The Olympics is continuing to prove to be a great chance for everyone to grab a piece of the action particularly in the events industry.
IET Birmingham: Austin Court recently experienced this when the official banking partner of London Olympics 2012, Lloyds TSB celebrated its annual UK management event at our venue in February. This year took an inspirational theme encapsulated by the very same Olympic Torch that will be commencing the UK leg of this journey on 18th May. Crossing more than 1000 UK cities and villages, the relay itself will demonstrate that the opportunities affiliated with ‘Olympic Fever’ will not just be limited to London.
Not everyone will be going to the Olympics. Some may even choose to avoid the frenzy altogether. There are however plenty of good deals in cities such as Birmingham which also offer great access routes, which could have huge benefits for national or international delegates, both in terms of convenience and reduced costs.
For others, business will continue as usual; for example, AGMs, a legal requirement, will still need somewhere to meet so this could be another option for venues within the city to consider. Though an Olympic hotspot, there are 7.7 million tickets for the games but only around 120,000 hotel rooms in London. Venues outside London with good transport links will offer a good value alternative.
These opportunities are also not just limited to just the 16 days in which the Olympics take place. Many events including training and preliminary rounds will be taking place in a variety of places, as too will the Paralympics. As such there will be ample opportunity for venues to run corporate hospitality and benefit from the event.
I would use these next five months as a time to challenge the events industry to use 2012 to re-invent itself in order forge a legacy that will continue to shine long past this summer.
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