Olympics Deals, Investment Worth $15B To London Economy, Ministers Say

Ministers kicked off a series of events to mark the anniversary of the 2012 London Olympics "by claiming the U.K. economy has benefited" from £9.9B ($15B) in deals and investment linked to hosting the Games, according to Roger Blitz of the FINANCIAL TIMES. The figure is made up of £5.9B ($9B) from business deals brokered at an 18-day conference during the Olympics, £2.5B ($3.8B) from additional inward investment and £1.5B ($2.2B) from contracts "won by companies in countries hosting future sports big events such as Brazil, Russia and Qatar." London Mayor Boris Johnson "will say on Friday" that the Games brought £4B ($6B) of investment into the capital, and that 70,000 people "were helped into Olympic-related employment." Johnson: "London is succeeding where virtually no other host city has, on track to secure a solid gold payback on the taxpayers’ outlay" (FT, 7/18).