As Minister for the Olympics, Tessa Jowell MP, 62, has direct responsibility for the government’s Olympic programme. A former psychiatric social worker and assistant director of the MIND mental health charity, she entered Parliament in 1992 as the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood.
You’ve said that London 2012 will be “a defining moment for the UK in the 21st century”. In what way?
It will showcase modern London and modern Britain to the world. Sometimes I think the backdrop to our country tends to
be the great heritage images — Beefeaters, Stonehenge, Windsor Castle and so forth. They are the the most wonderful images and they will play a big part in the projection of Britain during the Olympic Games, but Britain is a global centre for creative industry. What we want to see is the modern face of Britain.
When did you first become involved with London 2012?
I’ve been involved since 2002, when I was Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Essentially my role then was to secure government support for bidding, because no Olympic Games can proceed without the wholehearted support of government, which is the ultimate guarantor both of the costs of developing the Games and also the costs of staging them.
And what’s your role now?
I’m the Minister for the Olympics — the buck stops with me. My role is to coordinate the resources of government to make sure the biggest peacetime logistical exercise in our history is delivered smoothly, that all the decisions are taken on the construction of necessary infrastructure, and that we create a legacy that reaches across the whole country.
What are the biggest challenges you face?
The big challenge is keeping within budget and on time. And I suppose it’s about thinking round corners: what are the challenges that we haven’t properly anticipated? We’ve done exhaustive risk analysis. We have some of the best people in the world working on this project, so I think the way you insure against things going wrong is to have the best people working with you, and we do.
And I think the other major challenge is to make sure the benefits of the Olympics reach the whole of the United Kingdom and that people across the country recognise that they are there in their town, city or village to see.
What will those benefits be?
First are the tourism benefits — a £2bn tourism premium as a result of the Olympics. The second is the opportunity for volunteers to come from all over the country to work in the Olympics. The third is all the Olympic-related projects inviting people to give time to their community and win what’s called the Inspire Mark, in recognition of them having done more than they ever thought they could do.
Then of course there are the commercial benefits. The Olympic Delivery Authority has awarded 1,000 contracts around the country, whether it’s wetland planting from East Anglia, decking from Poole in Dorset, or steel rolled in Wales and prepared in Huddersfield for the stadium. We’ve made a major effort to encourage firms all over the UK to take up contract opportunities and actually just under 50 per cent of the contracts have gone to businesses outside London. We see that as a great achievement. The Olympics have been economic gold at a time of economic need, keeping the order books of businesses around the country filled at a time of downturn.
How difficult is it to keep within budget?
We have virtually daily scrutiny of the budget. When you’re engaged in a construction project of this complexity and scale, the things that are important are first of all to be clear about the funding, to nail down scope and to be very clear about who is responsible for delivering the various elements of the programme. We’ve done that pretty ruthlessly and my job has been to make sure that government agreed the money, the terms under which this huge public investment was made — 64 per cent of the money is coming from the taxpayer — and now to make sure all the decisions are taken in a timely way and that government never becomes a source of delay. Since this project started, I don’t think there’s any Olympic milestone that’s been delayed because of government. So government has been a facilitator and enabler of the success of this project.
How important is the legacy?
The legacy is absolutely vital, not only for London and not only for the UK, but for future Olympic cities. It’s a big ask for a government to allocate the billions of pounds that are necessary to host an Olympics if there’s nothing to show for it afterwards, and it would be a criminally missed opportunity if we failed to do that.
We see the legacy in two parts. There’s the hard legacy, which is the Olympic Park, the improved sporting venues around the country, the upgraded transport infrastructure across London. Then there’s also the soft legacy, of kids playing sport in school, their lives being changed by that. And then also within the five host London boroughs — five of the most deprived boroughs in the country — more people acquiring the skills that they need, not just to get a job in the Olympic Park but to stay in work after the Olympics are over.
If there’s a change of government before the Olympics, will you have no further involvement?
This isn’t about me, this is about the Olympics. I think the Olympics belong to the nation, not to any single government, and my major aim will be to ensure stability whatever the outcome of the election.
Finally, what’s your favourite Olympic event?
I’m a complete Olympic groupie. Whether it’s canoeing, rowing, cycling or the 100m final, I get completely engrossed in it. The main thing is the extraordinary fortitude of the athletes, which is just an inspiration, and will be for billions of people around the world. That’s why the Olympics remain the single biggest global sporting event.
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