4 May 2012: SH: An Olympic legacy

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He showed some old slides of when the games were held in London in 1912 and 1948. The latter, Mr Robertson explained, was put on against all the odds in a world still reeling from the Second World War. There was no Olympic village. The athletics were held at the old Wembley stadium on a cinder track where the dog racing used to take place. However what is often forgotten was that a special feature of the 1948 games was that it was the first time a Paralympics event had been held. In that regard the 2012 Paralympics are returning home.

Aside from the well trumpeted benefits to the economy and to the sporting culture of Great Britain the key point Mr Robertson made was the importance the delivery of the games has made to the country’s brand overseas. Up until the Olympics the record of delivery of major projects was poor. The Minister drew attention to the Dome, the Wembley stadium fiasco and the embarrassment of having to hand back the world athletics because we could not build a new stadium.

The construction project that has brought acres of derelict and contaminated industrial wasteland back to life has been outstanding. Putting it into context, the requirement was to build the equivalent of two Terminal 5s at Heathrow in half the time it took to build Terminal 5. The amount of earth that needed to be moved would fill the Albert Hall 225 times.

The project was delivered within time and under budget. 40,000 jobs were created in the process and, contrary to popular belief, 98% of contracts went to British firms. Mr Robertson said that on his overseas trips that there was a real sense that Britain is now trusted to deliver and that the companies involved in the London Olympics would be in demand to help other countries stage their own events. He added it is the sort of publicity that no money can buy.

One of the areas the government has tried to get more leverage out of the Games has been by launching a worldwide advertising campaign. The ‘GREAT’ campaign was developed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to promote the UK abroad and deliver long-term economic benefits from the interest generated in the Games. The DCMS aims to attract an extra 4.6 million visitors – or £2.3 billion in expenditure – from putting Great Britain back on the map.

The campaign has been rolled out in New York subways, the Paris Metro and 100 taxis across Delhi – as well as in many other key cities.

Mr Robertson also went on to talk about the social benefits. The Paralympic Games have led to a number of innovations by organisations such as Transport for London to improve access for the disabled.

It is of course very much hoped that the anticipated medal success for the team will act as a major catalyst to generate more interest in sport and with it healthier lifestyles.