Grayling Blog

Would Brown have won the 2012 Olympics for London?

Posted on 7.09.2010 by Unknown User

Grayling, working in collaboration with the Centre for Future Studies, has investigated the factors that contributed to successful bids by London for 2012 and Rio for 2016 for the Summer Olympics Games.

The findings, which are published today, show that a strong technical bid is not sufficient to win the Olympics. The bid must be communicated with creative zeal and passion. As President Lula said of the Rio bid; “The other countries made proposals. We presented a heart and soul”.

It is also clear that is that world leaders are now key to the success of any Olympic bid. Communicating a steadfast commitment to the IOC’s ideals and mission is essential as confirmed by Tony Blair’s lobbying for London and President Lula’s powerful advocacy of Rio. Widespread domestic support is also considered important leaving one to wonder if London’s bid would have been successful had it been fronted by Gordon Brown.

These are surely lessons that those at the heart of England’s bid for the 2018 World Cup Football tournament should keep in mind as they seek to persuade prime minister David Cameron to play an active part in the bid.

To read the full report click here.