1. Dimensions London 2012 Lesson 4 Nationwide will the games benefit the whole UK? Key Questions Is the Olympics a national event? How will people from outside the capital travel to the Olympics? How will the rest of Britain benefit?
2. Starter While the 2012 Games will largely be located in London, they provide an opportunity for the whole country. Use the Sporting Spaces and Places interactive map to zoom in and out of scales, from local (east London) to regional (London and the south east) and national to see what is going on and where. You should be able to locate the following: Key Questions Is the Olympics a national event? How will people from outside the capital travel to the Olympics? How will the rest of Britain benefit?
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6. Starter But you may not have to travel too far to join in the communal experience and special atmosphere of Olympic events. The whole of the UK will be linked together by Live Sites - a permanent network of 2012 giant outdoor screens in public squares with a piece of dedicated space in at least 60 major cities and county towns. Key Questions Is the Olympics a national event? How will people from outside the capital travel to the Olympics? How will the rest of Britain benefit?
7. Main Part How will people travel to the Olympics from outside the capital? The Games should boost tourism. Other cities have shown the difference the Games can make. Barcelona's 1992 Games helped propel the city from the16th to the third most popular short break destination in Europe. Sydney's 2000 Games generated an extra 15 per cent in visitor numbers during the event month and 11 per cent more during the year. Planners believe the UK could see a £2.1 billion boost in tourism income as a result of the 2012 Games. Up to 180,000 spectators a day will enter the Park to enjoy the Games. How easy is it for people living outside London to get to the Olympic sites? Complete this activity: How will people travel to the Olympics from outside the capital? Key Questions Is the Olympics a national event? How will people from outside the capital travel to the Olympics? How will the rest of Britain benefit?
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9. Main Part The economic impact of the London 2012 Olympics on the rest of the UK Many people hope that the Olympic games will bring economic benefits to London and Britain through creating new jobs and attracting overseas companies to locate in London. Other cities hosting the Olympic games have had mixed success in attracting investment and jobs to the host city and country. The Sydney Olympic Games had a positive effect on the economy of the New South Wales and Sydney. The Olympics created jobs and significantly added to the economy of the region. The economic legacy of the Sydney Olympics is estimated to be worth more than $6.5 billion in economic activity over a 12 year period. Visit Britain, the tourism authority, has estimated that the games could bring over $3.5 billion to the visitor economy alone. Key Questions Is the Olympics a national event? How will people from outside the capital travel to the Olympics? How will the rest of Britain benefit?
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11. Plenary Staging the a large international sporting event means different things for different host cities - in terms of the Olympics, for Barcelona the driving force was regeneration, for Sydney it was about putting itself on the map as a global destination, for Athens it was about redefining itself as a modern European city. The legacy of the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002 is widely considered to exemplar with regeneration and economic benefits in the city itself and the wider North West region. Many believe the success of the Manchester Games, its involvement of local communities and legacy was a factor contributing to London's successful 2012 Olympic bid. According to the Olympics Minister, the ambition for London in 2012 is to ‘regenerate one of the most deprived areas in the UK....and seek to spread the magic of 2012 outside the Olympic Park so that all communities in the UK feel the benefits of hosting the London Games'. Key Questions Is the Olympics a national event? How will people from outside the capital travel to the Olympics? How will the rest of Britain benefit?
12. Homework Using the ‘spread the benefits' sheet to write a list of ways the government minister with responsibility for the Olympics could make sure people in the North of England, benefit and become involved in the Olympics. You could think about tourism, companies supplying the games, inward investment from multinationals and getting people involved in the visit the Games. Key Questions How will the environment change? Will the changes bring improvements to quality of the environment and quality of life of local residents?
