BRITAIN'S capture of the 2012 Olympics is good news for the whole of the UK and not just London.
That was the message hammered home in Huddersfield last night by Lord Sebastian Coe, the supremo behind the Games.
The former Olympics star athlete told 400 Yorkshire business people that sport could be the catalyst for a countrywide revival.
"Sport is the most potent social worker in all of our communities.
"It does things that nothing else can do.
"It is also the most potent peacemaker.
"The Olympic Games can benefit us and challenge us. It is the most exhilarating prospect.
"People in this neck of the woods, in Yorkshire, understand what sport is about.
"As business people you face daily challenges. The Games bid saw us face those same challenges to win in Singapore.
"This is not a London project, it is a UK project and a challenge and we will do our best to deliver it for the whole country."
The audience at the Yorkshire Business Dinner at the Galpharm Stadium also heard encouraging news on the economy.
Top economist Charles Bean, a key member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, predicted inflation would fall to the target figure of 2% later this year.
Mr Bean said he was generally optimistic about the economy.
"The Committee believes there are good reasons to expect the healthy performance of the past few months to be maintained over the next year or two.
"It is quite possible inflation could be temporarily well below the 2% target in the latter part of this year, but that does not mean the MPC can afford to relax about inflationary pressures.
"One of Huddersfield's most famous sons, Harold Wilson, once declared he was an optimist but an optimist who always carried a raincoat.
"So even if it is a cloudless day I can assure you we will be carrying our raincoats."
