“It’s over to you!” That was the message to business leaders in Bradford from London 2012 Olympic Games supremo Lord Seb Coe who visited the city to encourage firms to bid for a share of the £700 million of commercial opportunities which would be produced by the event.

The former Olympic champion who chairs the organising committee for London 2012 said he was encouraged by the level of organisation and interest among business to benefit from the Olympics.

He said the Yorkshire business community had recognised during the bidding process to win the Games for London that there would be huge opportunities to win Olympic-related contracts.

Lord Coe said: “During the bidding process for the London Games I was encouraged that local groups in Yorkshire had seen the potential of the event early and started to beat a path to my door.

“Today, there are 773 days left before the opening ceremony which still leaves time for local businesses to ensure they can compete for Olympic-related work. So far, 28 Yorkshire firms have secured contracts and I want to see many more.

“We are working on the biggest project planning exercise imaginable, including the largest regeneration exercise in London for 150 years, and we want to spread benefits around the UK. That is why we have created the means for firms of all sizes in many sectors to have the opportunity to win contracts.

“When we won the bid it was at the high water mark of the UK’s economic fortunes. Since then things have become much more difficult and the Games has provided much-needed work for businesses, particularly in construction. Of the 10,500 people currently working on the Olympic sites, 25 per cent were unemployed three years ago “In many cases those firms that succeed in winning Olympic-related contracts will be securing their future and the jobs of their people. Now, it is really up to them to take advantage of those opportunities.”

Lord Coe was the headline speaker at a conference at Valley Parade held to launch Bradford Gold, a new offshoot of the Yorkshire Gold Business Club, the region’s delivery partner for the London Games which is headed by Bradford-born Don Stewart.

Delegates heard about an online brokerage for Olympic business hopefuls, called Competefor.

The free site enables companies to register their details so they can bid for London 2012 contracts.

Lauren Pigg, Yorkshire Gold project manager, said the Olympics would launch a decade of sport that would provide businesses with commercial opportunities. These included the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, the Rugby World Cup in the UK 2015 and hopefully, the next soccer World Cup in 2018, the venue for which would be announced by FIFA on December 2.