How sport and trade share the Gold Medal post Tokyo 2020

The polarised worlds of sport and commerce may at first glance seem loosely related, with pole-vaulting, gymnastics and shot-putting terms rarely used in the realms of international trade. However, with the Tokyo Olympics attracting an average of 19.8 million viewers for Sunday’s opening ceremony from coverage in the US alone, topping a global audience into the billions from the 1988 ceremony onwards (latest NBC figures), Tokyo 2020 has experienced an unrivalled level of global media coverage in the past 10 days. The exposure of a global stage like no other – post the various peaks of the pandemic – poses a potentially different environment to that of non-Brexit, non pandemic years past.

Joining the ranks of its Olympic counterpart, maximising the impact of the Commonwealth Games could lead to more than £650 million of investment in the UK and 1,000 new jobs, tourism according to policy leaders in the region expecting a £24m Business and Tourism Programme (BATP) to help boost perceptions of the region and the UK through the event next year. Equally, it is hoped the event and its ripple effect will help secure more than £650m of investment, create £7m of additional export deals until 2027, and create 1,000 jobs – including 600 in the region.

Graham Stuart, Minister for Exports, said of the event in a separate news release unrelated to this: “The Commonwealth Games brings so many nations together and allows us to show that the UK is open for business, open to partnerships and ready to act as an independent, global trading hub to boost the economic prospects of Commonwealth partners

With the Minister for Sport and Tourism, Nigel Huddleston, stating of the event: “Birmingham 2022 is a massive investment and tourism opportunity for the UK” The programme is geared to capitalise on the profile of the Games and its audience of 1.5 billion people.

He went onto say: “Birmingham 2022 will boost exports, attract inward investment and give both the Midlands and the rest of the UK the shot in the arm required to recover from the pandemic and create more and better paying jobs over the years to come.”

And after the event, the focus will be on supporting businesses looking to locate in the region, confirming export contracts and securing capital investment to cement the Games’ economic legacy. As seen with the London Olympics in 2012, we have seen new rail links created in East London, and improvements to existing underground and overground train services (London Olympic rail networks).