According to Agoria, another five companies are still in the running. The awards are a major boost for Flemish industry: at the last Summer Games in 2008, only 10 Belgian companies were contracted, for one-third of the value.

The successful Flemish companies are performing a wide-range of services, from astro-turf to satellite technology.

Alfacam (Lint, Antwerp) will provide trucks containing video apparatus and staff for outside broadcast (OB). Alfacam was also present at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa

Barco (Kortrijk, West Flanders), a display and visualisation specialist, will provide the giant screens at Wembley Stadium

Betafence (Zwevegem, West Flanders) will provide fencing for the cycling road trials in London, starting at Hampton Court, as well as fencing around Wembley

Deme (Zwijndrecht, Antwerp), one of the world’s major dredging companies, also works on dry land. They will be helping on clearing the site of the Olympic village. Deme is thought to account for the largest share of the total contract value

Desso (Dendermonde, East Flanders) will provide and install the artificial turf in Wembley stadium Dzine (Kortrijk, West Flanders) will provide the giant TV screens for the Olympic village

Lancer Europe (Zaventem, Flemish Brabant) will provide the entire drinks system for Wembley, with the possibility of providing 90,000 drinks to customers in 15 minutes

Monks/Picanol (Ypres, West Flanders) will provide the mattress covers for the Olympic village Newtec (Sint-Niklaas, East Flanders) will provide the satellite technology needed for the management of video images from events at the various venues in and around London

Outside Broadcast (Rotselaar, Flemish Brabant), like Alfacam, will provide OB hardware

Stageco (Tildonk, Flemish Brabant) will be responsible for temporary stages and podiums

Theuma (Bekkevoort, Flemish Brabant) will provide the doors for the entire Olympic village

Traficon (Wevelgem, West Flanders) will supply the software for the efficient management of traffic around venues at crucial times

Vergokan (Oudenaarde, East Flanders) will supply cable support systems for Wembley Vandersanden Brickworks (Bilzen, Limburg) will provide all stone- and brickwork for the athletes’ training centre in Barking, East London

Veldeman Structure Solutions (Bree, Limburg) will provide tents and marquees for temporary use

Videohouse (Vilvoorde, Flemish Brabant), part of the growing media city in Vilvoorde, will provide video and outside broadcast materials

Another three companies are based in Brussels: Philips Lighting in Anderlecht, a subsidiary of the electrical and electronics giant, will supply lighting for stadiums and indoor facilities. Schreder in Vorst will supply lighting for access and approach roads. And Suseia from Schaarbeek will run and operate the Belgian House, the official Belgian agency for the Olympics. Finally, EVS from Seraing in Liège province in Wallonia will provide slow-motion video facilities.

“Bagging so many deals is partially due to our close proximity to the United Kingdom,” BTSC founder Peter Demuynck told De Tijd. “But more than that, it is the result of seven years of plain hard work. As soon as it was announced that London would host the 2012 Olympic Games, we started to lobby in all earnest with regular contacts, visits and invitations. Many different companies undertook various trade missions to the English capital in the wake of visits by Flemish minister-president Kris Peeters and former federal prime ministers Leterme and Van Rompuy. It eventually became clear that all the footwork had paid off. Moreover, the fact that many of these companies have a track record that includes previous Olympic Games gave them a head start