London Olympics Bill

The IOC’s decision in Singapore to award the 2012 Olympics to London, and today’s Second Reading of the Bill, mark the start of a period of remarkable opportunity for this country. There is the prospect that the games will give our economy a very considerable boost. The boost delivered as a result of the Barcelona games was estimated at £11 billion, and the amount is surely likely to be much higher now. For the environment, there is the prospect that we will have the largest new urban park in Europe. For Londoners, there is the prospect of regeneration of the lower Lea valley. For those still at school—such as Amber and the 30 children from the east end who represented us all so effectively in Singapore—there is the prospect of achieving Olympic success in their own capital city, or of becoming an Olympic volunteer. Most importantly of all for all of us who care about sport, there is the prospect of a sea change in the relationship between sport and Government. In the fortnight since Singapore, I have been struck by just how much this opportunity means to so many different people, but also by how expectations have now been raised in so many different areas, as the hon. Member for Loughborough (Mr. Reed) said only a moment ago. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and delivering on it will not be easy. However, before I turn to that issue I should like to put on the record—as my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs. May) did before me—my and my party’s appreciation for all the work done by those who brought the games to London. I pay tribute to Lord Coe, Keith Mills and everybody who worked at London 2012 during the bid process. At the celebratory party in Singapore after the vote, I was struck by the many personal and professional sacrifices that so many of their team made to work on the bid. We are all very much in their debt. I also want to pay tribute to the three main stakeholders. First, I pay tribute to the Government, and particularly to the work done by the Minister for Sport and Tourism and, of course, in her absence, by the Secretary of State, in bringing the games to London. Secondly, I pay tribute to the Mayor—I never thought I would say that at the Dispatch Box—and thirdly to the British Olympic Association, and to the Princess Royal in particular, who has been somewhat left out. I saw her lobbying and working on the country’s behalf day in, day out in Singapore, but she has received very little praise for it. To all of them and to the many others who have worked on the bid, we in this House and all those whom we represent owe a considerable vote of thanks. The Conservative party has always supported the London 2012 bid. As will be signified at Second Reading tonight and, hopefully, as the Bill continues its passage through the House, that support will continue. It will most certainly continue so long as the cross-party consensus that we have established continues to be a genuine two-way—perhaps I should say three-way—process.