Hold your breath as the Olympics forces up world prices

By Mik Barton on Jun 2, 08 09:46 PM in General

We've heard suggestions before that the London Olympics is going to suck money out of the regions.

Our own market square project for Kings Heath could be the sort of minor victim if, as one voice suggested at a recent meeting, all the Lottery money is going to pay for the spiralling Olympic costs. Without this it would have come our way for local regeneration projects of course (?)

There's also the suggestion I've heard that the massive construction projects in East London, as well as CrossRail etc, will increase the demand for labour and building materials so that the price for other UK projects (such as New Street Station?) are forced upwards.

If anyone has got any ideas whether either of these will actually materialise, please let me know.

But here's a new one on me. The global cost of steel is, I'm told, being forced up by the Beijing Olympics, now only a few months away.

China is possibly the largest manufacturer of steel and the gigantic factories around Beijing are preparing to shut down in an effort to cut pollution for the Games. As many as 70 steel mills in Hebei Province could face closure unless they clean up their act by 15 June.

The Olympic venue is one of the world's most polluted cities, with smog levels five times higher than World Health Organization safety levels. So in the run up to the Games they will be banning cars, shutting factories, banning spray painting, quarrying and all sorts of noxious activities. Five provinces around the capital will be closing plants and restricting traffic.

If the air is too nasty when the athletes arrive the IOC has warned it could postpone some outdoor events.

Who said sport and politics and business don't mix?