Media release

Australian Minister for Trade, Mark Vaile

Thursday, 21 September 2000

Winning medals and markets: The Olympics and export opportunities

The Australian Trade Commission's Chief Economist, Tim Harcourt, will discuss highlights of Australia's development as an exporting and Olympic nation, from the gold rush of the 1800s to Australia's current gold rush at the Sydney Olympics, when he speaks at the Sydney Media Centre on Monday.

"Competing in the Olympics Games is similar to exporting – it is a form of engagement with the rest of the world and one way of assessing our progress as a nation. Like our Olympians, exporters play an important role in allowing Australia to benchmark itself against the world’s best and to learn from the knowledge and technology that drives economic and sporting performance," he said.

Mr Harcourt will also outline the significant economic boost Australia will receive from staging the Sydney Games including the direct benefits to exports in terms of tourism, sponsorship fees and media broadcast rights.

"The benefits are not confined to the two weeks of the Games. The overall impact is estimated to add an additional $6.5 billion to Australia’s GDP over the 12 years from 1994-95 to 2005-06 with an additional 1.5 million tourists between 1998 and 2004. In the build-up to the Games the construction projects were worth $3.3 billion providing an additional 7,500 jobs per year over the 1994-95 to 2005-06 period," he said.

Mr Harcourt will also brief the media on how the Games provide the opportunity to illustrate Australia’s "New Economy" credentials as well as the five key roles that are common to both economics and sport.

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Local Date: Sunday, 12-Feb-2012 11:17:45 EST