The head of the British Olympic squad has told business leaders to prepare for the golden opportunity of the 2012 Olympics.

Simon Clegg, chief executive of the British Olympic Association, was speaking at a conference of the North Hampshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday.

With Aldershot confirmed in January this year as the base for Britain’s athletes before the London Olympics, the legacy of the Games should be to raise the profile of sport and provide a catalyst for regeneration in the area, Mr Clegg said.

“Aldershot was chosen as the optimum place for us to prepare,” he told around 100 delegates from businesses across the area gathered at the Holiday Inn in North Camp.

“We should not underestimate the huge pressure that our athletes, as representatives of the host nation, will be under. People will judge the success of the London Olympics by how many British athletes are standing on the podium with medals around their necks.

“Aldershot was chosen ahead of many other options across the country. We were particularly impressed by the partnership between Aspire Defence, the Army and Rushmoor Borough Council. There was complete unity and alignment between the different partners.”

The Olympic squad would be looking to use new, specially built sporting facilities and use existing ones at the Army’s centre for sporting excellence at the military garrison.

“We have got some fantastic facilities in Aldershot,” said the former Aldershot-based Army officer, who now lives just a few miles away in Farnham.

“In many respects, it is the jewel in the crown in terms of high-quality high performance facilities, and those facilities are only going to expand in coming years.”

Although the British team was currently focusing efforts on the Beijing Olympics later this year, the legacy of Aldershot’s involvement should be to raise the profile of sport socially and politically as a force for good, Mr Clegg said.

He told the business bosses — including representatives from the aerospace, hotel, catering, banking, education, retail and hi-tech industries — that they had to embrace the business and social opportunities that Aldershot’s bid success had provided.

“It is early days, but we want to engage with the community, including community hospitals, the business community and schoolkids,” the BOA boss said. “We will try to make sure that those who want to can get involved in some way.

“We will come back to this when Beijing is behind us, but London 2012 is a great opportunity for the whole country. Don’t sit back and wait for this opportunity to be put on a plate. You have got to be creative about this.

“If the kids of Cardiff, Glasgow, Belfast and indeed Aldershot are just watching this on TV I think we will have failed a whole generation. We owe it to the kids of today to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Mr Clegg said he could not see any negative aspects for Aldershot in hosting the British team.

“I can only see a great upside,” he added. “Nobody has pointed out any major risks to me. All the issues we have we have talked through with Aspire and we are happy that the plans are deliverable and attainable.

“We have got some fantastic facilities there on site already and there will be more facilities in place on site.”

He added that the British team was expected to more than double in size, from 305 for the Beijing Olympics up to 790 for the London games, as athletes from the host nation are offered automatic qualification in all events.

“The additional facilities we need may mean that we have to go beyond what is available in Aldershot,” he said.

“All the Army gyms will be made over to us for all the indoor sports, but if we have a greater critical mass than that it may have to go beyond the immediate area.

“We will want local hotels but we will effectively take over an entire Army barracks at that time. As well as the athletes, there will be a massive travelling circus for sparring partners and the like who will also need accommodating.”

With just 132 days until the opening ceremony of this year’s Beijing Olympics, political problems in China, such as alleged human rights abuses and the repression of independence activists in Tibet, have hit the headlines.

But Mr Clegg dismissed calls for a British team boycott.

“Boycotts only achieve one thing — they damage the opportunity for our finest young athletes,” he said.

“Whatever your views, the Olympic Games can act as a huge catalyst for change. There will be 25,000 members of the media in Beijing. That spotlight will provide more focus on what is going on in China than a boycott ever could.”

The impact of the British team’s preparation in Aldershot was highlighted by the company charged with the £12billion redevelopment of Army accommodation in the town and across Salisbury Plain.

Kath Cortizo, of Aspire Defence Services, said that the 35-year private finance initiative to rebuild the Army’s crumbling buildings had provided long-term secure employment in the area and would draw extra investment.

“We have a strong desire to make a positive impact in the community. We think it will have a huge impact, and our success with the Great Britain team shows that no better.”

Brandon O’Reilly, chief executive of TAG Farnborough Airport, said the airport was preparing to play host to many of the heads of state flying in and out of the 2012 Olympics as well as several of the national teams.

The airport would help to achieve a positive first and last impression of the games for visiting dignitaries, he added.

“It is expected that there will be 1,000 extra summer business aviation movements,” the airport boss said. “There clearly needs to be capacity to address those movements.”

Mr O’Reilly would not be drawn on whether the airport would need to apply for planning permission by 2012 to accommodate the extra Olympic private jets.