Like most all of the UK, I’m almost lost for words to describe the wonderful results and atmosphere of the London Olympics, but as an accountant and FD, I have to ask if we can translate the British athlete’s success into an economic boost for the UK. That for me now is the big question?
When the euphoria has settled down, what will the autopsy show and will it have been worth it?
I have to apologise in advance if I seem to be a bit negative or putting a dampener on things. I have been just as transfixed and enjoying London 2012 as much as everybody else, however could the money have been better spent on defence, or education or the NHS or reducing the number of public services that have recently been cut for example.
Many of my friends booked their holidays over the past two weeks and this seems often to be the case with roads quieter than usual. Indeed the media has reported that due to concerns over a public transport meltdown people have in fact stayed away from London. Of course poor Seb Coe can’t win on that one, can he? On top of all this, the Eurozone crisis has meant that Eurozone visitors are down so it seems that we may still be in the red for some time to come.
So how will Olympic success translate into productivity in the short term? On the one hand it may mean that an increased sense of pride and confidence translates into people working harder although I suspect this will not be the case. I would expect a fall in productivity with people watching the games rather than working and taking “sickies”. It will be interesting to know the statistics over the last two weeks which again is not great for the economy, especially as the last quarter’s poor results were blamed on the rain and poor lizzie’s diamond jubilee.
The Government estimates that London will generate £10 billion in the long term from tourism and “helping to boost trade and investment for Britain from a surge in confidence in London as a great city”.
Whilst only time will tell and I suspect we all hope that that will be the case, I truly struggle to see it, but I’d be very interested to hear your views, so please post a reply.
