The London 2012 commercial team was the focus of ‘The Big Interview’ in the Licensing Academy at Brand Licensing Europe 2010. London 2012 Vision – Retail, Licensing and the Olympic and Paralympic Games - The Story So Far, created an opportunity for licensing industry professionals to hear, in detail, about the commercial campaigns surrounding the London 2012 Games. The Big Interview featured three key members of the London 2012 team: Charlie Wijeratna, director of commercial negotiations, Simon Lilley, head of licensing and retail and Warren Traeger, licensing manager, toys, games and souvenirs. It was hosted by Kevin Roberts, the editorial director of SportBusiness Group, and was followed by a Q&A session from the floor.

Top ten things we learnt about the London 2012 licensing and retail programme at Brand Licensing Europe 2010 –

1. There will be 205 nations taking part in the London 2012 Olympic Games, consisting of a combined 10,500 athletes, 70,000 volunteers, 20,000 accredited media, 8m tickets, a global audience of 4bn and 26 Olympic sports across 300 events in 17 days. This will be followed two weeks later by the Paralympic Games, the world’s 3rd largest sports event with an additional combined 4,500 athletes, 2m tickets, 20 Paralympic sports, across 12 days and a total of 471 events.
   
2. The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), the public body responsible for the regeneration of the east London site and developing and building the new venues and infrastructure for the Games, is investing £9bn. LOCOG, a privately funded company, will secure approximately £2bn of private investment to enable the Games to be staged. This will be raised from a combination of ticket, broadcast, sponsorship and licensing revenue.
   
3. More than £650m of domestic sponsorship revenue has already been raised nearly two years before the event. Licensing royalty revenues are anticipated to generate approximately £80m.
   
4. Around 50 licensees are projected to produce over 10,000 products for the Games, covering everything from clothing and headwear to toys and games, stamps and coins, souvenirs, jewellery, pins, stationery and publishing. The range will be diverse from pocket money items under £1 to highly valuable, collectable and limited edition products such as a £28,000 solid gold souvenir coin.
   
5. LOCOG will open a range of London 2012 shops to showcase official licensed products, including a 40,000ft megastore in the Olympic Park. However, the Olympic and Paralympic Games are an opportunity for all retailers in the UK to sell London 2012 products.
   
6. LOCOG anticipates retail sales to be in excess of £1bn and describe 2012 as “the year of two Christmases”, advising retailers to adjust planning and buying strategies to encompass two major sales seasons.
   
7. The iconic heritage of the Olympic Movement offers a new angle to licensees. Imagery from previous Games, including those hosted by London in 1908 and 1948, present a fantastic opportunity for higher end vintage ranges.
   
8. It is crucial that LOCOG protects its revenue by maximising legal rights, deterring infringers through education and action and pursuing infringement action thereby protecting the financial commitments made by sponsors and licensees.
   
9. It is not just the London 2012 logo that is protected from unofficial merchandise outlets. The words London 2012, Olympic, Paralympic, Olympian, Paralympian, Olympiad and Paralympiad are also to be protected along with the mascots and mascot wordmarks.
   
10. As well as the London 2012 ranges of merchandise, LOCOG will be launching a range of patriotic Team GB and Paralympics GB merchandise in 2011. An initial collection of adidas Team GB merchandise, designed by Stella McCartney, was launched last week in London 2012 online and St Pancras shops and selected sports retailers.