Paralympics Revenues Beat Estimates; Legacy Chief Outlines Challenges; Jevans Gets Rugby Role

(ATR) London Paralympic organizers say the Games will take home financial gold.

London 2012 CEO Paul Deighton told today's LOCOG/International Paralympic Committee briefing that the Games operate on a "marginal budget", making it difficult to calculate the financial boon of the Paralympics, but he added: "The Paralympics more than washes its face."

He touted a number of positive signs, including that the Olympics and Paralympics were on track to hit the projection of $128 million in merchandise sales, and ticket sale revenue would surpass initial estimates by $16 million.

IPC chief executive Xavier Gonzalez thanked LOCOG for delivering "the most commercially successful Games. I am sure that these are the benchmark we will build on top of for Rio and beyond."

"This is the first time we’ve had a summer Games with all IOC TOP sponsors signing for Paralympic Games," he said. "We have had some great activation plans from these sponsors. Ticket sales, if you put in the context of previous Games, we have almost sold 900,000 more tickets than Beijing."

Looking forward, Gonzalez was optimistic the Paralympics could continue to gain strength financially.

"They are two different countries, two different situations and we adapt and work with each one of them in ensuring we reach the maximum worthiness and commercial value," he said of Russia and Brazil, the two upcoming Paralympic host countries.

He noted particular enthusiasm for Brazil. "We have not the history but maybe the future [in Brazil]," Gonzalez said. He called the Brazilian Paralympic Committee "one of the strongest" Paralympic committees, and pointed out that Brazil had the largest broadcast package of the 2008 Olympics.

"We are very confident that we will move forward also and it will be a very exciting experience for us going to the Americas."

Spectator Figures

On Wednesday, 230,000 spectators entered Paralympic venues, 175,000 to the Olympic Park, 28,000 in ExCeL and the four millionth spectator was expected this afternoon.

Legacy Chief Outlines Challenges

London Legacy Development Corporation chief Dennis Hone warns against complacency in the development of the East End and delivering a positive and enduring Olympics and Paralympics legacy.

Hone, speaking at Hackney House, was making his first public outing since being brought in to fill the role left vacant by Andy Altman last month. Hone is also chief executive of the Olympic Delivery Authority.

During London’s Olympic bid, a lot was made about the investment and regeneration the Games would bring to a significantly deprived part of the city. But Hone warned that the legacy company (LLDC) had a lot of hard work to do.

"The Games were never going to be an absolute solution to all the problems of the East End," he said. "They are a catalyst for change but they are not the solution. We need to grasp the future now, we have an opportunity to build on the Games and the investment of the Games – we need to grasp it now, we can’t be complacent in anything we’re doing."

With the Olympic Park to be officially handed over to the LLDC on Oct. 23, Hone said that planning permission was now approved for the ‘legacy community scheme’. "It brings forward five new neighborhoods in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. That planningpermission allows us to build up to 7,000 homes," he added.

By the time the work starts on redeveloping the park in October, the LLDC will have finally secured a tenant for the Olympic Stadium. The bidding process to find a tenant has dragged on due to legal challenges; it’s an important part of the legacy plan to open the southern part of the Park on July 27, 2013.

The future of the press and broadcast center still has to be decided but IT company iCity has been announced as the preferred bidder to turn the site into a tech hub. "We’ll be working hand in glove with iCity to make sure that we can bring this really exciting project to a successful conclusion," Hone said.

The Olympics and Paralympics has welcomed over three million visitors to the Olympic Park and Hone was confident of welcoming many more, saying: "We estimate we can get up to around nine million visitors every year coming to the Olympic Park after the Games."

Hone admitted a shortage of staffing in the LLDC and, despite the rainbows seen over London this summer, it did not have any pots of money to work with. He added: "The DCMS [government’s culture and Olympicsdepartment] estimate that the Olympics and Paralympics will be bringing in an extra four million visitors and £2.3billion extra spend in the UK – we need to harness that money and make sure it’s being spent in the East of London."

LOCOG Sport Director Lands Rugby World Cup Job

Debbie Jevans has been appointed as the new chief executive of England Rugby World Cup 2015. She replaces Paul Vaughan and starts in October.

Jevans has been widely acclaimed for her work with international sportsfederations and the IOC in successfully staging the Olympic and Paralympic sports program.

Rugby World Cup Limited said it welcomed her appointment. "The successful delivery of one of the world’s largest sporting eventsis founded on a clear vision, partnership, teamwork and strongleadership," said Bernard Lapasset, RWCL chairman and head of theInternational Rugby Board.

"As a driving force behind the exceptional London 2012 Olympic andParalympic Games, Debbie certainly possesses all the necessaryattributes to drive the delivery of what promises to be a specialtournament."

Post-London 2012, she will be responsible for driving forward keyoperational objectives for RWC 2015 including venue selection, thematch schedule and ticketing program.

Paralympics Fundraiser

IPC president Philip Craven and LOCOG chair Sebastian Coe were joined by medal winners and royalty at the Paralympic Ball in central London on Wednesday night.

The event at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane was held to raise funds for the British Paralympic Association (BPA) and the IPC's Agitos Foundation, which aims to increase the number of sporting activities for disabled people.

"There are so many stars all over the show, many of whom will not have won medals. I've been telling people I'm on either cloud nine, 10 or 11. It's been absolutely fantastic. I think we'll have that wherever the Games go now," Craven said. The event was sponsored by London 2012 sponsor P&G.

Reported by Ed Hula III and Christian Radnedge in London

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