It has been a mixed few weeks for the 2012 Olympics with both some highs and some lows. Work has begun on the stadium three months ahead of schedule, with the Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell, all present to see construction begin. It will be early 2009 when the installation of the steel structures that support the Stadium roof begins.
Perhaps to help reach that moment, it was yesterday reported that a £2.2 billion emergency fund is having to be used to plug gaps that exist in the financing of the Games. The fund was previously “untouchable”, but is now required to deal with the effects of the credit crunch and falling house prices, which have impacted on a public private deal between Bovis Lend Lease, a project management and construction company, and the Olympic Authorities.
The road to hosting an Olympic Games is invariably never a smooth one, and that an emergency fund is already being relied upon, arguably, does not bode well for the future. However, other areas point to a more positive outlook: for example, application forms have long been available should you wish to apply to host an Olympic “Relocatable Venue”. Such an initiative could be crucial in establishing an Olympic legacy that reaches those beyond London.
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