The chairman of the organising committee says questions over the cost of the Olympics will be cleared up in the New Year
Lord Coe today pledged to clear up the confusion over the budget for the London 2012 Olympics early in the New Year.
Lord Coe, chairman of the organising committee, said the Olympic organisers were working closely with government to make sure issues over the funding of the games were resolved in 2007.
In a New Year message issued jointly with Sir Roy McNulty, acting chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority, he said: “Rigorous cost management is a fundamental pillar of this project and we are working with Government to ensure issues of budgets and funding are resolved early in the New Year and we are confident they will be.”
The London 2012 Olympic project has been dogged by speculation over the cost of the games. Last month culture secretary Tessa Jowell admitted the cost of the games had risen £900m to £3.3bn and there are fears this could rise even higher.
Lord Coe also used his message to highlight the wider benefits of staging the Olympic games.
“We must not lose sight of the wider benefits of this project. It is not simply about cost. It is also about value and ambition.
“Our vision for the Games has never just been a summer of great sport in 2012. It has always been much broader than that.
“We must not forget the ambition we have to use the Games to help regenerate East London, the opportunity they will present in terms of jobs and skills and the chance they will give us to promote sport for all, especially among young people.''
He added that preparations for the games would step up a gear in 2007.
