News Update: London 2012 Olympics on budget despite costs rise

Anticipated costs for the 2012 Olympic build and infrastructure have risen but the project remains on time and budget, a report has said.

Figures reveal that expected final costs have gone up by £5m, a report by the Olympic Delivery Authority said.

The increase was blamed on transport and infrastructure for the Olympic Village and Stratford City.

The government said it would not use the contingency fund and described the projected budget as stable.

Sport and Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson said: "My suspicion is that this will now become less a contingency for construction and more a contingency fund for the wider project."

Currently, there is £1.2bn of the contingency left with 65% of the venues and infrastructure for the London 2012 Games already completed.

Changing scope


Mr Robertson said the scope of the project "was changing in front of our eyes" and added that further challenges awaited.

He added: "The most damaging thing for the project would be to surrender contingency now and then have to go back to Treasury in 18 months and say 'we need some more money'."

Cuts to the Olympic budget are not without risk, says Tessa Jowell

ODA chief executive David Higgins said the organisation could make the £27m of savings called for by the Government as part of the £88m of cuts announced this week to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

ODA chair John Armitt said: "This report shows that the project continues to be on time and within budget.

"The ODA has worked hard to make considerable savings since the start of the project with £600 million saved to date to keep us on track."

Meanwhile former Olympics minister Tessa Jowell has revealed that the mayor of Sao Paulo has registered an interest in buying London's temporary basketball arena in time for the next Olympics in 2016.

She said: "London's basketball arena may have a second life in Sao Paulo."

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News source: BBC News

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London 2012 Olympics: IOC hit four countries with ticket punishment after breaching rules

Four countries will have a reduced ticket allocation for the London 2012 Olympic Games after breaching International Olympic Committee rules in selling tickets for the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

IOC director Gilbert Felli said the four countries, which he declined to name, would be punished for the way in which the sales of their Vancouver allocation were handled.

Each National Olympic Committee receives a quota of tickets that they can sell to the public in their home territory, but some NOCs in the past have passed the tickets on to touts for profit.

Felli said London Olympic Games organisers could learn the best lesson from Vancouver in adopting some of the ticketing processes that were introduced to counter the website fraud and empty stadiums that engulfed the previous Games in 2008 in Beijing.

They include reselling of tickets when people leave stadiums, the re-buying of unused tickets and the organising committee running a ticket resale scheme to avoid ticket touting.

"In the issues of ticketing there are about 10 to 15 lessons. It was a success in Vancouver so we will make sure London applies them," Felli said. However the Vancouver Olympics were affected by the fraudulent use of credit cards to purchase Games tickets.

Several Britons are also being pursued in the courts in regards to the Beijing online ticketing fraud which affected Games spectators around the world.

Meanwhile, Felli announced there would be a neutral safety expert appointed by the IOC to oversee the safety of the luge and bobsleigh track at the Sochi Winter Olympics.

It comes after the tragic death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili on the eve of the opening ceremony of the Vancouver Olympics in February.

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NEWS SOURCE: TELEGRAPH.CO.UK

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Chris Hoy is only going for gold at London 2012 Olympics

From google news:

Sir Chris Hoy may sacrifice one or two of his Olympic titles to guarantee one gold medal at London 2012.

Hoy, 33, won three golds in Beijing over five gruelling days.

He said: "It'd be lovely to defend all three but I wouldn't risk losing a gold for the sake of having three bronzes or silvers."

from Mirror.co.uk Sports

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London 2012 Olympics organisers aims to house athletes in hotels near Wembley Arena

Organisers will spell out their plans to an International Olympic Committee inspection team that starts work in the capital on Wednesday in the face of continued unease over the travel time from the Olympic village to Wembley.

Gymnastics chiefs have described travel times of up to an hour as “unacceptable”, and will not sign off the move unless a solution can be found. Badminton’s administrators harbour similar reservations.

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Wembley Arena to host London 2012 Olympics

Badminton and rhythmic gymnastics at London 2012 are set to be held at Wembley Arena after approval from the International Olympic Committee.

The move, made citing the "exceptional circumstances" of the recession, would mean a temporary £40m venue will not need to be built in Greenwich.

Badminton's governing body wanted to be near to the Olympic Park in Stratford.

But athletes are likely to be offered nearby accommodation and training facilities to cut travel times.

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