The budget for hosting the 2012 Olympics has more than trebled since London won the race for the games, the culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, announced today.
Olympics budget rises to £9.4bn | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited.
The words “I told you so” spring to mind. Anyone who expected anything different to this was being exceedingly naive. According to the radio news this evening, the reason that the bid was so wide of the mark is because at that time, not enough was known about what they were bidding for; akin to taking out a bank loan without first checking the interest rates. Or as Ms Jowell puts it:
…the Government had always intended to revise its budget forecast in the event of winning the Olympics. “Every venue, every bridge and every facility,” had now been included in the plan, she said.
Ah. So they lied, then.
I dread to think what the final cost will be. Probably double the estimate now being given.
Most of this money is going to be spent on improving one of the most deprived regions in the country, improving public transport and providing housing that will boost economic growth in the long term, increase tourism, improve the profile of East London.
I know this should happen without the need for an Olympics, but it probably wouldn’t have.
Putting the Olympics to one side (I despise everything it stands for), regeneration, per se is a good thing. However, the sheer incompetence in the budgeting is inexcusable. It is that that I object to – well and the blatant sycophantic pandering to the thoroughly corrupt Olympic committee. 😡