One year on, multi-billion boost from investment and tourism

The Olympics have been followed by a multi-billion-pound golden year of record tourism and massive foreign investment for London.

But how much of that can be directly attributed to the success of the Games remains open to question.

Last week Boris Johnson claimed that the direct “Olympic legacy” boost to London’s economy alone was £4 billion, but much of this spending would probably have happened anyway.

What is not in doubt is that the Games provided the most widely watched and most successful “Invest in London” promotional video in history. It put the capital “front of mind” for thousands of corporate and individual investors all over the world.

A year on, London’s economy is still fizzing with life from regeneration mega-developments such as Battersea Power Station, White City, Wembley, Croydon, Victoria, Waterloo and Stratford itself to West End restaurant and store openings.

While it is true that many of these were already on the drawing board, the burst of foreign investment stimulated by the Games gave developers the confidence to push ahead.

David Pegler, chief executive of Docklands Olympic venue ExCel, said the Games helped the world to “rediscover” London and countered old “muddling through” stereotypes about Britain’s ability to organise global events and transport infrastructure.

He said: “The London Games were a resounding success and the impact globally has been bigger than we could have hoped for.

“I travel quite a bit trying to get people to bring their events and exhibitions to London, and the Olympics presented the capital in a totally different manner — that things get done on time.

“It’s having a huge legacy on London, it’s really brought us to the forefront of people’s thoughts, imagination and I think we’ll see a golden era over the next 10 years of people coming here for creativity.”