Recently I went to the Olympic Park site in London to discover what progress had been made and how companies from Northern Ireland can make an impact on the landscape of the Park through the business opportunities generated by the Games.

One of the first things that hits you when you visit the site is the sheer scale of the progress that has been made to date. From the visual impact of the Olympic Stadium to the roof going up on the Aquatics Centre you realise what a massive logistical challenge is being delivered on such a compact site.

As we went past the Aquatics Centre we saw where construction of the one of the key footbridges in the Olympic Park, being built by a company from Northern Ireland, is due to take place. It is encouraging to see Northern Ireland companies already winning direct London 2012 contracts.

With thousands of opportunities projected over the next two to three years throughout the supply chain, I would strongly urge firms from Northern Ireland, in particular small- and medium-sized enterprises, to bid for supply chain contracts. Visit CompeteFor, the chosen website for the publication of Games-related contract opportunities.

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) will be visiting Northern Ireland on 29-30 June 2009 to run a series of one-to-one clinics with businesses of all sizes to discuss how they can get involved in bidding for contracts in the London 2012 supply chain. I want to encourage businesses to come along and get involved - details of the event will be made available over the next month.

Visit the London 2012 Business Network for more information.