Sheffield showcased its world-class sporting facilities during a visit by US Olympic officials as the stars and stripes nation begins the countdown to establishing its training base in the city for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Top officials from US Diving and the US Olympic Committee gathered in Sheffield for a three-day tour of the city, during which they visited internationally renowned Ponds Forge International Sports Centre... and gave it a big thumbs-up. The Sheffield tour follows the announcement earlier this year that the US Olympic Diving team will be using Ponds Forge as their training base in the run up to the London 2012 Olympic Games. Based on a team size of 25 people, it is estimated that the US Diving Team will spend approximately £50,000 on Sheffield’s transport, accommodation, catering, facility hire and specialist sports services, such as physiotherapists. This figure is expected to more than double when the extra spend of family and friends is taken into account. To find out if there is a Pre-Games Training Camp in your area, see the detailed info on the London 2012 site and consider whether your business could benefit. Can you provide services to the athletes? Or explore ways of working with them e.g. by making them ambassadors to your local area in their country of origin? As a starting point, get in touch with your local tourist board or DMO and see what plans they have.
The answer to this question is quite simple: it depends on how close you are to the action. But the action goes much further than the actual sporting competitions.
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Read and download a range of helpful documents from London 2012’s Brand Protection Guidelines to the Tourism Impact study by Oxford Economics.
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