Risky business


The complex assessment and management of risk is now woven into the administration of large-scale events. Will Jennings explains what the organisers of the London 2012 Olympics are doing to prepare for the worst


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HE LONDON 2012 Olympics will be the largest sports event ever to be staged in the UK. As recently as February 2011, the National Audit Office reported that the


final cost of the Games to the British taxpayer was ‘inherently uncertain’ – due to timing constraints leaving little scope for responding to unforeseen, last-minute financial pressures. Risk, and the associated vocabulary of hazards


and threats, is pervasive in preparations for London 2012. With little more than a year to the start of the Games, uncertainties and risks remain across the Olympic programme, such


Throughout history, the Olympic


Games and Olympic movement have experienced hazards and threats


as potential repercussions of the success of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games’ (LOCOG) ticket pricing for its business plan, the threat from terrorism and cyber attacks, and the danger of legacy planning being sidetracked by more immediate concern with the deadline for the opening ceremony on 27 July 2012. As ‘the world’s largest peace-time event’,


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Below: Chris Hoy’s three gold medals from the Oympic Games in Beijing


the Olympics represent a special venue for the governance of risk. The prominence of risk management in the organisation of London 2012 highlights the complex mix of risks that organisers face. The event has massive financial expense and a large-scale construction programme; it is dependent upon London’s fragmented transport network; the


main Olympic site is close to high density domestic and commercial populations; and the UK is exposed to both domestic extremism and international terrorism. Finally, a successful Olympics is vital to the reputation of the UK. For London 2012, ‘risk’ – estimation of the likelihood of an event multiplied by its adverse outcome – can be related to various aspects of organising the Games. These include security, finance, construction and transport, as well as different geographical locations – the main Olympic site, central London, the regions. As a consequence, a number of stakeholders


are dealing with a diverse set of risks, including strategic national level risks (Cabinet Office), programme risks (Government Olympic Executive), project management and delivery (Olympic Delivery Authority), Games operations and commercial revenue (LOCOG), safety and security (the Home Office and the Metropolitan Police) and social and economic legacies (the Greater London Authority, the Olympic Delivery Authority and the Olympic Park Legacy Company). While such a broad overview of Olympic risks provides a list of things that might go wrong, it also shows the complex and interconnected nature of Olympic governance. Because of the extended lead time of


preparations for 2012, there are numerous critical risks that have emerged or changed over the lifetime of the project. Since feasibility studies were conducted by the British Olympic Association during the late 1990s organisers have had to adapt to the new threat from Al-Qaeda and domestic extremists, and downgrading of the threat from Irish Republicanism. Likewise, in the period since the Games were awarded to London in 2005, the global financial crisis has created a far tougher climate for public and private financing of the Games than expected, with the developer of the athletes’ village encountering difficulties in raising private equity and debt funding for the project, and requiring a government-led rescue package.


HAZARDS AND THREATS Throughout history, the Olympic Games and Olympic movement have experienced hazards and threats including political protests and boycotts, budget overspends, terrorist incidents, logistical difficulties, refereeing controversies and doping. Risk has become increasingly important to the Olympic movement and its governance. Within the International Olympic Committee (IOC), there is growing interest in risk and its


20 SOCIETY NOW SPRING 2011


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