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?

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?

Within London there will three main zones (shown on the interactive map):

1. The Olympic Zone - all of the facilities within the 2 km² Olympic Park in Stratford. This park will be developed on existing waste and industrial land.

2. The River Zone - five main venues in the Thames gateway area straddling the river Thames

3. The Central Zone - formed out of all the remaining venues within Greater London

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?

Outside Greater London:

Three of the venues will be just outside Greater London:

1. Weald Country Park, Essex, for mountain biking

2. Broxbourne, Hertfordshire for canoe/kayak slalom

3. Dorney Lake, near Windsor, for rowing and canoe/kayak flatwater

4. The Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, in Portland Harbour, Dorset on the south coast of England, will be used for the sailing events. It is around 120 miles (192km) from central London.

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?

The earlier stages of the football competition will be played at football stadia around the country including:

1. Hampden Park in Glasgow

2. Millennium Stadium in Cardiff

3. Old Trafford in Manchester

4. St James' Park in Newcastle

5. Villa Park in Birmingham

6. The new leisure centre at Bangor, County Down, for training.

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?

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?

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?

Not only sport

A major cultural programme is being developed alongside the sporting elements of the 2012 Games. Australia saw a 30 per cent increase in visitor participation in cultural activities after a similar exercise linked to the Sydney Games.

The Cultural Olympiad will involve theatres and museums; libraries and stately homes; cinema and digital technology. There will be live music, dance and comedy.

The Cultural Olympiad will have three main elements:1. Strong cultural focus to the main Olympic ceremonies. 2. Major international festivals: a World Cultural Festival, the

International Shakespeare Festival and an International Museums Exhibition.

3. A UK-wide cultural festival of community cultural projects.

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?

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?

The economic impact of the London 2012 Olympics on the rest of the UK

Download the Will Britain benefit cards.  Sort the cards to decide which factors you think will bring the most important economic benefits to Britain from the Games.

 The positive multiplier effect occurs when a large event like the Olympics creates jobs.  The Olympic developments will create jobs as they are supplied with services and goods.  The building companies constructing the stadium will need to buy concrete, steel and other materials from suppliers.  This will create jobs in the companies that supply these goods.  

 Activities1. Write a list of ways the London Olympics will cause a positive

multiplier effect.2. Write a report for the London Development Authority outlining the

economic benefits of hosting the 2012 Olympics

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?

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?

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?