Olympic contractors come last…again!

In a recent move hailed by the Prime Minister, the government announced a deal with the International Olympic Committee which would allow construction firms that had been involved with the Olympics to circumvent the No Marketing Rights Protocol which has prevented them from publicising their involvement.

Companies involved with the Olympics are now free under the ‘Supplier Recognition Scheme’ to apply for a licence from the British Olympic Association to enable them to promote their involvement with the Games.

Despite Barbara Gill, BOA’s supplier recognition project manager, asserting that ‘the feedback we’ve been getting from firms has been great’, it appears that the feedback firms have been getting from the BOA has been pretty woeful.

Almost one fifth of companies that have actually received a decision notice from the BOA have been turned down because they have failed to comply with one or more of the requirements for the licence. When companies have asked the reason for their lack of compliance they have been told that they have failed to meet one of the criteria designed to protect the benefits of official sponsors. When applicants have asked for clarification as to which specific criterion they have failed to meet, they are simply sent a copy of the full list.

To date, out of 1,043 applications for licences, 285 have been granted, 50 have been rejected and 758 are still being processed.

Once again, at a time when construction in the UK needs a shot in the arm, our industry is being hamstrung by bureaucracy and obfuscation borne out of a fear of upsetting sponsors who largely have nothing to fear from our industry promoting its contribution to the Olympics.