MD2486 UEFA EURO 2020 – Project Update

Background

1.1 The UEFA European Championship is held every four years in the months of June and July. It is the largest sporting event in Europe and the third largest globally after the Summer Olympics and FIFA World Cup. The UEFA EURO 2016 tournament was hosted in France and played by 24 teams (an increase from 16 teams in 2012). In 2020, UEFA is breaking with tradition and staging the event around 12 cities across the continent – a so-called ‘EURO for Europe’ – to celebrate 60 years of the tournament’s existence.

1.2 In 2014, the GLA, in partnership with The Football Association (FA) and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), bid successfully for London to host the semi-finals and final of the tournament at Wembley Stadium in July 2020.

1.3 The previous Mayor approved the GLA’s entry into the UEFA EURO 2020 host city agreement and allocated £8.2m towards the staging costs of the tournament (under cover of MD1339 on 15 April 2014).

1.4 The previous Mayor subsequently signed the UEFA EURO 2020 host city agreement on behalf of the GLA in April 2014. The agreement sets out the GLA’s obligations to deliver the event in London, including significant obligations with regard to transport, security, and spectator engagement including delivering tournament fan zones.

1.5 On 7 December 2017, the UEFA Executive Committee voted to strip Brussels of its hosting rights during the tournament and appoint London to host the relevant matches following a city bidding process – the package is three group-stage matches and one round of 16 match. The games will be held at Wembley Stadium, increasing the total number of EURO 2020 matches to be hosted in London to seven.

1.6 In bidding to host the additional matches, the GLA committed to extend its obligations to UEFA under the existing host city agreement to cover the four additional games; and the Mayor has signed guarantees to that effect. As part of the bid, agreement was reached with Government for the Home Office to cover the costs of policing the additional matches.

1.7 The Mayor subsequently approved a revised project budget of £10m (under cover of MD2226 on 8 February 2018).

1.8 As detailed in MD2226, at the time of writing there were several unknown costs and external factors related to the delivery of the Fan Zone and City Activations project. Following a detailed budget review, an increase in the project budget is required. Furthermore, this decision formalises changes to the project governance and budget underwriting arrangements.

Updated Project Budget

1.9 Following a review of the existing GLA programme budget for UEFA EURO 2020 by the GLA’s EURO 2020 Programme Management Group, an updated project budget has been produced, increasing anticipated expenditure from £10m to £15.4m.

1.10 The main Project Areas requiring an increased budget are:

• Fan Zones and City Activations (increase of £3m);

• Team London Volunteering (increase of £591k including volunteer uniform);

• Supporting a Cultural Programme to run alongside the event (new budget of £1m); and

• Engaging Londoners - A programme aimed at engaging Londoners in the tournament (new budget of £650k).

1.11 The project budget is broken down into the following workstreams:

1.12 Whilst every effort has been made to scope the full breadth of activities that the GLA is required to deliver as part of the project, it is anticipated that additional goods and services that are not currently budgeted for will need to be sourced. An ‘Unallocated’ Project Area has therefore been established to allow flexibility across project areas and to ensure that sufficient funds exist to cater for currently un-scoped goods or services. This is good practice when staging an event of this size, scale and importance to London and globally.

1.13 The anticipated profile of expenditure is as follows:

1.14 Project Areas with increased expenditure are as follows:

• Fan Zone & City Activations - The GLA had originally allocated £5m towards delivery of a series of Fan Zones and City Activations in central London during the tournament. The original £5m envelope was agreed prior to the development of site-specific feasibility work. Detailed feasibility work has now been undertaken and agreement reached with UEFA on London’s Fan Zone project structure. This consists of three sites to be activated at different stages of the tournament, depending on the demand from the public to view different live match screenings. The increased scope of the Fan Zone project has necessitated an increase in the budget to £8m.

• GLA Staffing – Additional staffing resources have been identified to deliver the GLA’s obligations and an uplift in the budget of £650k has been scoped in this proposal. All roles currently scoped for the project have been approved in accordance with the GLA’s Head of Paid Service Staffing Protocol and Scheme of Delegation. It should be noted that the Fan Zone and Volunteering workstreams contain budget to support specific staffing requirements in those areas of the project. In addition, it is anticipated that additional resourcing gaps will emerge as the project develops (budget has been allocated within this Project Area to cater for limited further growth). Project resourcing is kept under constant review by the project team and the GLA EURO 2020 Programme Management Group; any additional resource will be met from the unallocated Project Budget Area.

• Team London Volunteering - The original programme budget was based on several assumptions of collaboration with UEFA on the separate Stadium Volunteer Programme (to be delivered by The FA on behalf of UEFA). This included the provision of shared recruitment/training toolkits, sites and personnel. Despite lengthy negotiations between GLA Officers and UEFA, UEFA will not subsidise these activities for the Host City Volunteering Programme. Following a detailed assessment of requirements by Team London officers, additional expenditure of £642k is therefore required. This figure includes the cost of volunteer uniform.

• London Campaign - A £50k budget has been allocated to GLA Marketing Campaigns to develop a London-specific campaign to run in the build up to and during the tournament, to ensure the tournament is inclusive to all Londoners and we are able to make the most of the international promotion opportunities it brings to the city. The campaign will promote London and run alongside UEFA/Tournament branded promotion.

• Culture Programme - In addition to core obligations around Fan Zones and City Activations, it is proposed that a new project area is created to deliver a series of cultural events and activities linked to the event (including some contractual elements of the project such as the ‘Spectacular’ artistic installation). The programme of activity scoped will bring ensure all residents and visitors to the city can feel part of the tournament, whether or not they are football fans. This celebration of football and culture will complement the sporting activity and offer an inspiring cultural programme for all Londoners and visitors to London, not just the core football fanbase and will ensure the event reaches a broader and more diverse audience. A programme of activities has been scoped and a budget of £1m allocated towards its delivery.

• Engaging Londoners - The GLA Sports Team has allocated £500k from its Major Events Engagement Fund to contribute towards a London-wide community sport engagement programme to run alongside the tournament. However, additional resource is required to maximise the opportunity for Londoners right across the city to engage with the tournament. In consultation with GLA Communities and Social Policy, a programme of activity has been developed to provide opportunities across all London Boroughs to be a part of the tournament and a budget of £650k has been allocated towards its delivery. Activities planned include grant-funding programmes for community organisations in London to access, as well as a Borough Roadshow to widen the reach of the tournament to the outer boroughs.

Project Scheme of Approval

1.15 The General Staff Authorisation (as given through Mayoral Decision-Making in the GLA) provides the authority for officers to implement this decision. However, in recognition that this is a significant budget and a complex programme, it is appropriate that implementing activity is approved (and recorded as such) according to a documented scheme of approval. This is set out below and supersedes the delegation given in MD2226:

• Up to £1,000 – EURO 2020 Project Manager;

• Up to £10,000 – Major Sports Events & Policy Manager;

• Up to £50,000 – Senior Manager – Events & Commercial Partnerships; and

• Over £50,000 – Mayoral Director for External and International Affairs or the Executive Director for Communities & Intelligence in their absence.

1.16 Following approval of individual expenditure commitments, procurement of all goods and services will adhere to the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code.

1.17 Significant changes in approach or budget allocation will, as per usual procedure, be subject to approval through a revised MD. A delegation is, however, sought to enable the Mayoral Director for External and International Affairs or the Executive Director for Communities & Intelligence in their absence, to reallocate budget across project areas (within the £15.4m expenditure envelope) up to £250,000 (excluding the ‘Unallocated’ project area which will be subject to the approvals process set out at paragraph 1.15).

Event Underwrite Agreement Update

1.18 MD2226 detailed a proposed underwrite agreement to be signed by the Government to cover any costs arising above the GLA’s EURO 2020 project budget. Following consultation between the GLA and Government officials, agreement was reached that an underwrite agreement is not necessary, as the Government has already agreed to meet all costs of policing the event, and all expenditure incurred by the GLA on the event is through its own decision/policy-making. Discussion concluded that any overspend on the GLA’s EURO 2020 project would result solely from the GLA’s decisions of how it proposed to meet the obligations of the host city agreement and it was therefore not appropriate for the Government to underwrite the event budget.

Event Governance and GLA Project Management Update

1.19 MD2226 detailed the creation of the GLA EURO 2020 Working Group to oversee and monitor delivery of the GLA’s obligations for the project. Following approx. 12 months of the project operating under the oversight of this group, a decision was taken to refine it, resulting in the creation of the GLA EURO 2020 Programme Management Group as the GLA's internal project oversight committee.

1.20 The Group, chaired by the Mayoral Director for External and International Affairs, brings together senior representatives of all GLA teams that are involved in delivering London’s obligations to UEFA, as agreed in the host city agreement. It aims to:

• Identify key strategic and operational issues/opportunities associated with the event;

• Plan how the GLA can maximise the opportunity of hosting the event for London and Londoners;

• Oversee project resource;

• Monitor project risk; and

• Oversee delivery of the GLA’s obligations to UEFA.

1.21 Since approval of MD2226, the GLA’s EURO 2020 project has been subject to an internal audit review, overseen by MOPAC and approved by the London Assembly Audit Panel. The review awarded the project a ‘Substantial Assurance’ rating.

1.22 There have been no further updates to the event governance structure.

2.1 As detailed in MD1339, the objectives of the proposed expenditure are to:

• Support the successful fulfilment of the GLA’s EURO 2020 obligations set out in the host city agreement;
• Support delivery of the Mayor’s Sport strategy and the GLA’s major sports events framework, ‘London: Home of World Class Sport’; which aim to:
  • Increase economic investment into London;
  • Increase international exposure of London; and
  • Increase opportunities for Londoners to engage with major sports events through opportunities to attend, volunteer at, and participate in community sport activity that is linked to, the event.
    

3.1 The GLA Major Sports Events Team has consulted stakeholders and partners to ensure that as many Londoners as possible, including those with protected characteristics, are considered in the planning of the event and have the chance to be involved in some way, be that through playing, training, volunteering or supporting teams.

3.2 The GLA commissioned a report assessing the impact of the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships and IAAF World Championships. The report has been analysed against this project’s requirements and a relevant lesson learned is the engagement of non-sporting organisations which is being for implemented for this project. This helps to encourage people who share a relevant protected characteristic to participate in such activities in which participation is disproportionately low.

3.3 The GLA Major Sports Events Team has consulted with Team London to ensure the EURO 2020 city-wide volunteer programme eliminates discrimination, harassment and victimisation, and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010. The Team London Ambassador programme is open to all that apply, regardless of race, disability, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity and gender reassignment.

3.4 Appropriate assistance to all Londoners and visitors will be available at EURO 2020 Fan Zones and City Activations. The Team London volunteer recruitment strategy will encourage volunteers with language skills (specifically Chinese, French, Spanish, Italian and German) to join the volunteering programme. This will help to ensure that the sites will be able to offer assistance to both Londoners and visitors with whom we may have had difficulties communicating, fostering good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

3.5 The GLA will encourage persons who share a relevant protected characteristic to participate in EURO 2020 related activities around London by offering a range of opportunities across sport, art, and culture; particularly activities in which participation by such persons is disproportionately low. The Sports Team has worked with colleagues in other GLA teams, particularly culture and communities teams, to develop plans to deliver and promote initiatives celebrating European food, music and culture, encouraging community cohesion and celebrating London’s diversity during the event.

3.6 Planning has been shaped by ‘A Tourism Vision for London’ to ensure that visitors are provided with information in accessible formats to help them do more and see more in London; information is improved to help them find rewarding experiences, and visitors and Londoners alike are encouraged to explore areas beyond central London.

3.7 The GLA has worked with Wembley Stadium to ensure that it is an accessible venue, with a relevant and effective strategy for the project. Wembley's Access and Inclusion strategy was developed in consultation with statutory bodies from the initial principle that the design of the Stadium should be inclusive to all. The strategy will be used throughout the project to mark out the steps needed to be taken to meet the needs of persons who share a relevant protected characteristic that are different from the needs of persons who do not share it.

Key risks and issues

4.1 Project risk is monitored and managed by the GLA’s EURO 2020 Project Manager with support from the GLA’s EURO 2020 Programme Management Group. Risks are recorded and managed through the project risk register. GLA project risks will be managed by the project team and escalated internally where necessary. Identified tournament-wide risks will be escalated to the EURO 2020 Steering Committee where necessary.

Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities

4.2 GLA support for the event will:

• Support delivery of the Mayor’s sport strategy;

• Support delivery of the GLA’s major sports events framework, ‘London: Home of World Class Sport’;

• Increase economic investment into London;

• Increase international exposure for London as a major destination for world-class sport and tourism, particularly in Europe;

• Support delivery of the aims and objectives in ‘Sport Unites’, the Mayor’s Community Sport Strategy;

• Promote social development in London;

• Support the Mayor’s priorities around volunteering and his Team London programme; and

• Contribute to achieving the Mayor’s ‘Tourism Vision for London’.

4.3 UEFA EURO 2020 delivers strongly against the three key criteria for hosting major sporting events set out in the GLA’s framework for major sporting events – direct economic benefit for the city, international exposure of the city, and community engagement.

4.4 It will also deliver across a range of the Mayor’s priorities including community participation and youth engagement.

4.5 The GLA will work closely with the EURO 2020 Legacy Group which is tasked with ensuring that the event has a lasting effect on the city. Already, the GLA has invested £1.5m in the London delivery of the national Parklife Programme (under cover of DD2002 on 25 May 2016); a joint initiative between The FA, Premier League, DCMS, and Sport England to build new, accessible community football facilities across Greater London.

4.6 The event volunteering programme will be delivered in partnership with Team London. This will include volunteers at every match, as part of the Fan Zone programme and city volunteers, reflecting the ethos of the Team London Ambassador programme. Team London Ambassadors welcome visitors to London at tourist hotspots, transport hubs and iconic locations across the city.

Consultation

4.7 At bid stage, consultation took place on the implications of hosting UEFA EURO 2020 through the normal channels with a wide range of stakeholders, including TfL, the Metropolitan Police, LB Brent, LB Newham, Westminster City Council and London & Partners. The views and concerns of these stakeholders were considered in the decision to bid and the production of the Bid Dossier.

4.8 It is not considered that any additional consultation is required in respect of this decision.

4.9 Internal consultation with teams at the GLA including culture, volunteering, and international relations is ongoing.

5.1 Approval is being sought for additional expenditure of £5.4m for the staging of the UEFA EURO 2020 football tournament. This additional expenditure will take the total approved expenditure envelope to £15.4m (with £10m already approved via MD2226).

5.2 The £15.4m is profiled as follows; 2018-19 (£0.131m actuals), 2019-20 (£6.000m) and 2020-21 (£9.269m)

5.3 The additional £5.4m will be funded by the Major Events Reserve as per the above profile.

6.1. The foregoing sections of this report indicate that the decisions requested of the Mayor fall within the statutory powers of the Authority to promote and/or to do anything which is facilitative of or conducive or incidental to the promotion of economic development and wealth creation and social development within Greater London and in formulating the proposals in respect of which a decision is sought officers have complied with the Authority’s related statutory duties to:

(a) Pay due regard to the principle that there should be equality of opportunity for all people;

(b) Consider how the proposals will promote the improvement of health of persons, health inequalities between persons and to contribute towards the achievement of sustainable development in the United Kingdom; and

(c) Consult with appropriate bodies.

6.2 In taking the decisions requested of him, the Mayor must have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty; namely the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010, and to advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic (race, disability, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity and gender reassignment) and persons who do not share it and foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it (section 149 of the Equality Act 2010). To this end, the Mayor should have particular regard to section 3 (above) of this report.

6.3 Officers must ensure that any external services required for the project be procured in accordance with the Authority’s Contracts and Funding Code (the “Code”) and with the assistance of Transport for London’s procurement team. Furthermore, officers must ensure that appropriate contractual documentation be executed by both the Authority and the relevant contractor prior to the commencement of the required services.

6.4 Furthermore, the officers must ensure that any funding to be distributed in furtherance of the project be distributed in accordance with the Code.

6.5 Any function exercisable by the Mayor on behalf of the Authority may also be exercised by a member of staff albeit subject to any conditions, which the Mayor sees fit to impose. To that end, the Mayor may make the requested delegations to the officers listed in decision 2 of this decision form, if he so chooses.