Navy Blue seals Olympics prize

Published on Friday 11 June 2004 14:28

AN Edinburgh firm has won an international battle to produce the bid document for London’s attempt to land the 2012 Olympic Games.

Navy Blue, established in the Capital by Geoff Nicol and Douglas Alexander in 1994, will be responsible for the glossy brochure given to the international judges who decide on where the massive sporting event will be staged.

The contract, worth around 500,000, was won against four competitors from England and overseas. The document has to be presented to the International Olympic Committee by November 15.

Mr Alexander, joint managing director of Navy Blue - which has 68 staff, a 7 million turnover, an office in London, and a portfolio including Ellesse, Hi-Tec and Pringle - said: "The breadth and complexity of sports bidding combined with tight deadlines is something at which we have been shown to excel. We look forward to working on and successfully meeting this challenge."

Edinburgh MP Mark Lazarowicz has been campaigning at Westminster to make sure the London bid benefits the whole country. This week he met Sports and Culture Minister Tessa Jowell and Olympic bid chairman Sebastian Coe to discuss how Edinburgh and Scotland could benefit.

Mr Lazarowicz said: "It was a very positive meeting and I was very pleased. I’m delighted at Navy Blue’s success and that the London team are coming to Scotland and Edinburgh to see what we can contribute."

Yesterday, senior officials of the London 2012 bid met with the Scottish Executive to discuss how the nation could benefit from the English capital staging the Games.

And today communications director Mike Lee is meeting Edinburgh leisure chief Herbert Coutts to ensure the city shares the benefits of any successful bid.

Mr Lee said: "There is a potential for Scotland to host training camps and pre-Olympic events, including the cultural programme - not to mention the wider business and tourism benefits."