APPENDIX 20
Memorandum submitted by European Sponsorship
Consultants Association
1. I write on behalf of the UK members of the European
Sponsorship Consultants Association (ESCA) which is an independent,
authoritative body comprising professional sponsorship consultants
with the aim of promoting the effective and professional application
of sponsorship practices throughout Europe.
2. As a body we represent over £300 million
of sponsorship money. We talk to clients on a daily basis about
marketing opportunities in this country through which they can
promote their companies and brands. Their marketing activities
actively assist the commercial and economic climate of the country.
3. This has been proved recently with the Commonwealth
Games, through which £30 million of sponsorship money was
raised—money which might otherwise have been lost to the
economy.
4. There is no doubt that a successful bid by London
to host the Olympic Games in 2012 would benefit the sponsorship
industry. However, this is not the sole reason for this letter.
5. The Manchester Commonwealth Games achieved a number
of valuable benefits for the country as a whole. First, there
was the successful regeneration of East Manchester. Without the
Games it is likely that this area would have lingered in deprivation
for some time to come. The staging of major sports events not
only provides improved sporting facilities for the event and for
longer term use by sports bodies and the local community, but
also leads to other capital development in terms of housing and
business investment.
6. Second, there was a creation of a significant
number of jobs in the area, both during the Games and continuing
after them as one of the legacies. The economic impact of major
sporting events has been proven on many occasions, both in terms
of visitor expenditure, but also in respect of long-term employment
and other income generation.
7. Third, as anyone in the local communities will
testify, the Games brought a general uplifting spirit to the area,
the benefits of which are uncalculable. The level of success of
élite athletes is raised considerably through national
motivation and home crowd support, as well as use of the improved
facilities. Additionally, public support by spectators and the
television audience is enormous, as was shown during Euro '96
and the Commonwealth Games. The interest in sport at this level
is enormous, and affects most people throughout the country.
8. A successful London bid could bring similar benefits
to East London, an area much in need of regeneration and possibly
without any hope of seeing any tangible changes within the next
two or three decades without a boost of this sort. Together with
the general prosperity that bringing the Olympics to the country's
capital, it seems impossible to believe that the Government won't
give the go ahead to making a bid.
9. There seems a reluctance on the Government's part
to believe that sport plays a part in the nation's well-being.
There are plans afoot to bring tangible evidence to bear to prove
this point. Certainly, in terms of the impact on Manchester, all
the evidence suggests that the Commonwealth Games were the catalyst
for major investment and regeneration for the city, and for the
north west.
10. If the Government decides to back a bid for 2012,
ESCA urges this decision to be supported at the highest level,
with crossparty backing, and that there is input at Cabinet
level to support this bid, as well as the staging of the Games
if the bid is successful. Central funding will be needed to support
the bid and the Games, and ESCA trusts that this will be found
through additional expenditure, since the existing Lottery and
exchequer funding for sport is already severely stretched. We
believe that, despite the costs of backing a bid by London for
the Olympics, the value in terms of promotion of the UK and the
city of London overseas, the value of the newly required facilities,
and the economic impact of such as major event on the whole of
the country, not just London, will fully justify the financial
resources that are required.
11. ESCA urges the Government to support a bid to
bring the Olympics to London and follow the example set by Sydney.
Australia's Government saw an opportunity to bring the country
and its people a lifechanging experience, an uplifting experience
which would benefit Australia in a myriad of ways
12. This letter, on behalf of the UK members of ESCA,
urges the UK Government to say 'Yes' to giving London, the UK
and its people the same opportunity, but only if the full resources
and support of the nation are put behind this initiative.
8 January 2003
| 
