How much will the Olympics really cost?
The overall budget for the London Olympics submitted in the bid to the International Olympic Committee was £2.4bn.
The figure came from a study carried out by construction company Arup in May 2002. It predicted the cost of the Games to be £1.8 billion.
The government then commissioned another report in 2004 carried out by accountants PriceWaterhouseCooper, who put the figure closer to £3.2bn. The government settled for a compromise figure of £2.4bn.
London 2012: Olympics and Paralympics £377m under budget
Give a gift subscription to the New Statesman this Christmas from just £49The cost of the London Olympics and Paralympics will be £377m less than expected, according to the Government.
The combined budget for the two events was £9.29bn, but the projected cost is £8.92bn.
Savings came from a drop in security, transport and construction expenses.
In other words, “Our £6.89bn overspend was actually just a £6.52bn overspend when all things are taken into account! Huzzah!”
The latest BBC News story doesn’t even mention the original estimates at all, although an earlier news story – from July – at least featured Hugh Robinson evading the question:
Addressing the original bid budget of £2.4bn, Sports Minister Hugh Robertson said there was a “recognition right from the word go that figure would have to change dramatically on the basis of delivering the Games”.
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