2012

business factsheet

The opportunity of a lifetime for Camden businesses

Section A : impacts
Travel planning The key dates for your travel planning Preparing for emergencies Updates and further information

Section B : opportunities
Promoting your business to visitors Olympic contract opportunities Volunteering opportunities for you and your staff Whats happening in Camden during the Olympics? Planning and promoting Extend your trading hours Local recruitment opportunities

Section A : impacts
Start planning now

Preparing for emergencies Travel planning

Severe disruption is expected across the London transport network with the hot spots in Camden including Euston, St Pancras, Kings Cross, Holborn and Tottenham Court Road. It is important to note that every day will be different in terms of road closures and congestion, reflecting the various events and venues in use. The Jubilee and Central lines will also be more congested as they are key routes to the Olympic Park. Expect some road closures around Russell Square as this is also part of the official Olympic Route Network (ORN). Spectators will be encouraged to use certain stations and lines and wherever possible, businesses and employees should avoid these stations and routes during peak times. To identify how disruption could affect your staff, customers, visitors and suppliers, it is worth developing an action plan now. You may also wish to consider adjusting delivery times, planning business meetings to avoid peak congestion times and encouraging staff to think about their travel plans. Local walking and cycling routes can provide useful alternatives to public transport. Allowing employees to work from home not only helps solve short-term transport problems, but can also increase productivity and staff motivation. Preparing your business for an emergency is always recommended but is of particular importance during major events such as the Olympics. If the worst was to happen, how would you cope? If you are not sure, help is at hand from the Councils emergency planning and business continuity team who provide a comprehensive range of online resources and regular events. Three community security zones have been developed in Holborn, the Euston Corridor and Camden Town, with the aim of improving lines of communication between local businesses and the police. The networks provide information and guidance on issues ranging from counter-terrorism to business resilience and continuity.

Updates and further information

We will be updating this information on our web pages on a regular basis. If you would like to sign up for our business e-newsletter, please contact: economicdevelopment@camden.gov.uk. You can also sign up for weekly email updates on Camden 2012 news.

The key dates for your travel planning are:

2 5 June 2012 - Queens Diamond Jubilee Weekend 27 July 2012 - Olympic Games Opening Ceremony 3 August 2012 - Day 7 of the Games and the anticipated busiest day 12 August 2012 - Olympic Games Closing Ceremony 29 August 2012 - Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony 9 September - Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony

Section B : opportunities
The opportunity of a lifetime for Camden businesses

Promoting your business to visitors

Love Camden is the definitive online guide to whats happening in Camden and will play a big role in promoting the borough during 2012. A powerful free marketing tool, Love Camden allows you to set up your own dedicated free web page and promote special offers ahead of and during the Games. For more information, contact: lovecamden@camden.gov.uk. London and Partners is the official promotional agency for London, providing unparalleled marketing opportunities for Londons businesses in the lead up to, during and after the Games. You can become an official partner or take advantage of free opportunities to advertise your business on their official visitor website. For more information contact: partnersales@londonandpartners.com. Inclusive London is a new website targeted at Games visitors who have specific accessibility needs. The site will be given prominent exposure on visitlondon.com, the official online platform for Games visitors, which receives 1.5 million visits a month.

Olympic contract opportunities

Its not too late. There are still hundreds of contract opportunities currently available on Competefor the one stop shop for Olympic related contract opportunities for all sizes and types of business. After the Olympics, Competefor will be replaced by Procure4london, providing access to a wide range of public sector tender opportunities. Register to receive regular e-bulletins on forthcoming Olympic opportunities by emailing: localprocurement@camden.gov.uk. Local procurement support is also available from local enterprise agency CENTA.

Volunteering opportunities for you and your staff

Camden Council will be recruiting 300 volunteers to ensure visitors receive a first-class welcome. The volunteers will be positioned at Holborn tube station and in Camden Town to ensure that visitors spend more of their time and money in Camden. If you are interested in finding out more about the welcome the world volunteering programme, visit the 2012 volunteering pages on the Camden website.

Section B : opportunities
The opportunity of a lifetime for Camden businesses

Whats happening in Camden during the Olympics?

Argent, the developer of the Kings Cross Central site, is planning to host a programme of cultural events and activities in and around Granary Square to mark the 2012 Games. This is part of a programme of activity that Argent has planned to help promote the Kings Cross development to the world. First impressions count and to ensure London looks its best, official Olympic street dressing will be appearing at strategic locations across London. In Camden, these areas include: Kings Cross, Euston, Holborn, Bloomsbury, Covent Garden and Camden Town. Further information will be posted on our website. The Olympic torch relay will be including Camden on its official tour of London. The torch will begin its journey though Camden on 26 July 2012 at the Roundhouse, with further details on the torch route to be confirmed. Expected to attract thousands of visitors, the relay will also be covered by the national media. Updates on road closures and alternative parking arrangements will be be posted on our website nearer the time.

Planning and promoting

The Culture Diary was set up to capture events large and small taking place across London during 2012. The diary is designed to assist event organisers in preparing for the special circumstances surrounding 2012, and to help promote the capitals cultural offer to visitors. The diary closed to new entries on 31 March 2011, but will reopen in January 2012. If you registered an event, please make sure your event details are up to date and delete any events that are no longer taking place. The London Events Co-ordination Calendar (LECC) focuses on large scale events of more than 499 people occurring in London between 1 May and 31 October 2012. The LECC is designed to aid logistical planning and the allocation of resources such as transport and emergency services. If you are planning an event in 2012 that was not registered in the Culture Diary, please contact olympics@camden.gov.uk While the Olympics provides an incredible opportunity to increase your trade and profile, you need to consider the strict regulations around the use of Olympic branding. Failure to comply with the regulations can lead to legal implications.

Section B : opportunities
The opportunity of a lifetime for Camden businesses

To ensure your event is a success, our event planner and comprehensive guidance on planning an event in 2012 are here to help you every step of the way. Due to the unprecedented demand for license and permit applications, we encourage event organisers to get their applications in as early as possible to meet our key deadlines. It is also worth looking at the GLA guidelines which include dates of the major Olympic sporting events. If you are planning to serve food at your events or operate a food kiosk, you will need to apply for a food license and be in possession of an original food hygiene certificate. For up to date advice and guidance, contact: licensing@camden.gov.uk

trading hours. While the Government has still to announce if there will be a general relaxation in trading hours during the Olympics, you can apply to change your trading hours by varying the terms of your premises license.

Local recruitment opportunities

If you are considering taking on more staff in the run up to and during the Olympics, local recruitment could be the answer. At a time when public transport will be pushed to the limit, hiring a local person who can walk to work makes perfect business sense. For more information, visit our employment pages. If you would prefer to hire someone for at least a year, a local young person could also help to fill important skills gaps. Camden Apprenticeships provides a tailored recruitment service to suit your exact requirements. To find out more, contact: apprenticeships@camden.gov.uk

Extend your trading hours

With consumer spending expected to hit 750 million during the Games period, many businesses are considering extending their