Olympics and Paralympics 2012 (and now the legacy-part one)

http://money.aol.co.uk/2012/01/26/olympics-cost-11-7bn-is-it-worth-it/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cuk-ws-bb%7Cdl4%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D93718

Olympics cost £11.7bn. Is it worth it?
.By Sarah Coles, Jan 26, 2012
When London won the 2012 Olympics in 2005 we were jumping for joy. Finally we managed an Olympic win, and we had something to look forward to with a sense of national pride. At the time were were told it would cost £2.37 billion, but were assured we would reap the rewards in return, and it would be well worth the outlay.

In reality an investigation has revealed the final spend will be around 10 times this figure. So how has this happened, and how can it be worth it?

Costs soar
The cost of the games has been climbing almost since the outset. In 2007 the government reviewed the total sum it was going to have to fork out to build the venues and provide security and police for the event. At that point the cost almost quadrupled, and the government admitted that £9.3 billion would have to be spent to get the games underway.

That's a huge and alarming cost, but an investigation, by Sky News, has claimed that the true spend will be well in excess of this. In all, it says, the games and the associated costs will set the country back £11.7 billion.

So how can this figure be right?
The extra costs add in figures that the news channel claims were missed out of government calculations. This includes the cost of buying the land for the venues, which made a dent of £766 million. It also includes things like paying tube workers bonuses so they won't strike, fighting legal battles over who will have the sports stadia at the end of the process, and paying councils to get involved in the torch relay.

The researchers said even this was likely to be a massive underestimation. They said they weren't getting straight answers, and by the time the games started, there were bound to be massive additional costs piling high on top of this already-astronomical bill.

Hidden costs
It also doesn't include huge costs which are being swept up into other budgets. This includes things like counter-terrorism funding of £1.13 billion. Clearly a good chunk of this will be spent on ensuring the games are safe, but have not been allocated to a games budget, Likewise, the budgets of the security and intelligence services occupied in protecting the games have been left out of all the sums.

The government argues with these conclusions, and a spokesperson insisted: "We have always been transparent about the cost of the Games and have rigorously managed the budget to ensure the programme remains within the £9.3 billion."

Meanwhile, none of the calculations bring in transport upgrade costs which were accelerated to be ready in time for the games, and would surely have been cut substantially in the government's dramatic cuts if they hadn't been promised as part of the Olympic bid. If you include everything, Sky says, you'd be looking at a spend well over £24 billion.

Crazy figures
These figures are simply crazy. They may have made sense when they were a tenth of the size, and we were at the tail end of an economic boom that had left us all feeling far better off than we were. Now they are monstrous.

Boris Johnson pointed out that the project will mean 40,000 new jobs, as well as economic growth in the area, new infrastructure, and new opportunities for individuals in London.

Value for money?
But does this constitute real value for money?

Should it really cost tends of billions of pounds in order to provide a few weeks of work to a few thousand people? And will the nation really be better off with the addition of a few specialist stadia and the experience of having been able to watch gymnastics, or table tennis beamed from a local venue they couldn't get tickets for as opposed to the other side of the world?

Should we have pulled the plug on this five years ago, and accepted that we just don't have the resources to hold a major sporting event at the moment? Or is there more to it? Is this a moment when the whole country needs to pull together, to build and to regenerate and to show the world we are still capable of doing something spectacular?

THEY COULD HAVE SPEND £24BILLION ON PROMOTING TOURISMCREATING JOBS IN THE TOURISM SECTOR.

The war in Afghanistan is estimated to have cost Britain £18 Billion.The total cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is estimated to be $1.3 Trillion (Trillion).

Now you know i have been a supporter of the Olympics to a certain extent as i am going to see the Brazilian Beach Volleyball girls match (with a bit of luck).So i am a little biased.
I doubt that any modern day Olympics has ever made any money and the 'Legacy' it leaves is always a little debateable,but in my view it is the greatest show on Earth bringing together the finest physical specimens you could ever hope to see competing against each other at sport rather than war.

For one month of the year (every four years) people should stop being so bloody miserable and try to enjoy what is going to be a spectacular event.

I have not quoted figures of how many have been killed in those wars as thats a bit depressing.

Lioned wrote:The war in Afghanistan is estimated to have cost Britain £18 Billion.The total cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is estimated to be $1.3 Trillion (Trillion).

Now you know i have been a supporter of the Olympics to a certain extent as i am going to see the Brazilian Beach Volleyball girls match (with a bit of luck).So i am a little biased.
I doubt that any modern day Olympics has ever made any money and the 'Legacy' it leaves is always a little debateable,but in my view it is the greatest show on Earth bringing together the finest physical specimens you could ever hope to see competing against each other at sport rather than war.

For one month of the year (every four years) people should stop being so bloody miserable and try to enjoy what is going to be a spectacular event.

I have not quoted figures of how many have been killed in those wars as thats a bit depressing.

I agree Lioned, but big business and international entrepreneurs are once again making vast profits out of the games rather than the country.
The events are once again all being held in London, why couldn't they have created a venue centre further north and made the games more available to all our population?

malena stool wrote:

Lioned wrote:The war in Afghanistan is estimated to have cost Britain £18 Billion.The total cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is estimated to be $1.3 Trillion (Trillion).

Now you know i have been a supporter of the Olympics to a certain extent as i am going to see the Brazilian Beach Volleyball girls match (with a bit of luck).So i am a little biased.
I doubt that any modern day Olympics has ever made any money and the 'Legacy' it leaves is always a little debateable,but in my view it is the greatest show on Earth bringing together the finest physical specimens you could ever hope to see competing against each other at sport rather than war.

For one month of the year (every four years) people should stop being so bloody miserable and try to enjoy what is going to be a spectacular event.

I have not quoted figures of how many have been killed in those wars as thats a bit depressing.

I agree Lioned, but big business and international entrepreneurs are once again making vast profits out of the games rather than the country.
The events are once again all being held in London, why couldn't they have created a venue centre further north and made the games more available to all our population?

I agree malena, I read that 730,000 tickets have been distributed to Corporations, Dignatories, Donors etc . Already the pundits are saying visitors will
not be buying from the Stores, they will be too interested in watching the Games. The Diamond Jubilee will be more popular.

There are other venues around the country,mostly football granted but one or two others.Like it or not London is the Capital City.Had this debate when they were rebuilding the National football stadium,Wembley.Turned out most footie fans prefered a day out in London than the alternative,which probably would have been Birmingham !
Lets face it who really wants to spend a 'Holiday' weekend in Birmingham (apols to brummies but thats a fact for all others).
Makes it an expensive weekend though i have to say.

Lioned wrote:There are other venues around the country,mostly football granted but one or two others.Like it or not London is the Capital City.Had this debate when they were rebuilding the National football stadium,Wembley.Turned out most footie fans prefered a day out in London than the alternative,which probably would have been Birmingham !
Lets face it who really wants to spend a 'Holiday' weekend in Birmingham (apols to brummies but thats a fact for all others).
Makes it an expensive weekend though i have to say.

That's the problem with many folk from up t'north not getting to see what is undeniably going to be a spectacular event.

Lioned wrote:There are other venues around the country,mostly football granted but one or two others.Like it or not London is the Capital City.Had this debate when they were rebuilding the National football stadium,Wembley.Turned out most footie fans prefered a day out in London than the alternative,which probably would have been Birmingham !
Lets face it who really wants to spend a 'Holiday' weekend in Birmingham (apols to brummies but thats a fact for all others).
Makes it an expensive weekend though i have to say.

It was the same with the Millenium Celebrations, the Dome became a white elephant and was practically given away. The trouble is Lioned, the Nation can"t afford the cost now and there was a fiasco over ticket allocation , jobs given to outsiders and a whiff of lack of professionalism about the organisation
of such a major event.

IT WAS REPORTED IN THE GUARDIAN TODAY THAT NEWBORN BABIES WON'T RECEIVE TICKETS TO GET INTO THE OLYMPICS.

Badboy wrote:IT WAS REPORTED IN THE GUARDIAN TODAY THAT NEWBORN BABIES WON'T RECEIVE TICKETS TO GET INTO THE OLYMPICS.

They are joking of course!!!

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Sky Investigation: Olympics Bill Tops £12bn

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6:00pm UK, Thursday January 26, 2012

Lia Hervey and Orla Chennaoui, Sky Olympics Team



The true cost of staging the 2012 Olympics is five times the figure given
when London won the bid in 2005.


A Sky investigation has revealed the final cost for the Games will be more
than £12bn.

However, associated costs could make the bill as high as £24bn - a staggering
10 times the original estimate.





When London bid for the Games seven years ago the predicted cost of staging
the Olympics and Paralympics was put at £2.37bn.

The original public sector funding package, which is primarily cash to build
the venues and provide security and policing, was increased in 2007 to about
£9.3bn following a review.

However Sky has counted an extra £2.4bn on top of the current £9.3bn public
sector funding package for the Games.

The additional cash includes spends on more anti-doping control officers,
money for local councils for their Olympic torch relay programmes, cash spent on
legacy schemes, paying tube workers not to strike, governmental operational
costs, the cost of the Olympic Park Legacy Company, legal bills over the stadium
tenancy decision and extra pounds to UK Sport.

This figure today is only a start. There are
numerous other Olympic spends that have not yet been discovered or counted by
us. These figures are not being offered up and requests are being
evaded.

Lia Hervey, Olympics producer



The figures also take into account the cost of buying the land for the venues
at £766m.

Negotiations are still ongoing about the debt this has left and who will pay
for this after the land value becomes considerably lower because of the
recession.

The £12bn cost of the Olympics, calculated by Sky, does not include extra
counter-terrorism funding of £1.131bn being allocated to the police despite a
ministerial statement saying "much of this capacity will be devoted to the
Olympics in 2012".

Nor does it include the £4.4bn budgets of the security and intelligence
services.

It also does not take into account the opportunity cost of having the
majority of the UK police force working on the Games instead of fighting crime
elsewhere.

On peak days 12,000 officers will be policing the Games.

In addition, Sky's overall total misses out the £6.5bn spent on transport
upgrades which have been brought forward due to the Olympics and could have been
cancelled as part of Government spending cuts were it not for the event.

If these figures had been counted, the Olympic spend would have totalled well
over £24bn - more than double the current budget and 10 times the original
calculation.


London mayor: olympic money is money well spent








The figures also do not consider the cost of actually staging the Games.

This is paid for by the London Organising Committee (Locog), a private
company which raises revenues primarily through sponsorship, merchandising and
ticket sales.

Locog's budget for the Olympics is £2.1bn.

Sky's Olympic team has counted as many extra Olympic spends as possible
across public bodies but there is certainly more spending that has not been
accounted for.

Many public bodies have repeatedly ignored Sky's requests for
information.

Newham Council, the local authority staging the majority of the Games,
provided some figures but requests for further details have been ignored despite
contacting them six times.

A number of Freedom of Information requests to the council by members of the
public have also failed to get the figures.

But Sky can reveal that they are providing £40m of public money towards the
Olympic Stadium conversion and have also spent £700,000 on Olympic projects.


How UK Costs Compare

Beijing 2008
Cost overall: £20bn
Athens 2004
Cost overall: £16.8bn
Sydney 2000
Cost overall: £4bn
Loss when revenues taken into account: £1.6bn

Sources: Reuters; BBC; New South Wales auditor-general. No adjustment made
for inflation.








The council spent nearly £1m on their legal costs over the West Ham and Spurs
FC row over the stadium and have spent £29,400 on tickets.

As with previous Games, nobody has ever been able to accurately predict the
final cost and it will not be until 2013 when we can say whether any increased
tourism, economic benefits and the returns from the tenancy or sale of the
Olympic venues and village made them a worthwhile investment.

Emma Boon, campaign director for the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: "In some
cases it is very difficult to pick apart Olympic spending and separate it
out.

"For example, if you look at things like police budgets particularly, it's
very difficult to say (whether) those officers would have been on duty that day
anyway and whether they are specifically doing Olympic duties or not... To a
degree we will never know.

"But I think as far as possible the accounts relating to the Olympics have
got to be open, they have got to be honest - publish them on the internet, let
taxpayers go and have a look at where their money has gone."

However, Olympics minister Hugh Robertson told Sky News the public spending
package is "absolutely" still £9.3bn.

"That in itself is a difficult figure as there is lottery money in that, and
there will be money that is repaid when thigns like the broadcast media centre
are sold," he said.






Mr Robertson added: "That £9.3bn figure is not a true figure of the cost to
the taxpayer."

London Mayor Boris Johnson told Sky News he agreed it was
important to assess value for money but insisted the projects would deliver
40,000 jobs, valuable skills and economic growth.

Regarding the decreasing value of some of the land, he said money would
return to the public purse when it is built on, he said.

"You can classify a lot of different budget lines and expenditure in the last
five, six years and going forward into the future as Olympic-related where they
might be delivering regeneration in London, driving economic growth," he said
from Davos.

"The transport spend, the land-purchase spend, these are things I think
economists might classify it in a different way."

However a Department for Culture, Media and Sport spokesman said: "The Public
Sector Funding Package for the Games is £9.3bn and includes all additional
security, defence and public transport provision for the Games.

"It is simply not right to start adding on top of that budgets that would
have been in existence regardless of 2012 and claim that as being an Olympic
cost.

"We have always been transparent about the cost of the Games and have
rigorously managed the budget to ensure the programme remains within the
£9.3bn.

"London 2012 is an investment in our country that is already bringing in
economic benefits that would otherwise not have been possible.

"It is an incredible opportunity for the United Kingdom - not a burden."

The ticketing 'sales' has been incompetent to say the least.

Babies will have to pay for a ticket (if they can get one) if they want to go !!

That is official.You will not be allowed to take your baby unless you have bought it a ticket.That is ridiculous offcourse as some pregnant women will have got tickets and may not wish to be parted from their baby,what is wrong with a baby sitting on your lap,you certainly wouldnt try to sit it down on a seat !
I would not mind a lady sitting next to me with a crying baby,if it annoyed me i'd tell her and she'd go for a walk (or i would) simple as that.

The ticketing business could become a farce quite easily i feel.

Hi Lioned, personally I would not take a baby to the Olympics. I was at a show in the U.S. last November and a couple sitting in the row behind me brought their Baby. The Baby started crying not long after the show started and they could not pacify it. the end result was they had to leave after paying a lot
of money for the seats. I presume the Olympic Committee are demanding the child be charged to deter children from attending.

I dont know what their logic is panda.I cant imagine too many people wanting to take their babies so it will be a very few i suspect so not a big issue to let babies in on mummys lap if necessary.
The Olympics as a sporting event will be quite noisy,not like sitting next to a wretched child crying in the theatre,though annoying it would be for some i suppose.
I would guess in a crowd of 80000 their might be two babies so whats the problem ?

Lioned wrote:I dont know what their logic is panda.I cant imagine too many people wanting to take their babies so it will be a very few i suspect so not a big issue to let babies in on mummys lap if necessary.
The Olympics as a sporting event will be quite noisy,not like sitting next to a wretched child crying in the theatre,though annoying it would be for some i suppose.
I would guess in a crowd of 80000 their might be two babies so whats the problem ?

As I say, I think the Committee is making it difficult for Parents. If the Parents have tickets for the Track events, it is out in the open, the Sun might be strong and any baby would be uncomfortable. I think the Parents should leave their offspring with friends or Relatives.

Hi Panda, there was a well weird woman from mumsnet on BBC a.m. news who was up tight because babes in arms were being charged the full price of a ticket. Suggested the baby would enjoy the experience... These are, I believe the self same people who support the McCanns...

malena stool wrote:Hi Panda, there was a well weird woman from mumsnet on BBC a.m. news who was up tight because babes in arms were being charged the full price of a ticket. Suggested the baby would enjoy the experience... These are, I believe the self same people who support the McCanns...

Hi malena, what a babe-in-arms would enjoy about being at the Games is beyond me. As I said about the baby at the Radio City show, he/she started to
cry and the Mum went outside with it, came back after a while with the baby seemingly settled. The baby cried again and this time the Dad took it outside.
This went on a couple of times until they left , so all that money and travel wasted. It"s a brilliant show for anyone in New York at Christmas time.

Olympic 'Mastermind' Wants Stadium Rethink

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9:59am UK, Thursday February 16, 2012



Lia Hervey, Olympics producer





The architect of the original Olympic plan has said action
is needed to prevent the athletics stadium becoming a white elephant, in
an exclusive interview with Sky News.


After a Sky Sports News investigation, Steve Lawrence admitted he
made the anonymous complaint to the EU Commission, which the Government
blamed for the collapse of the stadium legacy deal with West Ham FC.


Mr Lawrence was commissioned by Stratford Development Partnership
more than a decade ago to carry out a feasibility study for the Olympics
on Stratford Rail Lands once it became clear Wembley was not a viable
site for the Games.


In an exclusive interview, he revealed he complained to the European Commissionin
August last year because he felt the bidding process for the future use
of the stadium was "opaque" and could lead to a heavy burden on the
taxpayer.


He believes a joint athletics-football legacy would never generate the cash needed to sustain the stadium.











How the stadium could look if West Ham moved in




"There's nothing in this for me whatsoever. I don't have any connections with any of the parties involved," he said.


"I care a great deal about the project. It's a project I started in
the first place and I want the legacy in east London to last for
generations.


"I felt that this could bring about great change and I saw this
process turning into a debacle and it was not generating a sensible
legacy.


"I still believe that it is unrealistic to predicate the legacy use
on athletics. It can only work with a football use in the stadium.


"I do think it expanded rather more than it needed to, I think too
much land has been used up, and I believe the stadium would have better
positioned to the north of (the) Channel Tunnel railway station.


"It would have been easier to combine with the warm-up track which
would have made producing a sensible legacy project much easier.











Mr Lawrence says the stadium has been built in the wrong place




"In its present form with athletics only, it's definitely not viable.
If you look at the 1928 stadium in Amsterdam, if you look at the
Barcelona Olympic Stadium, if you look at Munich... All of these stadia
require support from the state and have done in the long term.


"The stadium in Amsterdam is now nearly 80, maybe 90 years old and it
still needs state support and, as things stand the stand, we will be
supporting the Olympic stadium for the next 100 years."


West
Ham, along with Newham Council, were granted the right to use the
stadium after the 2012 Games in February last year, only for the deal to
subsequently collapse.


Rival bidders Tottenham Hotspur and Leyton Orient launched a judicial
review against the decision, claiming a £40m loan Newham Council made
to West Ham amounted to unfair state aid to a commercial firm.











Tottenham are now planning to build a new stadium of their own




Alongside the judicial review in the High Court, Mr Lawrence's complaint was made to the European Commission.


The Government cited the complaint as their reason for collapsing the
deal, claiming European litigation could paralyse the legacy for years.


However, Mr Lawrence disputes the Government's reasoning.


He said: "I identified the problem very early on at the beginning of
2011. If it had been dealt with properly and had they listened I
wouldn't have needed to make the complaint because they would have been
dealing with the issue.


"Was my complaint the reason for pulling the plug on it? I'm not sure
if that's true. I don't know all the details of the judicial review but
I think it was due be decided the following week.


"My feeling is that they used the complaint as an excuse for pulling
out in advance of the judicial review (with Spurs and Leyton Orient) as
they knew they were going to lose."













In December last year, the Olympic Park Legacy Companyopened a new process for bidders which included short 'concessions' rather than a longer lease as was originally planned.


Spurs, in the meantime, withdrew their interest and decided to build a new stadium next to their present one in White Hart Lane.


The new terms are not as appealing for West Ham and Leyton Orient as
they no longer include the lucrative naming rights. These will now
remain with the Government.


The successful bidder is expected to be announced on March 23.


But Mr Lawrence is calling for the bid process to be stopped
immediately and for the Government to conduct a review into the entire
legacy process as he believes a shared athletics and football legacy
will not raise sufficient revenues.


Without this, he fears the stadium will become a white elephant.


"I believe if we construct a centre for athletics on the land where
the warm-up track will be and then allow the stadium to be converted for
football-only use, possibly with joint tenancy for West Ham and Leyton
Orient, now Spurs have withdrawn from the process, I think we have a
project where everyone can win.


"My recommendation is to take a step back, take a good look at it and then I think we can wind up with a genuine legacy."













































Your Comments

Sort comments by: Newest Oldest Recommended


Posted by: drippub on February 16, 2012 11:19 AM

@""Posted by: themacks30 from manchester on February 16, 2012 10:06 AM""@

Yes I did watch that TV programme, what a scandal, BUT there doesn't
seem to be any rush to get to the root of the corruption. Must be being
sponsored by the Banks and the CBI?.

Posted by: brassedoff on February 16, 2012 11:13 AM

Olympics Athens 2004, Greece 2012 bankrupt - London Olympics 2012 Britain bankrupt 2022

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Posted by: Grey Lady on February 16, 2012 10:57 AM

We
have paid for this and as such should be given a voice in what happens
to it. No sport, not even football, will ever fill this expensivewhite
elephant. Yes folks! We have been conned again. Think along these lines,
1) Millennium Dome. 2)Olympic stadium and attendant buildings and
infrastructure. 3)HS2 - all of these are 'Vanity Projects' by the
politicians concerned. Who pays? Most certainly not them. Who is left
(or will be left) severely out of pocket? - Why, us of course!

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Posted by: dragonflyuk on February 16, 2012 10:49 AM

@alchemymachine- So are you suggesting the city of london makes no money? Laughable.

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Posted by: Ruksana on February 16, 2012 10:43 AM

Oh
add another note, my local Leisure Centre (Atherton), which is near
Straford, Newham Council cannot afford to keep up the repairs to our
local centre, this council cannot afford to repair the sauna, gym, they
have cancelled all the classes, they have only kept open the gym until
June.. where so many local residents, youths, school children who come
to learn to swim, uses this Centre for many many years. This is
disgusting where they spent millions on this Olympic statdium and forgot
about local people who vote for these councillors. Since the olympics
our council has forgotten its own residents. If they are to open one
near the olympic, us normal residents cannot afford prices, plus
parking. We want our Atherton Leisure Centre back running, no threats
of it closing pls, Mayor of Newham (Sir Robin Wales) Boris Johnson and
the local councillors..

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Posted by: commontater on February 16, 2012 10:39 AM

So
the architect of the original Olympics plan wants a rethink does he.
It's a pity he didn't think before he came up with his original plan.
Perhaps he should pick up some of the bill.

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Posted by: Gj73 from Italy on February 16, 2012 10:32 AM

MalUpNorth
- if they did share it & ever got paired to play eachother you'd
have more chance of survivng nuclear fallout than being a supporter in
that crowd-:)

I do believe what he is saying though, there isn't a single public
access athletic ground that doesn't require state funding & the only
sport that can afford this place is a premier team.

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Posted by: Ruksana on February 16, 2012 10:31 AM

Haha
haha thats me laughing.. I knew it that this would happen. Once
Olympics is over, it going to be left to rot, just like the millenium
dome, cost millions to make and this stupid question 'Stadium Rethink', i
live in Newham near the olympics, i tell you what if they can't think
of anything, tell Newham to build flats, thats what Newham Council does,
building more and more flats, to house immigrants, waste timers etc,
Newham as it is, is so overcrowded.. I work for a bread factory, the
streets nearby are all going to be closed of because of the olympics. I
can't wait for it to all be over, i know for a fact many of us in
Newham are not fan of this olympic, we all think its a waste of money..
Once its over it will be forgotten.

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Posted by: the camper on February 16, 2012 10:31 AM

It is a white elephant waste of public money and time, he probably knew that when he collected his nice fat cheque for the job.

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Posted by: Can't Think Of A Name on February 16, 2012 10:30 AM

It's a Labour legacy , of course it's going to be a White elephant.
It's already a White Elephant.

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Lia Hervey
February 28, 2012 1:22 PM

Recommend post (0) We've just had an update on the latest Olympic and Paralympic budget. This is the £9.3bn public official funding package that has largely been used to build the Games in 2012.

This morning it was generally all good news. The Games are, so far, on time and on budget. Construction is 96% complete.

However there were a few questions that needed asking.

More money from the government 2012 Games budget is being made available to the London Organising Committee (Locog). The figure is now £154 million.

Today the reasons cited were additional security and stadium modifications.

Approximately £41 million has already been handed over to Locog to help pay for the Opening and Closing ceremonies (as their own budget wasn't considered sufficient) and £271 million government money has also gone to them for venue security.

The problem with this is that whereas the £9.3bn public funding budget is generally transparent and open to scrutiny, once money has slipped over to Locog, it's much harder for the public and journalists to keep an eye on how it's being spent.

Locog has its own budget for putting on the Games, which is raised primarily from sponsorship, merchandise and ticket sales. It was set up in 2005 as a private company with the purpose of ensuring they could secure commercial funding to put on the Games. However the downside of this is that Locog's activities are generally beyond scrutiny. An example is the way we've been unable to submit freedom of information requests about the number of tickets available for sale to the public and they refuse to give out the information freely.

Today Hugh Robertson, the Olympics Minister, said that the public money which has been handed over to Locog will be scrutinised in the same way as the official Olympic and Paralympic budget but that this will be done by the government and not by the public. Does Hugh Robertson feel Locog should be more open? "We can't change agreements made back in 2005. All we can do is ensure the money they get now is under scrutiny", he said.

locog 2012 olympics dcms
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Alarm At 'Soaring Cost' Of London Olympics
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The PAC says it is worried about the future of the Olympic Stadium after the West Ham deal collapsed
4:54am UK, Friday March 09, 2012

MPs have expressed concern the London Olympics will go way over its £9.3bn budget - and said it was "staggering" the initial estimates about security costs were so wrong.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has also raised doubts about the Games' legacy and warned the Olympic Stadium in Stratford must not become a white elephant.

The Government says it is confident London 2012 will come in under budget.


With 140 days to go until the Olympic Games, we are on time and under budget, with over £500m worth of uncommitted contingency remaining.

DCMS spokesman
PAC chair Margaret Hodge said: "The venues and infrastructure of the London Olympic Games are on track to be delivered on time and within budget.

"However, the £9.3bn public sector funding package is close to being used up and we are concerned about whether the running of the Games will be held within budget.

"Taking into account costs outside the package, the full cost to the public of the Games and legacy projects is already heading for around £11bn."

Mrs Hodge said the committee was particularly concerned about "significant" increases in the security bill.



The DCMS says it has tenants for six of the venues at the Olympic Park

Games organiser Locog's original estimate for the number of security guards in and around the Olympic venues was 10,000 - a "finger in the air" figure, according to the PAC report.

The Government announced in December the number had more than doubled to 23,700, with security costs rising from £282m to £553m.

"Locog itself now has almost no contingency left to meet further costs, even though it has done well in its revenue generation," says the report.

On legacy, the PAC report raises concerns over sports participation targets and the future of the Olympic stadium after a deal for West Ham United Football Club to take it over was scrapped.

The report states that with only 109,000 new people regularly involved in sport against the original 1m target - which the Coalition chose not to adopt.




The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has rejected the figure of £11bn as being the true cost of the Games and defended the legacy aims.

A DCMS spokesman said: "With 140 days to go until the Olympic Games, we are on time and under budget, with over £500m worth of uncommitted contingency remaining.

"As we told the PAC in December we do not recognise the figure of £11bn. We have always been transparent about what is included in the £9.3bn.

"The cost of purchasing the Olympic Park land will ultimately come back to the public purse through the resale of the land after the Games and was therefore not included.

"Funding for the legacy programmes, that the PAC refer to, comes from existing business-as-usual budgets and we have been clear about this. These are for projects designed to capitalise on hosting London 2012 but are not an additional Olympic cost."


The DCMS said the legacy included regenerating part of east London and that tenants have been secured for six out of eight venues on the Olympic Park.

Workers in Indonesia are alleged to be working up to 65-hour weeks for as little as 34p an hour
1:38am UK, Saturday April 14, 2012

Allegations of "sweatshop" labour conditions for workers making outfits for Olympic volunteers are being investigated by Adidas.
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (Locog) has said it is taking the claims made in The Independent "extremely seriously".

The paper alleged that Olympic merchandise which will be worn by British athletes and volunteers at the Games "is being manufactured for Adidas in sweatshop conditions in Indonesia".




Workers at nine Indonesian factories which have contracts to produce Olympic shoes and clothing for Adidas are allegedly working up to 65-hour weeks and earning as little as 34p an hour.

A spokeswoman for Locog said: "We place a high priority on environmental, social and ethical issues when securing goods and services and take these allegations extremely seriously.

"We have spoken to Adidas and they have assured us that they are investigating these allegations, the conclusions of which will be made public.

"We regularly remind all of our licensees of the importance we place on the sustainable sourcing code they have each signed up to."

Neither Adidas nor Team GB could be reached for comment.

29 April 2012 Last updated at 05:10 Share this pageEmail Print Share this page



The Ministry of Defence says it is evaluating sites for surface-to-air missiles for the Olympic Games, and could place them at residential flats.

Residents at an estate in east London have received a leaflet saying soldiers could be placed there during the Games.

It says part of an air defence system might be based at a water tower on the estate, where 700 people live.

A spokesman said the MoD had not yet decided whether to deploy ground based air defence systems during the Games.

The leaflet states that members of the Armed Forces will be at the location for a military exercise in early May for between five and seven days, between 2 and 7 May.

It goes on to say that there will be a "major national exercise" from 2 to 10 May to test the Armed Forces' capabilities to help the police provide security during the Olympics.

Improve security

And if the government decides to use the missiles during the Games, then the soldiers could be "operationally deployed for a period of up to two months this summer".

This part of the leaflet assures residents that their residence will not become a terrorist target
The MoD also says in the leaflet that the missiles will be manned by "fully trained, professional soldiers", will not pose a hazard to residents and the missiles "will only be authorised for active use following specific orders from the highest levels of government in response to a confirmed and extreme security threat".

The document also states that "having a 24/7 Armed Forces and police presence will improve your local security and will not make you a target for terrorists".

Journalist Brian Whelan, a resident at the flats, said: "They are going to have a test run next week, putting high velocity missiles on the roof just above our apartment and on the back of it they're stationing police and military in the tower of the building for two months.

"It's a private, gated community... We have an MoD leaflet saying the building is the only suitable place in the area.

"It says there will be 10 officers plus police present 24/7. I'm not sure if they are going to live in the building."

'Not normal'

Mr Whelan also said that the property management company which runs the flats put up posters and gave out the leaflets on Saturday.

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A MoD spokesman said: "As announced before Christmas, ground based air defence systems could be deployed as part of a multi-layered air security plan for the Olympics, including fast jets and helicopters, which will protect the skies over London during the Games.

"Based on military advice we have identified a number of sites and, alongside colleagues from the Metropolitan Police, are talking to local authorities and relevant landowners to help minimise the impact of any temporary deployments.

"As part of our ongoing planning, we can confirm site evaluations have taken place."

The MoD has previously been considering plans to install surface-to-air missiles in south-east London at Blackheath and Shooters Hill during the Olympics.

4 May 2012 Last updated at 18:32 Share this pageEmail Print Share this page

123ShareFacebookTwitter.Pair arrested on suspicion of Olympic dance fraud Two people have been arrested over alleged involvement in fraudulent bids to sponsor children as young as nine to dance in the Olympics closing ceremony.

Up to 75 children from dance schools across Northamptonshire had been rehearsing for the ceremony believing they were taking part.

Det Supt Nick Downing said the news was "incredibly disappointing" for the children involved.

A 35-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman have been arrested.

'Incredibly disappointing'

Police were alerted by LOCOG who confirmed the company run by the two people arrested was not associated with the Olympic or Paralympic Games.

Detectives are investigating approaches to a number of companies across the UK to provide sponsorship.

They have also visited the dance school principals to explain the nature of the inquiry.

The schools so far affected are the Dance Factory, Sinead Loughnane dance school and Kilburn Dance School.

Chief Supt Paul Fell, Territorial Commander for Northamptonshire Police, said: "There will be obvious upset with families where young people have been working hard in practising for an event of such importance in which they have been led to believe that they will be involved."

The children affected are aged between nine and 19 and the businesses approached to provide sponsorship for the scheme are said to be in Manchester, Portsmouth, Birmingham and Northamptonshire.

The arrests were made at addresses in Northampton and London.

Det Supt Nick Downing from Operation Podium, which investigated the case, said: "For many of those affected this will be incredibly disappointing news and will cause concern and sadness.

"What we will do is carry out a thorough investigation that establishes exactly what has taken place and provide whatever answers we can."

IT IS SAID THAT CORNWALL'S ECONOMY BENEFITED BY OVER A £1MILLION

Well i am really looking forward to the Olympics.I think its going to be the best thing thats ever happened to this country since we won the World Cup in 1966.
I think it will be worth every penny spent and the Stadia and facilities will live on for many to use and benefit from.

The Olympics and Paralympics all in this country with the Worlds best athletes competing at the highest level.I am going to watch every second of it.Infact i may give up work for a month and go on one great big beer and sports binge.

All them school kids are going to love it and with a bit of luck they'll put down their Xbox's and double wopper cheesburgers for five minutes and enjoy watching fit people pushing the boundaries of Human achievements.