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With the announcement last week of government backing for a London bid to hold the Olympic Games the drive is on to secure the necessary land.
The London Development Agency (LDA), the regeneration body masterminding the property aspects of the bid, has already begun buying land in the Lower Lea Valley with the purchase of the Hackney Stadium site. It is also in the process of appointing a team of experts to master-plan the Lower Lea Valley, which includes the proposed venue for a London Olympic Games in 2012. So far the LDA owns just 10 acres in the area.
Now the property services firm, Insignia Richard Ellis has been selected to advise on the £2.4bn bid to bring the 2012 Olympic Games to London and has been charged with the task of assembling up to 200 acres in east London to house the project.
What it means for London
London mayor Ken Livingstone said: “A successful Olympics bid will transform a neglected and run down part of east London and kick-start the regeneration of the wider Thames Gateway, creating thousands of new jobs in the process”
“To win the Olympics in London, we will need new rail and road transport links. The LDA is already hard at work on these plans, to help convince the International Olympic Committee that London is the best choice.”
And at a press conference last week he said that London will benefit whether the bid is successful of not. “We will assemble the land, it will be decontaminated and houses will be built,” he pointed out.
What could be the benefits of a successful Olympic bid?
- £2.2bn income from TV rights and tourism.
- 15,000 homes built.
- 1 million sq ft media centre.
- 125,000 spectators a day bringing in money.
- 200 acres of East London redeveloped.
Extra taxes
There will be no additions to the Council Tax unless and until London is awarded the Games, said Livingstone in a report. The maximum addition to the council tax precept to fund the Olympics would cost the average London household £20 a year or thirty eight pence a week. Payments would start from the financial year 2006-7.
This could raise £550 million in ten years but it will not completely fund the games.
What will it cost?
- According to the Mayor’s Office the Olympic Games will cost:
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Olympics Costs and Funding Summary |
£ billion |
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Cost of bidding, staging, construction & infrastructure, and elite sports etc |
3.6 |
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Revenue from ticket sales, TV, sponsorship etc |
-2.5 |
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Net cost |
1.1 |
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Provision for contingencies (e.g. security costs, transport, venue, 'look of London costs') and any cost increases |
1.275 |
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Total public subsidy required. |
2.375 |
- This fund could be met by:
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New Olympics lottery games |
1.2 |
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Sports Lottery |
0.3 |
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Olympic council tax precept (£550m) |
0.55 |
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Additional council tax precept if required (£75m) |
0.075 |
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London Development Agency funds if required (£250m) |
0.25 |
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2.375 |
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