Olympics will hand Scotland £1bn windfall, claims study

SCOTLAND is to net a £1 billion dividend from the London Olympics, according to a new study.

The main beneficiaries of the 2012 extravaganza, which kicks off later this month, are set to be the construction and tourism industries.

The Bank of Scotland carried out the study, examining the overall impact that the Games is likely to have on the UK’s economy.

The bank – a “partner” of the massive event – states that construction firms and their suppliers will deliver a £774 million boost for the Scottish economy, while tourism is expected to generate an additional £185 million.

The report – The Economic Impact of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games – takes in the period from when London secured the event back in 2005, through to 2017.

It claims Scotland is to receive the fifth-highest economic boost outside London as a direct result.

Scotland’s £1bn is a share of £16.5bn the UK economy is expected to reap from the Games.

The bulk of Scotland’s Olympic boost stems from orders for construction supplies and equipment, other purchases of inputs within the supply chain, and spending of wages by employees within the supply chain.

Orders from Scotland contributed to the construction of the Olympic Stadium and Aquatics Centre.

Gareth Oakley, Head of BoS Commercial, said: “London 2012 is the most important sporting event the UK has ever staged and Scotland is reaping the benefits.

“Delivering the Games has required an unprecedented level of capital investment over the past five years and the economic ripples of this are being felt not just in London but across the UK, including Scotland.

“The economic impact being felt in Scotland is a real boost, and the fact that businesses in the country have seized the opportunities presented by the Games and have delivered such a big contribution to GDP must be acknowledged.

“The challenge now is for these businesses to build on what they have gained from the Games so that they can continue to grow and so that others might follow their lead in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014.”

Malcolm Roughead, chief executive of VisitScotland, said: “This research helps confirm and cement the rationale behind VisitScotland’s robust marketing and PR efforts around the London Olympics and backs up the fact that the Games is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Scotland to promote its cultural, sporting and tourism strengths across the world.”

The study found that approximately 70 per cent of employment from Games-related construction is coming in the run-up to and during the event, while the remainder will come in the “legacy” years.

It added that, in relation to tourism, about 260,000 people will visit Olympic and Paralympic events in Scotland – including football at Hampden Park – which is 2.5 per cent of the total expected to attend London 2012 events.