LONDON OLYMPICS AND THE HALO EFFECT

FROM AROUND THE RINGS

Speaking at an Around the Rings Newsmaker Breakfast in Bloomsbury, London, LOCOG Commercial Director Chris Townsend said that the Olympic brand “has risen above the recession”.

Really?

Joss Croft described London 2012 as a “once in a lifetime opportunity” for tourism in Britain, but insisted that the potential of the Olympics went beyond that.

“It’s an opportunity to change peoples’ perceptions of Britain,” he said.

“For Visit Britain when we talk about London 2012 it’s less about the 6-8 weeks around July 2012, it’s actually an opportunity to develop skills and product and subsequently to develop the reputation and image of Britain and access new markets.”

Really?

According to Townsend tier one sponsorships were still averaging $90 million.

“We haven’t seen our average transactions fall yet,” he said, but admitted that this may be the case as 2012 neared.

No kidding?

A frequent criticism of London 2012 is that its vast public funding is almost entirely London centered. But Croft said that there would be a ‘halo effect’ of the estimated $4.78billion tourist revenues as visitors explore the rest of Britain during the Olympics and afterwards. In particular he was hopeful that businesses would see Britain’s potential beyond London as a venue for major conferences and exhibitions.

Lets see that great halo effect!