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When the fiddling stops - what will be the final cost of securing the real Olympic experience to the Events, Hospitality, & Leisure Industry (EHLI) across the UK?

How much are the Olympic Games going to cost the Events, Hospitality, & Leisure Industry

An article in People Management suggested the cost of security provision for the Olympic sites has almost doubled.  This is as a result of the original estimates being trebled in recent months.  The National Audit Office (NOA) has found that the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) significantly under-estimated the security requirement.  Apparently there is now very little room for manoeuvre, and any additional requirements could put the entire Olympics over budget.  The Government have of course already taken steps to try and reduce those chances of this occurring by using different funding streams from the taxpayers pocket. 

The Ministry of Defence has made amendments to the Armed Forces Act to allow the military to be used in the UK for “work of national interest”.  It was originally suggested this move would facilitate the deployment of around 1000 personnel; including mobilised reservist for the actual games.  As we now find out on the news it is anticipated this figure will be over 13,000.  It is a fairly safe bet this figure will now exceed 20,000 once all the support personnel are included into the equation.  Some of those reservist who face being mobilised are far from happy at this prospect, and believe this should have been addressed much earlier.  However a conservative estimate of the savings this action will generate for LOCOG is £24million in direct costs.  Indirect costs relating to food, accomodation, and travel, will make this saving even higher. 

Additionally the Department of Education are providing free training to students as part of the “Bridging the Gap” (BTG) initiative at a cost of approx £3million.  This is perhaps one of the best things to come out of the whole process, as at least it is teaching the students involved some very valuable life skills.  Plus the Home Office are allowing the Security Industry Authority to grant successful BTG students a licence dispensation for the duration of the games, at Olympic venues.  As a licence normally costs an individual £245, this move is potentially saving LOCOG approximately £9million if current security requirements, including the Armed Forces remain unchanged.   

All of the above is fantastic news for LOCOG and the lead security contracotr, but it needs to be taken in context.  All this taxpayer expenditure and effort is solely for the benefit of securing Olympic sites.  The costs for policing and securing the parallel events related to the Olympic Games; will make the LOCOG security expenditure pale into insignificance.  These costs will run into hundreds of millions of pounds to secure the whole of the UK, at a time when both public and private sector resources are already being stretched to breaking point.  Invariably the Government will go for the easiest target to reduce their own costs; which is the EHLI and the night-time economy (NTE) in particular.

Now, more than ever the Government needs to support the EHLI, and ensure it too has the resources it needs to deliver a safe, secure, and enjoyable Olympic experience for all.  It needs the EHLI to be fully engaged in this process at every level.  Consequently imposing additional levies/taxes at this time is only going create division and discord.  The reality is that it will be the EHLI that delivers the true spirit of the games!  A spirit that lasts longer than 16days!  A spirit that will define the UK in the eyes of the world for generations!

As a result it is essential the Government recognises the Olympics do actually extend beyond the official sites.  At present, similar to Nero, it looks as if LOCOG fiddles, whilst London and the rest of the UK burn.