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It's easy to see what the Olympic Games would bring to London, if the capital won the right to host the games in 2012, but what about the rest of the country?
The experiences of previous host countries shows that the Olympic Games would leave a long-lasting legacy to the whole of the UK. And these are tangible benefits, not just grandma and apple pie ideals.
So what exactly would the games offer?
Pre-games preparation camps
More than 200 nations will compete in the 2012 Olympic games and around 150 in the Paralympic Games. National governing bodies (NGBs) for each country's sport decide where they will train before the games. As well as excellent training facilities, they look for exclusivity, good transport links, decent accommodation and additional facilities for back-up office, medical and nutrition staff. Elite sports centres at places such as Loughborough, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, Bath and Cardiff could prove attractive to visiting teams.
Hosting a training camp can be a lucrative opportunity. Before the Sydney Olympics in 2000, Team GB spent A$6m while it trained at its base in Queensland. In New South Wales, 125 teams from 39 countries trained in the run up to the games, investing A$70m into the state's economy. This began in 1997 when the Belgian athletics team trained at Narrabeen.
The prospect of hosting teams for months leading up to the games can also act as a catalyst for developing and refurbishing existing sports facilities.
London 2012 is producing more information for towns and facilities interested in hosting visiting teams. This will cover key criteria, when decisions are made and by whom. The information will feed into a series of regional tours the senior team are making across the UK.
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Hosting elite sports events
An Olympic host nation is obliged by the IOC to stage large scale test events, such as world championships, 6-18 months before the games themselves. International sports federations, meanwhile, are keen to hold world, European and other championships in the host country so their athletes can acclimatise.
These are held several years before the Olympics and bring financial benefits. For example, Birmingham City Council believes the World Indoor Athletics Championship and World Badminton Championships it hosted in 2003 bought an additional £6m into the region.
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UK wide football competitions
The preliminary rounds of the football competition will be held at stadiums right across the UK – in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Villa Park, St James' Park and Old Trafford.
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Enhanced sporting performance
Would hosting the Olympic Games really improve the performance of our own competitors?
Look at the evidence:
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Increased sports funding
The experiences of former host countries suggests that more money is invested in developing elite athletes during the years running up to the games. In addition, the games would be likely to generate unprecedented interest amongst businesses and local authorities. This, in turn, could open more funding for sport at all levels.
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Business opportunities for UK companies
Businesses in New South Wales won A$1bn worth of contracts from the Sydney games and an additional A$300mn was generated by local business. Over 55,000 people received employment related training. If London hosted the Olympic games, thousands of UK firms could be involved in supplying everything from construction to manufacturing, catering to merchandise.
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Boost to UK tourism
The tourist industry won't just boom during the four weeks that the Olympic and Paralympic games actually take place, but for months and years before and after the event.
PriceWaterhouseCoopers believe the Sydney games gave Brand Australia A$6.1bn worth of additional publicity and over A$6bn worth of spending from 1.6m visitors between 1997 and 2001. Between 1993 and 1996, after Sydney had been named as the host city for 2000, its convention and exhibition sector grew with the number of international visitors increasing by 78%.
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Volunteers from across the UK
Seventy thousand volunteers would be needed to help run the Olympic and Paralympic games in 2012. This would require the biggest volunteer recruitment drive in the UK in peacetime, providing a unique boost to sport and general volunteering.
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Torch relay and cultural programme
The Olympic torch tour in 2012 – possibly lasting several months – would be likely to involve every city or town in the UK. Cultural events throughout the country in the years leading up to the event would also take place.
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Encouraging more people to take part in sport or physical activity
The passion, excitement and interest generated by hosting the world's greatest sporting event could help the government achieve its target of getting 70% of the population doing 30 minutes of exercise, five times a week, by 2020. This would have significant and well-documented health benefits.
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