Olympic legacy: White elephant or economic viagra?
"Measuring the sporting success of London 2012 is easy - a quick glance at the medals table tells us unequivocally that this has been the most successful Olympic games for Britain in more than a century.
But measuring its success outside the sporting arena is a little more tricky.
Not only, of course, is it too early to draw any meaningful conclusions, but there are no easy yardsticks to judge against.
Yet one thing is clear - the government expects a return on its £9bn-plus investment, both from a short-term cash injection during the Games and from an economic legacy that will, it hopes, be felt for many years to come.
'Scared off'
Just how significant a boost the Games gives to the UK's flatlining economy remains to be seen.
Initially at least, organisers' efforts to prevent bedlam in the centre of London seem to have been over-zealous, with a number of smaller retailers bemoaning a lack of shoppers.
Small shops have complained of shoppers staying away, although department stores have fared better
"We have experienced a big dip in trade since the games began," says William Jones, who runs the T-Shirt Store in Covent Garden.
"It is really quiet - the media and Transport for London have scared everyone away. Usually at this time of year we get lots of tourists, but our turnover is down 30%."
Footfall figures paint a similar, if less dramatic, picture. According to Experian, only three days during the first 13 of the Games saw higher numbers of shoppers in the West End and the East End of London than the previous year."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19191758
