London Olympics security cost doubles

PanARMENIAN.Net - The projected cost of security for the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics has almost doubled to £553m.

The operation to provide security at more than 100 venues across the UK has risen by £271m – up from £282m – after a decision to recruit and train almost 14,000 more personnel, said the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Meanwhile, the price tag for the opening and closing ceremonies has grown by £41m, also doubling previous forecasts.

DCMS insisted that the decision to increase the number of security staff from 10,000 to 23,700 was not in response to "any specific security threat".

Olympics minister Hugh Robertson said the additional spending would not put the Games over their £9.3bn budget, thanks to savings of more than £910m achieved by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) since 2007.

The overall funding package remains at £9.3bn, with more than £500m of spare cash available for contingencies.

But additional cost pressures include £271m for security, £41m for opening and closing ceremonies, £2.8m for command, co-ordination and communications testing and £25m for campaigns to boost the economic benefits of the Games, including tourism.

The anticipated final cost of construction, infrastructure and transport now stands at £6.856bn – down £394m since July, The Guardian reports.