Austrade media release
Thursday, 21 August 2008
Home-grown businesses are crucial to London 2012 but Australian capability is a well recognised component of many successful Olympics, according to the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) Chair, Mr John Armitt CBE.
Mr Armitt said that Australia has a significant international reputation for staging and managing sporting events.
“Australia really knows how to do big sports events. We’ve all watched with great admiration as they’ve staged international events, such as Sydney 2000, that are recognised as among the very best,” he said.
“At London 2012 we receive valuable advice from many of those involved in the planning of the Sydney 2000 Olympics and our Chief Executive, David Higgins, is of course an Australian who worked on Sydney and brings huge experience from this period.
“In addition we and LOCOG are already working with 10 Australian businesses on various projects and their support will be crucial as we plan towards London 2012.”
The ODA executive team and the UK Sports Minister have travelled to Beijing, some at the invitation of the Australian Government, to meet with and observe the many Australian success stories out of this Olympics.
The ODA is the UK public body responsible for developing and building the new venues and infrastructure for the Games and their use post 2012
The ODA and London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) estimate that at least 50,000 individual contracts – and possibly as many as 75,000 – will be entered into to stage the 2012 event.
Austrade’s Senior Trade Commissioner for the UK, Kylie Hargreaves, said that Business Club Australia, Australia’s official business program for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, hosted a special event to highlight Australian Olympic capability to core members of the London 2012 team.
“With 2012 now on the horizon we thought it timely for the UK and Australia to network as the “big build” begins for the London Games and Beijing is the perfect place to showcase our expertise,” said Ms Hargreaves.
“Most of the current Australian business wins concern the design and construction of Olympic Park infrastructure and key venues and associated services such as transport strategies. (List attached)
“There are still plenty more opportunities for Australian businesses. For example LOCOG is also engaged in the procurement process for all overlay and support requirements around primary structures, including the Olympic Village, International Media Centre, Main Stadium, Aquatic Centre, and many other key sites.”
“The London 2012 games will also provide an opportunity to form alliances with UK and European partners, allowing consortia to bid for future northern hemisphere projects, such as the Euro 2012 football tournament in Poland and the Ukraine in 2012, and the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014 in Russia.
“We are always looking to the future because the Olympics race is never over for Australia!”
Companies seeking opportunities with the London Olympics should first start with the official website https://www.competefor.com/london2012business/login.jsp.
Examples of Australian companies winning London 20012 business
Westfield: Developers of the Stratford City project. This is a major retail and community development immediately adjacent to the Olympic Park. A key part of the Olympic legacy for the area and linked to developments such as the Olympic Village
Lend Lease: Preferred Developer for the Olympic Village
HOK Sport ArchitectureP: Architects in the Team Stadium Consortium, responsible for designing the main stadium
Sinclair Knight Merz: Engineering consultancy, part of a multi-disciplinary design team for the 12,000 capacity Basketball Arena
Intelligent Risks: Security consultancy advising LOCOG security team
Exsport Management: Advising LOCOG on the development of the volunteer workforce
PTW Architects: Appointed to the design team for the Handball Arena
Bligh Voller Nield: Architects involved in the design of the Olympic Village
Cleanevent: Event cleaning services – contracted to Wembley stadium, an Olympic venue
Denton Corker Marshall: Appointed to the panel of architects for the Olympic Village
ENDS
Media contact
Samantha Mattila
Tel: +61 2 9390 2388
Mob: +61 434 567 673
Email:
For further news and information from the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) visit www.austrade.gov.au/mediacentre. |