LONDON (MNI) – Olympic ticket sales will add around 0.2 percentage
point to Q3 GDP, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The Olympics and Paralympics generated some Stg580 million in
ticket sales, which will add 0.2 percentage point to the quarterly
change in Q3 GDP which was estimated at down -0.5% by NS. The Bank of
England’s August Inflation Report forecast a sharp rise in Q3 GDP, of
around 1%, which factors in the ticket sales.
National Statistics in its briefing note also cast light on the
economic impact of Olympic television rights, saying they would not be
included in GDP measures.
TV and some sponsorship rights are purchased from the International
Olympic Committee, and National Statistics said this would be treated as
a transfer from UK companies to the IOC as an import of services.
The payments related to TV rights will, therefore, show up in the
Balance of Payments data for Q3 but not in GDP.
In the press conference following the BOE’s August Inflation Report
BOE Chief Economist Spencer Dale said they had expected a small positive
effect on growth from the Olympics.
“We expect, if anything, a small positive contribution. The impact
that comes from is not through lots of tourists shopping more, it’s via
the impact of both the ticket sales, which although many of us bought
tickets earlier in the year they actually count in terms of GDP in Q3,
and also the TV rights to the Olympic Committee are also counted in Q3,”
Dale said.
–London newsroom: +44 207 862 7491; email: drobinson@marketnews.com
[TOPICS: M$BDS$,M$B$$$,MABDS$]
