Depending on who you speak to, the London 2012 Olympics is going to be either the greatest show on earth or a right royal pain in the backside.
Until press day, when I managed at last to bag myself some tickets (water polo – please, won’t somebody think of the horses), I was tending towards the latter camp, because in my frustration at being locked out of a party I have helped pay for, all I could picture was blocked road networks, frustrated fresh fruit and vegetable wholesalers, and a glut of corporate sponsors gorging themselves on £8 fish-and-chip dinners.
However, it would be wrong to suggest that the games are an unwelcome distraction. For the big British retailers like Tesco (see our interview on p16-20 of Eurofruit July), it’s a valuable opportunity to kick-start their summer sales following a rather damp and dreary jubilee celebration at the start of last month.
Reading our preview on p62-64, you might get the impression that not everyone in the UK capital is warming to the idea of the Olympics being good for this business, but it is certainly clear that welcoming the Olympic and Paralympic games to our city also means opening the door to millions of visitors and their money.
Assuming the supply chain isn’t held up too much by the vast fleet of athletes, organisers and spectators heading to the 40 different venues, selling fresh produce to the extra 4m people due to come to London will give this business a much-needed shot in the arm. A poor choice of metaphor when it comes to athletics, but you get the idea.
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