Government backs Olympic bid

Thursday, 15 May 2003 12:00 AM

The Government has extended its "wholehearted support" to a London bid for the 2012 Olympic games.

Addressing the Commons this afternooon, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Tessa Jowell said that the Government would back a bid from the British Olympic Association "to the hilt".

Prime Minister Tony Blair had phoned Olympic chief Jacques Rogge this morning to confirm that the Government's support for the bid was total, she reported.

Insisting that the bid would provide "a huge stimulus for elite sport", Ms Jowell expressed confidence that the benefits of the decision would be spread "all round the country", promoting business and tourism for the whole of the UK.

And according to the DCMS Secretary, the cost of hosting the Olypmics should be borne by "those who benefit most".

The Government would put together a package of £2.375billion, the secretary of state explained. £875m would come from London through a rise in council tax by £20 per year for band D property, and further funding would come from the LDA as well as the lottery. This package would be reviewed in 2005.

But the biggest contribution would come from the Lottery, Ms Jowell said, pointing in particular to plans for a new Olympic lottery game should the bid prove successful.

Holding the Olympics in London would provide a boost to the economy, tourism and to the Lee Valley, she said, adding that the Government would 'pull out all the stops to bring the Olympics to London'.

If London wins the bid, she concluded, 'it should host the greatest games on earth'.

'We now have two years to prove to the world that we deserve to be given that chance'.

Commenting on the announcement, John Whittingdale Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport welcomed the Government's decision.

"We strongly believe that a London Olympic Games will bring incalculable benefits to this country in terms of investment, tourism, regeneration and most of all to British sport", he remarked.

Suggesting that a senior minister be put in overall charge of coordinating the bid, Mr Whittingdale added: "We will obviously want to study in detail as to how the costs of the Games will be met.

"It is not just London that will benefit from the Olympic Games being held here but the whole of the UK and that the burden should not therefore fall exclusively on Londoners"

He said that his party would want to study carefully the detail of Ms Jowell's proposal for a Council Tax precept and how that figure of £20 a year had been arrived at.

"It is also unacceptable for the Olympics to be used as an excuse for a further tax increases on either London's hard-pressed business or its residences and that any additional liability must rest with the Treasury."

Competitors have until July 15 to declare their bids. The final decision by the International Olympic Committee will be made in July 2005.

It is thought New York, Madrid, Moscow and Leipzig will formally throw their hats into the ring, with Rio de Janeiro also considering her options.

A French newspaper reported Wednesday that Paris will seek to hold the games.

Mayor Bertrand Delanoe is likely to make an announcement in a week's time, according to media reports.

Tags: