Exclusive: Visa has Helped Regenerate East London after Olympics says Grannell

Colin Grannell, Executive Vice President of Visa Europe, believes the credit card company has aided the transformation of East London into being a hotbed of commercial activity following the Olympic Games.

Speaking exclusively to iSportconnect, Grannell said: “The Olympic site of course, was a toxic waste field before the Games. So, we have been able, with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and in this case LOCOG, the organisers, to build a card acceptance network and an infrastructure where there wasn’t one before.” 

Since Visa’s sponsorship of the Olympics began in 1986, Grannell is adamant that the firm has evolved alongside the spectacle and has helped make the Games a ‘truly global event’. 

“There are 204 nations that participate in the Olympic Games, many of them couldn’t do so effectively without support from the IOC and the TOP sponsors,” added the Brit. 

“We’ve been able to help all of those countries join in and make the Olympic Games what it is today, which is about human spirit, sportsmanship and communities, coming together and participation. 

“You can’t do that with a handful of countries, you have to have more than 200 countries and I think we have been a big part of making that happen.” 

Read Colin Grannell’s full exclusive featured profile interview here: http://dev.isportconnect.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15189&catid=52&Itemid=428