- 10 Aug 08, 11:40 AM
Dodging the cooks and busy washing-up staff in the kitchen, I quickly learned a lot about the "London House" in Beijing.
The pot was already on full gas for a row of Peking ducks on hooks. But the staff were also peeling potatoes for Britain for a wide-ranging menu including fish 'n' chips and bangers 'n' mash.
A beautiful Chinese house and garden just beside a lake in the centre of Beijing has been turned into a hospitality centre to promote London during the Games.
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It is costing £2m, most of which is coming from the London Development Agency, a government-funded body which is involved in building the venues for the Games and is responsible for the regeneration of the capital.
Chinese and international business executives - and also Beijing citizens - are being invited to the house to encourage them to do business in London. It is a relaxing place to unwind after a day at the Games.
The House is being run by bodies which promote tourism, business and film-making in the capital. There is talk of Bollywood using some of the 2012 Olympic facilities after the Games.
But do you think all this schmoozing works? Organisers say the UK can get plenty of money back from the business secured in China, one of the few expanding economies.
The drinks, on offer, I'm told, ARE sponsored by a private company. But, although there is plenty of what they call "British gastro-pub grub" on offer, it is disappointing that nobody could organise a London pint of beer.
A missed opportunity there for Britain's brewers.
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Comments
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Good to see the London Development Agency being proactive.
Seems a very smart move to get in to Beijing early.
I made a film about London for the City of London business agency for the World Cup. The film received a standing ovation in Japan. :)
They will get that £2m investment back in business.
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Just thought I'd let you know that you may get more comments if the link to the main BBC Sport page worked. The link to this article was broken earlier (had to find it via other blogs) and now the link to Tom's Archery blog appears to be broken.
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I'm concerned that they want to use the 2012 venues for Bollywood productions after the Olympics. It would be an amazing opportunity to revive the British film industry. We need to support homegrown film-making talent!
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Why did you have to take the negative angle, Adrian? Appreciate the fact that we set this pub up, not that there is a lack of London beer.
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The eyes of the world are on Beijing for the next two weeks, and as the next host city, it makes good sense for London to capitalise on the global attention, and sell its wares. As the man from the LDA said in your report, if London doesn't promote itself, its competitors will, and potential inward investment will go elsewhere.
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If the lack of London beer is the worst thing about this project - congratulations to everyone involved!
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In these unstable economic times and seeing as London will soon be taking over the Olympic mantle I see nothing wrong in using public funds to drum up much needed investment in this way.
I think it is a shame that our (public-funded) journalists cannot see and promote this in an appropriate or at least even-handed way.
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schmoozing is the bedrock of capitalism, and £2m is small change next to the potential return from Chinese tourists alone in the coming pre and post Olympic years
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Someone once told me you had to speculate to accumulate. I'm glad to see my tax being spent on something truly worthwhile for once.
Hospitality of this kind has been used to oil the wheels of commerce since time immemorial, so I see no problem.
I wish London House every success and have every confidence it will reap great rewards for Britain.
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