Global sports conference helps build London 2012 business legacy
UKTI hosts global sports conference to help UK companies win a share of the lucrative global sporting events business sector
The success of London 2012 has put British companies in the box seat to win a share of the lucrative global sporting events business sector which is reckoned to be worth £92 billion by 2015.
UK Trade & Investment is hosting a global sports conference in London (30-31 January) to help UK companies find out about forthcoming mega sporting events and the multi-billion pound opportunities they represent. More than 250 companies have registered to attend the conference.
Trade and Investment Minister Lord Green said:
The London 2012 Games showed the world what Britain can do – and it showed Britain at its best. British businesses have seen their work showcased around the world. Admiration and respect for UK knowhow, innovation, and capability to deliver major projects and events is high and the UK has to take advantage of this window of opportunity.
Sporting events come around so regularly - irrespective of what happens to the global economy – which means that sport provides great opportunities for UK business. With the help of the UKTI, UK firms are already picking up business for these events and will continue to do so.
Contracts worth an estimated £1.5 billion have been identified flowing from the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games which UK companies can, and have been, bidding on.
Delegates attending the conference were also able to see a preview of the upcoming short film ‘Great Britain Delivers’. The film showcases the London 2012 story which forms part of a wider marketing toolkit that UKTI is developing to help demonstrate the work that UK companies played in delivering the Olympics. The toolkit will be used by UKTI to present to future global sports hosts and others, taking the message to the world that the UK can deliver major global projects - on time and on budget.
Notes to editors:
- The Global Sports Conference is being held at the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills from 30-31 January.
- UKTI Commercial Officers from the host countries and cities hosting the next six mega sports events will also be attending the conference offering expert advice on how to access the opportunities these tournaments present.
- PricewaterhouseCoopers estimate global sporting events will grow to £92 billion (‘Changing the Game’ report, 2011)
- UKTI has already been involved in more than 160 trade missions to highlight the sports infrastructure and event management market. These include the Soccerex Global Convention in Rio and the Aspire4Sport conference in Doha. Activities planned for 2013 include a mission to Ankara and Istanbul in March following Turkey’s bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics, followed by trade missions to Brazil, Russia, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taipei.
- A series of inward missions to give overseas firms and stakeholders the opportunity to visit our global sports venues and share best practice.
- The government’s economic policy objective is to achieve ‘strong, sustainable and balanced growth that is more evenly shared across the country and between industries’. It set four ambitions in the ‘Plan for Growth’ (PDF 1.7MB), published at Budget 2011: * To create the most competitive tax system in the G20 * To make the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a business * To encourage investment and exports as a route to a more balanced economy * To create a more educated workforce that is the most flexible in Europe
- Work is underway across Government to achieve these ambitions, including progress on more than 250 measures as part of the Growth Review. Developing an Industrial Strategy gives new impetus to this work by providing businesses, investors and the public with more clarity about the long-term direction in which the Government wants the economy to travel.
- UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is the Government Department that helps UK-based companies succeed in the global economy. We also help overseas companies bring their high quality investment to the UK’s economy – acknowledged as Europe’s best place from which to succeed in global business. UKTI offers expertise and contacts through its extensive network of specialists in the UK, and in British embassies and other diplomatic offices around the world. We provide companies with the tools they require to be competitive on the world stage. For more information on UKTI, visit www.ukti.gov.uk or visit the online newsroom at www.ukti.gov.uk/media.