London 2012: still on time and within budget
Quarterly Report reveals additional investment in ceremonies; detailed planning results in changes to security costs
Figures from the Government’s December 2011 Olympic Quarterly Economic Report show that the overall funding package for the Games remains at £9.298 billion with more than £500 million of unallocated contingency available. With the successful delivery of the Olympic Park on time and within budget, the Government has been able to invest more in promoting Britain and generating economic growth off the back of the Games.
The anticipated final cost of the Olympic Delivery Authority’s (ODA) construction, infrastructure and transport programme is £6.856 billion. This is a decrease of £394 million since July - including £333 million that the ODA has returned to DCMS for transformation work to be carried out by the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC). On a like-for-like basis with previous reports which included funding for transformation work, the anticipated final cost stands at £7.189 billion - a reduction of £61 million.
The ODA has achieved £42 million of new savings in the quarter July to September, taking the total achieved since the November 2007 baseline to more than £910 million. Construction of the venues and infrastructure for the Games is 92 per cent complete, with the majority of venues on the Olympic Park now complete. Contracts for the sale of the Olympic Village and adjacent development plots to the Delancey and Qatari Diar joint venture have been exchanged, generating £557 million for the ODA.
Separate to the ODA programme, the following forecast future cost pressures were identified:
- £271 million for venue security to deliver a safe and secure Games including the recruitment and training of 23,700 venue security personnel for more than 100 competition and non-competition venues across the UK
- £41 million (including £7 million held in contingency) to support the London Organising Committee (LOCOG) to deliver Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies that will showcase the best of the UK
- £2.8 million for Games-time **command, coordination and communication testing
- £25 million for domestic and international campaigns to maximise the economic benefits of the Games, including tourism
Minister for Sport and the Olympics Hugh Robertson said:
“The Olympic programme remains on time and within budget. Consistent careful management of the finances has enabled us to fund additional costs such as venue security from within the public sector funding package as well as to invest in projects that will help drive economic growth from the Games.
“This has been a big year for the programme with the construction project reaching its peak and the staging of the Games coming to the fore. As we get ready to enter the Olympic year and the pressure mounts, I am confident that we remain on track to deliver a memorable Games that will enthral the nation and the world.
“As was always planned, the Government and LOCOG have now undertaken detailed analysis of the numbers of security staff required to protect the more than 100 Olympic venues. As a result, to ensure a safe and secure Games, they have revised the numbers of trained staff required. We are therefore investing additional funds in providing nearly 24,000 venue security personnel plus specialist security equipment.
“London’s opening and closing ceremonies are a once-in-a-generation opportunity to showcase the very best of our country to four billion people around the world and have a potential advertising value of £2-5 billion. To get the ceremonies absolutely right, and boost the Games business and tourism legacy, we are putting additional investment into our ceremonies.”