British Government Claims 2012 Olympics Has Already Brought Extra $17.7B In Business

Britain's UKTI, the government's trade and investment arm, claimed that "Britain has beaten the target set for winning extra business and investment as a result of hosting the London Olympics in 2012," according to Heather Stewart of the London GUARDIAN. The UKTI was "given the task of notching up" £11B ($17.7B) worth of "economic benefits from the Games within four years, but is announcing that it has hit the target already." The total includes £130M ($209.4M) worth of contracts won by British firms to "supply goods and services" to the 2014 World Cup and the Rio Olympics in 2016, as well as "large-scale foreign investments, and extra sales generated through a series of events that were tied to the Olympics, including the so-called British Business Embassy, at Lancaster House in London" (GUARDIAN, 11/15).