the world will be planted in the London 2012 garden, helping to showcase British horticulture.

350,000 wetland plants will be planted as part of the UK’s largest ever urban river and wetland planting, creating a new haven for wildlife.

A new postcode—E20—has been created to serve the five neighbourhoods being created across Queen Elizabeth Olympic park.

11 schools and nurseries and three health centres will serve local communities across the park.

10,000 jobs are expected to be created on the Olympic park alone—all of them within an inviting parkland setting.