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Olympic-sized opportunities with London 2012
Thu 22nd Jan 2009, 10:13am
As Team GB returned home from Beijing laden with medals and glory, there was a very noticeable shift in focus to London 2012.
And, while the nation will look for sporting success across all sports, there will also be pressure in the boardroom to ensure that we deliver a successful and spectacular event that will provide a lasting legacy to benefit everyone.
The bar has been set exceptionally high by China, and the London 2012 team will want to deliver a world-class event with a budget of £9.3bn compared to £22bn spent in Beijing. However, with the current economic uncertainty and the rising prices of energy, labour and raw materials, it is more important than ever that businesses wanting a slice of the Olympic pie are at the very top of their game.
Much of the work has already started and construction is well under way, but there are a multitude of other business opportunities to be had. In order that North-East companies benefit from such a prestigious, high-profile event, it is vital that they think on a national and international scale.
On this note, the North-East Chamber of Commerce has been tweaking the consciences of public sector bodies in this region for some time now via the Buy North-East campaign to engage more readily with local business and to think about the value this adds to the North-East business community. The benefits of working within such strict guidelines are that businesses are encouraged to perform to the very best of their ability and deliver outstanding service.
This impetus to companies to up their game to the highest possible level will stand North-East companies in good stead to compete for a cut of the London 2012 event. I would urge all firms in our region to look forward to the games in four years time as an opportunity. They may be being staged “down south” but we should embrace the chance to prove our worth and demonstrate that we, as a region, can deliver to gold medal standards.