Overview

The London 2012 Games is to be a global celebration of sport and culture that will leave a lasting legacy for the UK. Working with partners, the government is harnessing the power of the 2012 Games to inspire change: in people’s lives, in sport participation, in communities and in attitudes towards disability.

The 2012 Games will allow UKTI to capitalise on London’s hosting of the Games and significant time and resources will be spent ensuring that companies worldwide unlock the immense commercial potential offered by the world’s greatest sporting event. The 2012 Games provide a springboard for UK companies to compete in global markets and act as a catalyst for investment into the economy.

The 2012 Games are an economic impetus for the whole UK – not just London. Lloyds TSB Business has forecast that the 2012 Games will generate an estimated £21 billion for the UK economy, more than double the £10 billion estimate made when the 2012 Games were first won.

Key 2012 Messages

The Olympic Delivery Authority and London Organising Committee of the 2012 Games will directly procure over £6 billion worth of contracts, which will in turn generate an estimated 75,000 future business opportunities, to supply chains in the coming years.

The organisers of the London 2012 Games are committed to involving as diverse a range of suppliers as possible. Contracts cover all sectors, from construction, engineering, architecture, advertising, environmental technologies and hospitality, through to security, logistics, IT, sports technology and the creative industries. And it is expected that demand for a whole range of products and services will intensify in the immediate run-up to and during the Games.

CompeteFor (www.competefor.com) is the business brokerage site of the London 2012 Games. Companies – UK based and foreign owned – are encouraged to register on the site to receive procurement intelligence.

The 2012 Games provide unsurpassed global exposure for UK companies that win Games contracts, and act as a catalyst for companies to expand, diversify and compete globally. In time, the kudos of supplying goods or services to an event of this magnitude can enhance a company’s international reputation and its exporting potential.

UKTI will encourage companies to look beyond the London 2012 Games and will offer them assistance to export their products, skills and expertise to the future hosts of global events.

UK companies won £2 billion worth of business at the Beijing 2008 Games and are currently supplying to both the Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. UK companies are also working with the Candidate Cities for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

It’s more than just the Olympics... the UK is on track for a ‘decade of sport’

The UK may potentially host four major sporting events in the next decade.  The UK is currently hosting the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the 2015 Rugby World Cup and a bid has been made to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018.