The London 2012 Olympics: One Year On

by Pavandeep Virdee

It seems hard to imagine that it was only last year that people in Great Britain were celebrating the incredible sporting achievements of the Olympics. Whether it be the memorable moments of Mo Farah crossing the finish line, or the much-awaited triumph of Jessica Ennis- I think it’s safe to say that the Olympics brought many intangible benefits, for all of us.
But what about the economic benefits?

Did the Olympics succeed in its expectation to provide economic growth, or did it in fact fail to deliver? Well, with the official report on the economic benefits of the 2012 Games published on the 19^th of July this year, the 2012 Games were said to have ‘gone out of their way to show that the Olympics more than paid for itself’; by generating an approximate figure of £10bn- almost £1bn higher than its cost.

The report states that many of the benefits include the additional business that has been secured for UK firms and companies. For instance, some UK companies have won more contracts for other international sporting events, which adds up to the figure of £1.5bn, with £120m of this being business that UK companies have won, to help with the Rio Olympics.

Who Are the Real Winners and Losers of the Olympics?

by Viva Avasthi


A very thorough video created by The Economist to provide a useful overview of the impacts of the London Olympics 2012. It is definitely worth watching the entirety of this video as it makes the impacts on many types of people very clear.

 In my opinion, the point made in this video about how there are no children's pools in the Olympics stadium is a particularly relevant one considering that schools are supposedly going to be making use of the Olympic venues in the future! Could this be seen as a sign that the legacy of the Olympics has not been very well planned by the government, despite what they say?


What do you think of the idea of The Teen Economists authors making their own videos in this way?


Please comment below and tell me if you would like to see more of these types of videos on the blog. 

10 Impacts of the Olympics on the UK

by Viva Avasthi

With only ten days remaining until the opening ceremony for the London Olympics commences, here are ten ways that the Olympics have affected (or will affect) the UK.