Lord Faulkner of Worchester Writes About Preparations for the London 2012 Olympics
Lord Faulkner of Worcester writes for ePolitix.com, ahead of a House of Lords debate on the preparations for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympic Games.
During the debate Lord Faulkner will speak as a minister in the government whips’ office, on behalf of the department for culture, media and sport.
There are just a little more than 900 days until London hosts the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and preparations remain on time and on budget.
Almost half of the construction work is complete, including the main structure of the Olympic Stadium and the iconic ‘wave roof’ of the Aquatics Centre clearly visible. This year, construction work on the Olympic Park and Athletes’ Villages will peak with up to 11,000 people employed on the two sites.
Because of good control of the budget by the government and the Olympic Delivery Authority, the programme has been able to work during the recession without an impact on the overall budget and almost two-thirds of the £2bn fund is still intact.
The Olympics have proven to be a strong economic stimulus during the recession – directly responsible for £6bn in contracts and generating tens of thousands more business opportunities down through the supply chains. Over 1,000 companies have won more than £5bn supplying the Olympic Delivery Authority 98 per cent of which are UK-based and 45 per cent are outside London.