First there was the Ashes, then rugby; now a new form of Anglo-Australian sporting rivalry is emerging: the Olympic organising championship. In many ways the Sydney Games in the millennium year were regarded as the gold standard. With spectacular venues, smooth organisation and efficient security, they were enjoyed hugely by athletes, spectators and a worldwide television audience.
“Since Sydney, Australian business consultants have been the experts at putting on major events all around the world,” says Paul Deighton, chief executive of the London 2012 Organising Committee.
“They have been involved in championships for every kind of sport. If I had a penny for every Australian who has asked for a job with the London Olympics, I could pay for the Games myself. But, in the nicest possible way, I would like our legacy to be that we take over from the Australians. I would like to see people from London advising when it comes to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi or the next Games in Rio.”
But while consultants have profited from the success of the Sydney Games, construction and other companies were not so quick to exploit the enthusiasm generated. The Sydney authorities have also had to invest more money to make full use of the impressive facilities that remained after the events.
Deighton believes that if British companies start thinking ahead now they stand to gain much more from the showcase of the Olympic Park in London. “We are sending the biggest postcard to the world,” he says. “We will be creating a picture that remains in people’s minds. Those images will be the enduring images of London that people will see for the next five or ten years.
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“When we got into these games, the first reaction was exhilaration. We had beaten the French, we had delivered a stunning bid. Then in a rather British way we all thought, ‘Oh my God, this is hard. We might not quite be able to do it’.
“We need to go back to that original surge of national pride. On the business front we are on our way to delivering a spectacular Games. Look at the park already, it’s ahead of schedule, right on budget and, in environmental terms — things such as waste management and recycling — it’s at the cutting edge. It’s a project of strong vision and real transformation. It’s a showcase for British construction.
“I don’t think that the capability to exploit its success is in any way restricted to sports events, it applies to any major project.”
As for the stadiums and other facilities, the Government and the Greater London Authority have already created the Olympic Park Legacy Company, which will assume responsibility for the sites once the Games are over.
Baroness Ford, who chairs the company, says: “We are clear in our aim: to transform the Olympic Park into a new prosperous and sustainable community for East London and to be a successful catalyst for investment and development opportunities.”
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To avoid the showcase stadiums becoming white elephants, something that has happened in Sydney, and to a greater extent in Athens, the London organisers have emphasised the need for adaptable structures. Wherever possible they have used existing venues, such as the O2, which is considered the perfect setting for gymnastics and basketball.
Where new facilities have been created, they are flexible. The capacity of the main stadium, for example, will be reduced from 80,000 to 25,000 seats after the Games, while at the Aquatics Centre two pools and 17,000 seats will be removed.
The Olympic Village, with its 17,000 beds, will become a residential area, phase one of the Stratford City development, which will eventually grow into an entire new suburb.
Julie Clark, business adviser to the England 2018 World Cup bid and head of sport at PricewaterhouseCoopers, which published studies on the economic effects of the Games in Sydney and Athens, says: “During the construction period there will be benefits to the wider UK economy. In 2005 there were fears that there would not be sufficient construction workers, given that the economy was buoyant. But since much of the construction work took place during the economic recession, the Games have provided welcome employment.” Workers have consequently had more money to spend in the area.
Clark adds that the focus is now on planning the legacy. “The plans are designed to ensure that the positive effects of the Olympics continue for many years. The area of east Manchester used for the Commonwealth Games in 2002 shows what can be done and, although the solution for East London is sure to be different, it will provide many opportunities for long-term employment in the venues, the businesses and the park.”
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The Millennium Dome’s transformation into the O2 has created a new destination in London and changed visitor patterns, Clark says. The venue has also worked with agencies in the area to provide local people with new skills.
Looking at the impact of the Olympic Park as a whole, Deighton says: “We hope people will go there and say ‘Wow!’, then go to the firms that built it.”