This year’s Summer Olympics will produce
positive travel ripple effects all over Great Britain
Destined
For Glory
By Andrea Doyle
All eyes will be on Great Britain this July, when the Games of the XXX Olympiad take place. London, the
host city, has been preparing for the world’s
greatest summer sports spectacle for seven
years, ever since it defeated Paris in the final
round of the host city competition in 2005.
The Summer Olympics will run from July 27
to Aug. 12, and London—as well as the rest
of England, plus Scotland and Wales—is ripe
for high-end tie-in incentive programs.
In conjunction with the Olympics and
the Paralympics that follow, from Aug. 29
through Sept. 9, London has expanded its
infrastructure. Billions of dollars have been
spent to upgrade and expand light rail, subway, and highway transportation networks
and to build Olympic facilities, which will be
available to groups after the Games end.
A former industrial site in East London
has been transformed into Olympic Park,
a square-mile area that will create a green
backdrop for the Games and a new green
space to be enjoyed for years to come. The
ArcelorMittal Orbit, an eye-catching steel
sculpture/observation tower, will function as
both a sightseeing attraction and hospitality
space after the Games conclude.
The ArcelorMittal Orbit will be an unorthodox-looking attraction during and after the Olympics
Olympic Spirit Is Alive and Well
All of the talk about London hosting the
Olympics has had a ripple effect. VisitBritain
says that while London and Edinburgh main-
tain their positions as
the two most popu-
lar destinations for
international visitors,
places such as Cardiff,
Glasgow, Manches-
ter, Newcastle, and Windsor have benefitted
from an Olympic spirit that has pervaded
across the United Kingdom. Many smaller
towns around the region have been benefi-
ciaries, as well.
