Impact of the 2012 Olympic Games on Bedford City Council
Executive summary
Since it was announced that London would be the host of the 2012, the city council of Bedford and in deed many other organizations have taken the responsibilities of researching on the effects that will be brought about by this fact. One of the reasons that there has been great enthusiasm in the research is the potential of businesses and therefore Bedford and London to capitalize on the benefits from the games, which could act as a catalyst for plummeting economic development in Bedford city and other cities in close proximity to the venue of the sporting activity. The benefits may not be guaranteed, and therefore a need for research so that the report could be used for intervention and thus avoid economic setbacks. The report hereby offers information that dictates procedures and process of London and east England taking advantage of the event and maximize on potential benefits as they also minimize the potential costs. The report is a culmination of research and analysis of opportunities and threats, some based from reports made from previous Olympics, and some based on the national economic projections.
The purpose of this business report is to provide necessary information concerning the likely impacts of London’s 2012 Olympics on the city council of Bedford, and an outline of the preparation measures that should be taken by the city council, in light of the upcoming event. The report purposes to delineate essential information in relation to the economic impacts of the global event on the city council with special regard to the prevailing business environment, marketing and human resource. Furthermore, the business report aims to focus on the business opportunities anticipated to arise from the mega event and the council operations expected to gather more economic benefits in lieu of the sporting activities, games and other associated events. Moreover, the report has the objective of identifying means through which the council will raise its income from direct and indirect impacts of the Olympics.
In order for the organization to effectively take advantage of the games, information concerning the possible economic impacts from the Olympics would be necessary. This report focuses on detailing this crucial information to be used for the purpose of preparing the organization to take due charge of the economic opportunities presented by the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics games. Furthermore, Bedford city council would not only require knowledge of the impending impacts and their related benefits, as well as preparation measures, but also on effective business strategies that would aid tap these economic benefits. Successful business strategies geared towards economic gains would be part of the preparation measures. As the organization braces itself for the upcoming impacts, including human traffic flow increases, huge numbers of tourism, large inflow of local and foreign currency, there would be need to adopt the identified appropriate strategies capacitating the organization to effectively utilize the business prospects.
This report will cover the impacts on the city council of Bedford expected to arise from the Olympic Games to be hosted in London City. These impacts are presumed to affect the local economy of the community and business companies under the jurisdiction of the council as well as influencing the council itself. This business report will outline the expected effects, while emphasising on the business environment under the city council jurisdiction, human resources and marketing, with focus on the preparation measures to be undertaken by the council before the games commence. Moreover, the business report will also attempt to outline better measures and business strategies that will enable Bedford city council to identify more business opportunities from the games, consequently garnering more economic benefits from the Olympiad.
Impacts from the major sporting event will be felt not only in Bedford but also in the other city councils within London. In spite of the many direct impacts expected over the wide metropolitan area of London, as well as the whole country, the scope of this report will be limited to the city council of Bedford.
Literature review was majorly employed to gather the correct data for the report. These included carrying out comparative research on past Olympics and the impacts imposed on the host cities and their environs . Comparative research provided wider ranges of effects, particularly economic impacts, which were of valuable regard to the report. Business reports on past games provided adequate information regarding business opportunities and associated impacts likely to be projected on the city council. Financial reports on the same were found valuable. Further materials were collected from books on the varied subjects covered by the report, which also formed the bulk source of information used in the report. Media reports also formed a major source of information.
The upcoming Olympiad has been projected to have immense impact on the whole of London city hosting the games, and its environs as well as the region . Wide variety of areas concerning Bedford city council will be impacted by the games, particularly its economy. Economic impacts from the games have been regarded to be positive, with prospects of improving not only the local economy, but also the entire city and country. Income postulated to be generated thorough the games from both direct and indirect means would greatly influence the city council’s economic situation as well as the business environment. Business opportunities will be presented to all British firms in business. In spite of their different areas of practice, the wide range of business opportunities postulated to arise from the games will provide the council and its business partners, stakeholders and affiliated companies with valuable chances of attaining higher economic growth.
Various elements of business within the area will definitely be affected. The economic impacts anticipated include direct and indirect impacts with varying magnitude and significance to the business world. Bedford council would require information on the significance of the expected impacts and the nature of their influence on all sections of the business environment. The organization has been reaching out to investors as outlined in their website . By encouraging financiers and sponsors to invest resources, the organization has already made steps towards attracting vital investment in the area, which would be further boosted by the games. The astronomical nature of the sporting event would however present challenges to the organization which on its part, has the duty to ensure all possible impacts are taken into consideration. One critical area of note is the organization’s capability to provide for the expected visitors. Capital investments have already been budgeted for upgrading of crucial sections of infrastructure to accommodate the expected tourists. The organization would have to expend sections of its resources including the human workforce in the up-scaling of transportation systems and accommodation facilities. Huge numbers of visitors are expected, who will all exert pressure on the existing public facilities. This necessitates their upgrading in line with the expected number of visitors. Tourist spending would result in large flows of income into Bedfordshire, with direct economic impacts expected from purchases of game organizers’’ products and local products and services provided by the local companies. The business environment would enjoy the privilege of having more economic opportunities made available by the games.
Human resource is another business element the council would need to focus on to ensure it has skilled workers, capable of delivering the required services and carry out their duties as required. The Olympic Games would necessitate rising the number of workers within relevant sectors of services, as well as training of various services directly associated with the games events and not necessarily part of Bedford’s business environment. Budgetary allocations for the games would in essence have to feature the required human resource skills and knowledge required for the effective tapping of the presented opportunities. Moreover, unemployed but trained persons would be presented with job opportunities which would enable the organization deal with the pertinent issue as well as offer increased revenue. As the organization mandated to oversee the region’s involvement in the games, Bedford city council has the onus of ensuring the required workforce and their numbers are achieved and are further trained on their specialized sections of operations.
Bedford city council would also have the responsibility of ensuring operational cost before and during the games would centre on attracting desired investments in the area. Marketing Bedford as an investment destination is a chief duty of the organization, which would have to clearly present solid investment opportunities to the public and tourist. Existing investment opportunities would be affected by the games, both in the long-term and short-term; a fact that would require consideration by the organization.
The objectives of the business report on the impacts on the organization will focus on;
On the whole, the report has the sole intention of pointing out all economic impacts that would be felt by the council and how it should be prepared in order to ensure it takes advantage of the rare opportunity arising from hosting such a mega event in their vicinity.
According to the organizers of the Olympic Games, it is notable that they are quite beneficial in terms of increasing revenue fro the host government, and this can be shown by the manner in which nations contest for the games to be in their countries. However, there are so many factors that determine whether these countries are in a position to make fortunes out of the games as expected. These include meeting deadlines and other preparation activities. It therefore becomes very important for governments and organizations that are responsible for the games to carry out research on to the real effects of the games and events to the host nation. The Bedford council is on the spot here, and it therefore has carried its own research. The methodologies used in the exercise include use of written questionnaires and other assessments. The methodology plan laid down by the organizations and research master plan focused on some of the most basic factors that will be affected by the games in the city. This includes social setup, environment, economic and most importantly the human resource and development. It should be kept in mind the fact that in the event where such a research is needed, the evaluation involves different fields and therefore a master plan has to be derived and the data collected from all the key areas are then brought in to be reconciled, collated and reviewed against each other so that the clear picture of the expectations may be known and the necessary steps taken to bring the best outcomes for the exercise.
The impacts of Olympic Games to the city council of Bedford are based on several factors which revolve around the human resources, business environment and marketing and finance . The study has been carried out with the sporting legacy in mind in order to determine the effects that a sporting activity might have in a certain location. However, it is worth mentioning that in addition to this, one needs to understand that things are changing, and in that case, the results from previous Olympic events held by other cities may not be mirror reflections of the situation in Bedford city, although it is much in order to carry out the studies as they help in preparations of the events. Basically, there are those areas that that have great influence and effects which are human resource, business and marketing.
There are several things that have been noted from the study on the effects of the Olympic Games in Bedford, and most importantly to the city council. One thing that is for sure is that tourism has been on of the major revenue collection arena for the city and therefore there is perceived increase in tourism revenue that has been pushed by the fact that the world event takes place there. Some of the common effects that the government and the city council in Bedford will encounter are that there will be an increase in the jobs created by the event to about 10%. This has been noted from CGE model predicts in the respective industries that will be affected by the games being held in the Bedford city. It therefore follows that the city council of Bedford has more to gain as well as prepare for in order to cope up with the population explosion that will surface due to the world Olympics. For instance, if there will be an increase in the creation of job opportunities, then it means that the council must be in a position to accommodate not only the workers but also the expected guests. Unfortunately, as there is predicted increase in jobs created, there is also displacement resulting from negative changes from different regions in order to occupy a position in market competition created by the events. While there will be higher revenue collections in the Bedford city due to businesses and the construction industry, there are those sectors that will not offer any revenue to the city council which includes the non construction industry. However, the most important thing to note is the fact that the city council will have an increase in revenue from the event but in as much as this will be the case, it will also need to make great efforts to increase its human resource to effectively handle the needs of the people, the guests and the natives as there will more to do than previously, which cannot be handled by the current staff. These includes in sewerage services, security and healthcare, all which are very important. The best thing is that even after the games have been completed, there is the fact that most of the businesses which includes the hotel industry and restaurants that will have opened during the games will continue and therefore some of the changes in revenue that will be brought about to the council will be permanent.The methodology used in this study is based around a dynamic computablegeneral equilibrium model of the UK and London economies. Before this modelis employed, spending effects are estimated under a number of categories, andthe level of uncertainty over these estimations is also estimated.
It is also important to point out the fact that there are so many impacts that will affect Bedford city council as well as the city itself. As indicated previously, the importance of holding the events is shown by how highly contested the event becomes. The study of the Olympic Games in London 2012, Bedford city therefore comprises of full impacts of the games to the council which includes both benefits and costs. To full understand these, they have been grouped into three where there are the effects before the games begin, during the games and after the games. It should be mentioned that one cannot set the exact dates when the impacts will start being felt as Paralympics will begin far before the opening ceremony while there is also the potential of many visitors coming to the state to visit their tourist sites and other activities before the games begin. Furthermore, there is great need to differentiate between the spending by residents and those of the non residents. In fact the importance of the whole exercise is to target spending by non residents.
Pregame impacts of the games in the economic and development of Bedford city in London is seen in the increase of costs by the council in preparations of the amenities that are to be used by the guests in their stay in the city which includes construction. Although these amenities are increased costs to the council, they are benefits to the council and the people of Bedford in the long run since they remain behind after the Olympics for use by the people. This includes the entire infrastructures that are built during the exercise, which are in fact world class in status. During the games impacts include increase in revenues to the council for staging the games, during games visitor impacts as well as some costs that are incurred in staging the games. Lastly, there are post games impacts that the city council of Bedford may benefit from even many years after the games have ended. These include visitor legacy impacts and infrastructure impacts.
The study has been conducted concerning the effects of the games that have not yet taken place in Bedford, and therefore projections that have been used to come to the analysis have been made from past experiences in other Olympic games that have been held in other states. Additionally, this study has been conducted by comprehensively measuring the impacts of the London 2012 Olympic Games. These has been by use of two separate and flexible equilibrium models that have been computed to make an efficient projection for use in the implementation plan for the process plan of Bedford city. This model includes one for the United Kingdom and one for London. The reason that the two have been chosen for the task is the fact that they are both in the same place with the city where the games are to be held and therefore the best choices for use as a model. All the results collected from the evaluation of past events and a survey for London and the UK have then been analyzed according to the total impacts of the Olympic Games for Bedford city. However, it is worth mentioning that the research has also been based on the spending habits, and therefore there is ought to be some discrepancies in the results at Bedford from those results in London for two main reasons; one is the fact that the London projections have been made from the national economics parameters at normal times and also the fact that at Bedford city, there are factors that will influences the business and spending, the Olympic Games. It is therefore mentionable that the city council of Bedford should keep in mid this fact and therefore prepare to cope with any of the discrepancies that may be incurred as the events unfold.