Increasing support for Games despite costs

Chair of the IOC co-ordination commission, Denis Oswald, is pleased with the development and progress being made on the 2012 Olympic Games.

Oswald said: “London has made a lot of progress and the timelines of the project are going according to schedule.”

Commenting on negative media coverage following culture secretary Tessa Jowell’s announcement that the budget has increased by £900m to £3.3bn, Oswald said: “It is important that the media don’t lump all costs together under ‘Olympic costs’ when in reality only part of the investments are directly Games related.”

Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vincent Cable, has attacked the role the Chancellor has played in approving open-ended budget commitments to the 2102 Olympics.

Cable said: “I want to make it clear that my party will not support an open-ended commitment to a tax-payer bail out. There should be no further raid on lottery good causes and no increase in the council tax burden in London. Any extra financial support should come mainly from the private sector.”

Despite the rising costs and resignation of US engineer Jack Lemley as chair of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), an IPSOS Mori poll of 1,875 Evening Standard readers has indicated increased support for the Games by Londoners.

More than two-thirds of readers favoured London as host, which represents a 7 per cent rise on a poll carried out one month before London won the Games, when the budget was £2.4bn – 40 per cent less than the current £3.3bn.