Has Hosting the London 2012 free essay sample

The bid for the games was led by London 2012; ‘a multi-agency stakeholder group, setting the vision and strategic direction for the games’ (Department of Culture, Media and Sport 2012). 204 competing nations, more than 10,000 athletes, two weeks of sports, and the games were over. But was it a success? This is a topic of discussion largely argued. Team GB certainly outperformed anybody’s expectations winning 29 gold medal and 64 total medals, which made it the greatest British performance since 1904. A particularly striking quote from a report in the Melbourne Age describes the success as, â€Å"The only conclusion heading out of the stadium for the final time was that the most beautiful opening ceremony launched the best Olympics which were brought to a close by a smash hit epitaph† (Wilson 2012). However, not everyone sees the games as a success story and within this essay I shall be exploring not only the benefits, but also the negative impacts which hosting the Olympics brought to East London. The focal question, which this essay will answer, is whether the Olympics will leave a lasting legacy or will the benefits go elsewhere and not reach the local community. The assessment of the Olympic Legacy will be split into three separate sections; economic, sporting, and regeneration. Stratford, East London was the location of the games. An area previously deprived following the close of one of the world’s largest docks back in the 1970s. Unemployment reached nearly 20% shortly after the close and the local community became ran down and forgotten, being described as ‘a dusty wasteland’ (Oliver 2012). The London 2012 games brought hope and potential to a region in desperate need. Now, following the games a number of costs and benefits can identified but the real questions are, what is the lasting effect? Has the Olympic 2012 promise of a lasting legacy been fulfilled? The Olympic Legacy is defined by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport 2012) as â€Å"the longer-term benefits and effects of the planning, funding, building and staging of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in summer 2012†. Firstly, we can look at the economic legacy of the games. The office for national statistics showed that during August 2012, tourism levels rose to 3 million, up from 2 million on the previous year. Of this, the games were said to bring in just over 590,000 visitors, whom of which spent an average of ? 1,290 du ring their stay (Telegraph staff amp; agencies 2012). The economic boost in terms of consumption during the games is clearly identifiable but the success of the legacy is still being valued. However Wells (2012) believes that â€Å"As a result of the city’s raised media exposure, the 2012-2017 legacy phase is expected to see an additional 1. 1 million visitors a year, worth ? 900 million. † As well as tourism influx, we can look at the economic legacy in terms of infrastructure investment. An ‘Inspired Facilities Olympic Legacy Fund’ has been set up following the games, with an example of investment being ? 1. million into thirty sports centres around the East Midlands to rejuvenate and build facilities, such as a new clubhouse at Houghton Tennis Club, and waterfront development at Hykenham Sailing Club (Sport England 2012). This is not only an economic legacy through funding, but also contributes to the social legacy of the games through attempts to increase participation and encouragement in sports. The lega cy benefits are therefore shown in increased tourism from the media exposure of Olympic infrastructure and also legacy funding throughout the country. However, we should not forget the total costs of hosting the Olympics at over ? 1 billion (House of Commons’ Public Accounts Committee 2012), a large percentage of which will have to be recouped either directly or indirectly though government spending cuts, or an increase in tax levels. So therefore where the media exposes the benefits of hosting the games such as increased investment and development, this all has to be funded through public accounts which requires reduced benefits elsewhere, or cuts in household disposable income levels. The sporting legacy of the 2012 Olympics was always at the forefront of government attention. The bid for the games featured the slogan ‘Inspire a Generation† with the reason behind the slogan being to trigger involvement of young people in sports and taking up new activities (Magnay 2012). There are two programmes introduced to encourage community sports; ‘Places People Play’ and a ‘Join in’ program. ‘Places People Play’ is a joint partnership initiative between Sport England and the British Olympic Association with the aim of â€Å"making the benefits of London 2012 visible in cities, towns and villages across the country† (SportEngland. rg 2012). The goals involve the protection and improvement of hundreds of playing fields across the country, modernising and extending club facilities and ‘Sports Makers’ training, â€Å"providing free business skills, training and support to those doing the day-to-day running of community sports† (Sports England 2012). The ‘Join In’ programme follows the same goals, of getting people to take part in sports in their local communities. However, the program will be run in a number of sporting-weekends at varying locations across the country. UK athletes and medal winners, past and present, will attend community sports centres and showcase their sports and encourage people to get involved (Head 2012). The sporting legacy is all about getting involved and the first organised weekend saw over 5,000 individuals participating in 9 different regions around the UK in sporting events such as archery, water polo, boxing, BMX, sailing and many more. The programs are designed to harness the magic enthusiasm for sport and volunteering the Olympics created. Both the ‘Join in’ and ‘Places People Play’ programs act as a form of government backed social policy ideas which not only have the intention of increasing involvement in sport, but also reducing the social problem of obesity in youths. MP Rehman Chisti spoke about how ‘’tackling obesity is a major challenge that should pose a significant part of the legacy to the 2012 Olympic games†. Prior to the games, participation levels of the surrounding Olympic host boroughs were as low as 18. 5% (Sport England 2011). Furthermore, deprivation and obesity levels of children aged 7-11 were at an all time high of 20% in boys and 22% in girls (Queen Mary University 2009). Follow-up research is still currently being processed however overall UK statistics show alarming results, with obesity levels still on the rise. Results show 27% of males, and 29% of females to be classed as obese in terms of Body Mass Index (BMI) ratings (Eastwood 2013). Although hope should not be lost, the involvement programs are likely to be subject to a time lapse and future predictions show the percentage of the population classed s obese, set to fall. Regeneration is the final legacy section to consider. Regeneration of Stratford began in the late 1980s with the development of surrounding areas such as Canary Wharf, London’s financial hub, helping to create little pockets of wealth. However, it wasn’t until the finalisation of the 2012 bid that things began to take off. The games acted as a catalyst for investm ent, rejuvenation and economic growth. David Cameron stated in a speech given to Loughborough University that ‘’a total of ? billion has been invested into East London, bringing with it the creation of 46,000 construction jobs with about 20% of the workforce from the local boroughs, nearly 11,000 new homes, and a ? 1. 4 billion complex of hotels, offices and Westfield shopping centre helping to create more jobs’’ (Number10. gov. uk 2012). On the other hand, we cannot forget the loss of business and livelihood that the regeneration has caused. Hundreds of jobs had been lost where business were forced to up-and-leave making way for the Olympic development, with nearly 80 organisations still in conflict with the local authority regarding compensation. Furthermore, BBC news (2012) tells us how individuals were â€Å"forced out of their flats to make way for the Olympics† where private tenants were looking to capitalise on the influx of individuals for the Olympics. In terms of the future of regeneration, one on-going legacy development is the ? 300 million construction project funded by the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) to remodel the Olympic plot into the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The project forms part of the East London Regeneration policy scheme to convert East London into a new visitor destination (Gov. k 2012). As previously mentioned, alongside offering new homes and office space, the policy aims to develop schools and shops, also encompassing green spaces to create a social community in the heart of East London. As well as this the park is to become a preferred tourist attraction with forecasting of ‘over a million visitors a year by 2016’ bringing with it all the economic benefits of tourism. (Degun 2013) The program will not stop at the development of the park. A future scheme has been announced with a vision of long-term management of the park and surrounding neighbourhoods. The Legacy Communities Scheme (LCS) will involve the collaboration of partners, stakeholders and the government over a period of 18 years from 2013 – 2031 (Ogundiya 2013). Finally, the London 2012 games are being hailed as one of the most environmentally sustainable yet. For example, the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park development includes a ‘Biodiversity Action Plan’ including benefits for flood mitigation, promotion of biodiversity and climate change adaption’ (Natural England 2013) all which are in place to reduce the future environmental impact of the development. The real question on a number of individual’s minds is whether this legacy will continue. The plans and processes for the future are all in place but there still stands a great deal of animosity as to whether the government will continue backing policies and schemes for years to come. With the country still in a recovery phase from the global economic crisis, cuts in funding are being made in a variety of sectors and it is arguably only a matter of time until legacy organisational funding gets cut. However, the Prime Minister, David Cameron and Major of London, Boris Johnson have recently reassured the general public in a letter â€Å"promising not to let the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic legacy die† ensuring the UK will ‘not make the same mistakes’ as previous nations in ‘not following the decisive action needed to secure an enduring legacy’ (Degun 2013). Within this essay the economic, sporting and regeneration legacy have been identified, showing the effectiveness of policies and programs already set in place, but also looking at future plans of Olympic legacy development. The economic legacy can be identified through an increase in tourism, promoting growth within the local borough and also attracting investment from businesses and individuals. The sporting legacy is arguably one of the most important aspects, and what the games was built around – inspiring a generation of sport. With government and Sport England backed programs to improve facilities, and increase involvement in sport, it can be said that this area should be most highly protected from any possible future cuts in funding. Lastly, the regeneration of East London is hailed by most as a great success. The Olympic park was described as an ‘incredible venue’ by the Telegraph (2012) however, while we expect any investment into an area to bring some good, a large number of people may conclude it is not possible to bring ? 8 billion worth of good. With this in mind, I believe, as well as the vast majority of the nation believe that the legacy has been successful and will continue to be for years to come. The benefits that the 2012 games have brought to the UK are extensive and processes are already set in place to allow the legacy to continue.