parsimony biretta: London 2012 Olympics cost to spiral to ?24bn...10 TIMES higher than 2005 estimate

By Amy Oliver

Last updated at 6:20 AM on 27th January 2012

The final bill for the 2012 Olympics could be ten times higher than the original estimate, according to an investigation.

The predicted cost of the games when London won the bid in 2005 was ?2.37billion. That figure has now spiralled to more than ?12billion and could reach as much as ?24billion, the Sky Sports investigation claims.

The Olympics public sector funding package, which covers the building of the venues, security and policing, was upped to around ?9.3bn in 2007.

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'Waste of money': Taxpayers' money was used to pay for this ?335,000 Olympic sculpture by Richard Harris, which will greet motorists entering the sailing events in Weymouth, Dorset

'Day of the Triffids': 'Jurassic Stones' has been blasted by residents who are furious about the cost when the country is economic meltdown

LONDON 2012: WHAT'S THE COST?

In December the head of the National Audit Office warned of the risk of the government exceeding its Olympics budget of ?9.3billion.

This figure includes the build of the venues and the ?600million police and security budget. The government has just allocated an extra ?41million (with a ?7million contingency) from this budget to Locog to pay for the Opening Ceremony, which is set to cost ?81million total.

Locog has also been allocated ?271m to pay for venue security. The figure also includes ?2.8m for Games Time Testing, ?35m to convert the stadium after the event and ?35m for tourism campaigns.

However Sky Sports investigators drew figures from freedom of information requests and public documents to reveal the cost to the public purse could be as much as ?24bn. Highlights of the investigation include the ?766m cost of the land used for the venues. Legacy programmes are also set to hit ?826m, while the Olympic Park Legacy Company is set to cost ?300m.

Then there's the tube drivers who receive extra pay during the games. 13,000 of them will each get ?500 each bringing that bill to ?6.5m. And what about the quangos? UK Sport received a ?29m injection from Andy Burnham in 2008 because of the Olympic Games. Sport England has used some of a ?22million handout to measure Legacy work.

Transport for London spent ?2.5million taking 30,000 staff on a tour of the Olympic Park, according to the Sky investigation. While so-called 'London Ambassadors' - who will meet and greet tourists, will cost: ?3.5million.

It was also revealed that councils across Britain have spent nearly ?11.4m on torch relay and other Olympic themed events. But not all local authorities responded to requests for information so this figure could be higher. Local councils have spent ?407,102 on tickets.

But the three-month investigation, which used figures from freedom of information requests and public documents, revealed extra spends that could drive up the cost to taxpayers by an extra ?2.4bn.

These include anti-doping control officers, legacy schemes, tube drivers being paid extra to work and local Olympic torch relay programmes.

The news comes as it was today revealed that ?335,000 of taxpayers' money has been spent on a single sculpture for the games.

'Jurassic Stones' by Richard Harris, described as a 'row of stones on sticks' by locals, has been slammed as a waste of money after it went on display in Weymouth, Dorset.

Several locals to the town, which is hosting the sailing events for the games, took to internet forums to criticise the artwork.

One said: 'Government debt has just gone through the one trillion pounds barrier.

'Obviously deeper cuts still have to be made. May I suggest that they start with the Arts Budget.

'How can we waste 335,405 pounds on this rubbish?'

Another posted: 'And I thought everyone was hard up. Can I have the equivalent Council Tax refunded please and let the councillors pay for this folly out of their own pockets?'

Despite the ongoing debacle over increasing costs, Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, today insisted they remain within budget.

The double Olympic champion said the costs currently fell within the agreed budget, during his visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

He also posed with an expensive looking ice sculpture of London created to promote the games for the trip.

Sky's figure of ?12bn includes the cost of buying the land for the venues, which currently stands at ?766m.?

But it does not include the ?1.131bn being allocated to the police for extra counter terrorism during the games or the ?4.4bn budgets of the security and intelligence services.

Nor does it consider the cost of having up to 12,000 officers policing the games instead of crime fighting elsewhere or the ?6.5bn spend on upgrading transport networks.

Anyone for noodles? Dale Chihuly's 'Torchlight Chandelier', a specially commissioned piece for the Olympics, was also unveiled in London today

Bedding in: Olympic gold medallist Matthew Pinsent tries out an athlete's bed today six months ahead of the Games

Expensive ice: Despite the ongoing debacle over increasing costs, Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, today insisted they remain within budget

'Look on the bright side - we've got tickets for the ladies' synchronised swimming'

34K APPLY FOR 2012 SECURITY JOBS

There have been 34,000 applications for more than 10,000 jobs as private security staff at the London 2012 Games, security firm G4S said.

So far 20,000 of the G4S applications have been made by London-based residents and 4,500 roles have already been allocated. The 23,700-strong security force that will be deployed for the Games is a mix of military, private security guards and at least 3,000 unpaid London 2012 volunteers who will be used at the start of the security process.

The military will provide 13,500 personnel, which is more than the 10,000 that were deployed to Afghanistan. G4S staff will be paid from ?8.50 an hour in what the company is billing as 'the biggest paid recruitment drive of the century'. G4S has opened the doors to its recruitment centre in east London, a stone?s throw away from the Olympic Park in Stratford.

The recruitment centre will also serve as a training facility, where new recruits will be put through their paces and provided with role-specific training to ensure they are fully prepared for the Games. Mark Hamilton, managing director of G4S security personnel, said: 'In addition our training will provide successful applicants with a professional security services qualification that will start their careers in the sector post-2012.'

The investigators say the final figure could exceed its ?24bn estimate as many requests for information have been ignored.?

Requests for information did reveal that Newham Council, which is staging most of the Games, are providing ?40m of taxpayers' money towards the Olympic Stadium and ?700,000 on Olympic projects.

However the council's legal bill over the row between West Ham and Spurs FC over the stadium has cost almost ?1m.?

It has also forked out ?29,400 on tickets. In December Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office warned about the real risk of the Games going over budget. ?Not everything is rosy,' he said.

'The Government is confident that there is money available to meet known risks, but in my view, the likelihood that the Games can still be funded within the existing ?9.3billion public sector funding package is so finely balanced that there is a real risk more money will be needed.?

However a spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport spokesman today hit back at the Sky investigation saying: 'The Public Sector Funding Package for the Games is ?9.3bn and includes all additional security, defence and public transport provision for the Games.

'It is simply not right to start adding on top of that budgets that would have been in existence regardless of 2012 and claim that as being an Olympic cost.'

He added: 'We have always been transparent about the cost of the Games and have rigorously managed the budget to ensure the programme remains within the ?9.3bn.

Olympic Park: The cost of buying the land for the venues currently stands at ?766million

Bringing out the big guns: The Royal Marines and Metropolitan Police performed a security exercise along the Thames last week. The security bill for the Games currently stands at ?600m, but could rise

In training: A woman puts her things in a clear plastic bag, left, while a man gets searched, right, as part of an Olympic security trial at Old Trafford, Manchester