Olympics budget up to US$ 18.5 billion

UK Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell has announced that the budget for the 2012 London Olympics has risen to UK£ 9.35 billion (US$ 18.5 billion). The revised budget is nearly four times the UK£ 2.4 billion (US$ 4.8 billion) estimate when London's bid succeeded in 2005.

Construction costs are now estimated at UK£ 5.3 billion (US$ 10.5 billion). There is now a UK£ 2.7 billion (US$ 5.3 billion) ‘contingency fund’, plus a UK£ 840 million (US$ 1.6 billion) Value Added Tax (VAT) tax bill and UK£ 600 million (US$ 1.2 billion) has been added to cover extra security costs.

The construction budget is made up of UK£ 3.1 billion (US$ 6.1 billion) to build the Olympic Park and venues, UK£ 1.7 billion (US$ 3.4 billion) for regeneration and infrastructure and a UK£ 500 million (US$ 990 million) contingency allowance.

Making the announcement in Parliament, Ms Jowell said winning the 2012 Olympics had brought an extra UK£ 7 billion (∈ 10.2 billion) of private sector investment to one of the most deprived areas in Europe.

The UK government's contribution has now risen to UK£ 6 billion (US$ 11.9 billion), with the rest being met from London's council tax payers and the UK's National Lottery.