Let's hope we're all winners

Jul 12 2005 By Helen Logan Evening Gazette

Every effort must be made to ensure we in the North harness as much potential as possible from orders and contracts on the back of London winning the bid to stage the 2012 Olympics.

Regional development agency One NorthEast says it will spearhead "a framework" in which companies will have the opportunity to compete for work.

We must aim to be at the front of the queue when it comes to winning contracts worth billions in the likes of construction and supplies.

But having said that I still have serious reservations overall about the UK landing such a high-profile and expensive event.

I am all for the business that may come the North's way but I still fear that in the end taxpayers could be left to pick up a big financial shortfall.

It is estimated £2.375bn will have to be spent on new facilities for the Games, and an additional £1.5bn running the event.

On the plus side income generated will include £1.5bn from a special Olympic lottery competition, £625m from London residents through a £20 rise in council tax, £250m from the London Development Agency, TV and marketing deals will bring in £560m, sponsorship and official suppliers £450m, and ticket revenues £300m.

London 2012 believes it could end the games with a surplus of more than £100m.

But other cities are still paying the price for the privilege of bagging the Olympics.

Residents of Montreal, where the games were staged nearly 30 years ago, are said to be still paying for them through local taxes after the city was left with a debt of £600m.

The 1992 Barcelona games ran up a £12m deficit.

And the 2000 Sydney event had losses of about £1.2bn.

The city was left with expensive new sports venues that were underused in the wake of the games.

I hope I am proved wrong.

We must bank on lessons having been learned from the new Wembley stadium where the cost has spiralled way above original estimates and from the financial fiasco of the Millennium Dome.