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Shropshire braced for £8 million Olympic bonus
Monday 14th November 2011, 10:59AM GMT.
Shropshire will reap a £7.8 million Olympics windfall as tourists flock to the area because of its links to the games, officials say – with an extra 68,000 people expected to stay in the county.
Many of these visitors will be heading to Much Wenlock, the inspiration for the modern games.
Meanwhile an extra 128,000 day trippers will also flock to the county during 2012 to soak up its links to the London games, claim tourism experts.
The visitors will generate nearly £8 million of extra spending – helping the county’s shops and businesses ride out the economic downturn.
The main draw for tourists is expected to be Much Wenlock, where Doctor William Penny Brookes founded the Wenlock Olympian Games in 1850 and inspired the revival of the modern Olympics in Athens in 1896.
Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member for active and healthy lifestyles, revealed the figures and said the county had to be ready to welcome the extra visitors.
“We are expecting the link to be worth £7.8 million to the county over a 12-month period covering the games.
“People have got to be prepared for these visitors, both the short-term ones when the torch comes here and those in the longer-term wanting to visit Shropshire and Much Wenlock to see what the history is all about.”
The Olympic torch will pass through 14 Shropshire towns and villages on its way to London for the opening ceremony.
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Where do these figures come from? Who are these “officals” and “tourism experts” quoted?
Nearly 200,000 visitors generating nearly £8 million equates to £40 per visitor.
I could have made up more realistic figures for a slow news day.
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Agree with you Drone. Who are these ‘tourism experts’? And where are they for that matter, are they local to Shropshire? I’d be interested to know on what they have based such predictions.
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who in their right mind would want to visit much wenlock for gods sake whats there to see take it from me stay at home let your kids play on the x box and save your petrol
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Bit of wishful thinking involved here. Nobody actually cares about the very tenuous link that the folks of Much Wenlock keep harping on about, let alone plan a holiday around it. A brief scan of the internet will demonstrate to any potential visitor, that there there’s really nothing to see when you get there.
Having said that though, the name of wenlock will live on through the mascot as it takes it place amongst the previous well know mascots such as ………. umm ……….er ………. well I can’t think of one right now!
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What , don’t you remember Amik The Beaver from the Montreal Olympics of 1976…
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…or Blitzkreig the cuddly Prussian Eagle from the 1936 Berlin Games….
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‘Wenlock’,is a nonentity. A shapeless ,worthless lump of plastic with one eye, mass produced for a couple of pennies in China.
There should be a gold medal for gullibility, but choosing which of the UK must-haves who have paid pounds for one should win it would be difficult.
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128,000 visiting!!??
And they’ll get to Much Wenlock how?
These figures are ludicrous. I challenge the Star to name the source and to publish a story after the Games with actual figures.
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“The main draw for tourists is expected to be Much Wenlock”
So what other connection has the county got with the Olympics?
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I’m not braced and I’m part of Shropshire.
Should I prepare to brace?
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What absolute rubbish.
As others have said, where are the figures to back this up? To make a claim like this surely someone has spoken to the thousands of people who have indicated they intend to visit Much Wenlock next year because of a connection with the Olympics.
Be honest – hardly anyone outside Shropshire even knows about the Much Wenlock connection and even fewer care.
Instead of just parroting this wishful thinking masquerading as news, the Star should question it. I guess it came from the PR machine trying to convince us all the the billions of our money being spent on the Olympics will benefit the whole country.
It’s also criminal to raise expections in times like this based on nothing but PR spin. Steve Charmley should be ashamed of himself and I hope no-one takes this seriously. Is he trying to put people out of business?
The people who go to the games will be going to see sporting competitions and will not care about the history.
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To all the “knockers”, stop your moaning and be a little more positive.
No matter what the final figures are, Much Wenlock and surrounding areas such as Bridgnorth and Shrewsbury will, by default, get more visitors next year.
This will be a welcome boost for local hotels, restaurants etc.etc. and generate much needed income in these tough times.
Live and let live, life’s too short.
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@ Woody:
Why should we obey your orders Woody?
Can you show one flake of evidence that “Much Wenlock and surrounding areas such as Bridgnorth and Shrewsbury will, by default, get more visitors next year”?
Thought not!!!!
You’re not “an expert” by any chance?
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Rob,
I wasn’t ordering anyone, just passing an opinion and observation of negativity.
You really want to lighten up and stop being boorish.
I hope that businesses of Shropshire feel some benefit of the Olympics, be it a tenuous link to the modern Olympic movement.
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“I wasn’t ordering anyone, just passing an opinion and observation of negativity.”…”To all the “knockers”, stop your moaning and be a little more positive.”
- I suggest you consult a dictionary
“You really want to lighten up and stop being boorish.!
- as above (do you know what “boorish” means?)
“I hope that businesses of Shropshire feel some benefit of the Olympics, be it a tenuous link to the modern Olympic movement”
- so at least you’ve backed off a bit from “No matter what the final figures are, Much Wenlock and surrounding areas such as Bridgnorth and Shrewsbury will, by default, get more visitors next year.”
At risk of sounding “boorish” can I suggest that “I hope” has a slightly different meaning to “by default”?
PS – any chance of the evidence to support your original comment?
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Rob, you really are being pedantic.
Do you have a desire for the moral high ground on all issues in the Shropshire Star.
I find your comments lacking at best and rather predictable.
For the record I do know the dictionary very well thank you. My underlying aim is for people like yourself to be a little more positive and stop moaning at every opportunity.
If you have nothing better to do than be critical of inconsequential detail then I suggest you get out a little more!
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You made a big claim when saying “by default” and have failed to back it up.
It’s perfectly legitimate to ask you to do so.
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By default = in the absence of any opposing action.
“If the hotels are fully booked before, during or after the Olympics then they will look to locate in towns near Wenlock, by default”.
Is that easy enough for you to understand?
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You’ve helped but there’s still a big “if” about the appeal of Much Wenlock Brits are probably likely to focus on the Games themselves.,how people will get there(most overseas visitors won’t have a car and will be London based), and how long they’ll stay if they do,
Let’s face it, it’s hardly a mine of Olympic things to see.
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The visitors will be disappointed when they get to Much Wenlock, there nothing there.
The larger towns however should have a windfall as there are enough shops and cafes to keep people in the High streets, Oswestry, Shrewsbury, Ludlow, Newport and Ironbridge should do well from this
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I may be in the minority here but ..
Are there THAT mant people in Shropshire that REALLY care about the olympic games?
Is it REALLY going to make any difference to the pretty dire economic situation we find ourselves in?
i think not.
A very expensive game to be playing.
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Agreed, If the truth be told you speak for the Majority
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“Oswestry, Shrewsbury, Ludlow, Newport and Ironbridge should do well from this”
How? Why?
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People may be looking for some bargains in the many charity shops that line the High Streets in these towns..
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…which before the end of 2012 will probably be packed with Olympic memorabilia tat…
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… alongside the Diamond Jubilee commemorative cat flaps, tea towels, toast racks, toilet roll holders and stuff that you just can’t imagine what it’s for…
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people coming to the towns for the day, visiting the cafes, shops and restaurants, its not difficult to actually be positive about it
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Rob, Telford.
I suggest when 2012 arrives you shut your curtains, disable your television and radio, wear earplugs and put on some blinkers.
Then, and only then, will you not be offended by the hype surrounding the Olympics.
Is your cup half empty or hall full? Don’t tell me I have already guessed.
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You’re missing the point.
Lots of us are really looking forward to the Games,have tickets and/or will be watching on the tv.
But that doesn’t mean a boom for Shropshire!
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Surely, something is better than nothing?
It may not be a “boom” for all of Shropshire, but Wenlock because of it’s mascot link, will get additional overseas visitors.
Especially with the Americans being based in Birmingham.
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I’ll watch the events I want to watchon my TV and I won’t need to support the ticket scam by paying ‘Ticketmaster’ up front for tickets I have not a hope in hell of getting
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