Olympics celebration marred by cost concerns

Thursday, 6 July 2006 12:00 AM

The Olympics in 2012 will "showcase London at its best", Tony Blair declared today as he celebrated the first anniversary of the capital winning the bid.

The prime minister joined London mayor Ken Livingstone, bid chairman Sebastian Coe and culture secretary Tessa Jowell in Trafalgar Square to remember the moment Britain beat Paris to host the world's biggest sports competition.

However, the event was marred by reports that the games could cost an additional £1.5 billion on top of the £2.375 billion already envisaged, as the government attempts to use the Olympics as a catalyst for the regeneration of east London.

Conservative London assembly member Angie Bray expressed concern that this would be borne by local taxpayers, saying: "London requires, and deserves, a clear guarantee that additional extensions to the project will not be financed out of their council tax."

But speaking today, Mr Livingstone insisted that the Olympics had huge potential to regenerate "a part of Britain that had been left behind", and praised the government for "seizing" the opportunity by planning to build 40,000 new homes in the east London.

Meanwhile, research from the European Tour Operators Association (ETOA) also claims today that the Olympics do not provide any long-term boost for tourism in host countries.

It notes the case of Sydney 2000, where a ten per cent growth in visitor arrivals turned into a decline two years after the games, and says a similar picture can be seen for Atlanta 1996, Barcelona 1992 and Seoul 1988.

"The presence of the Olympics deters regular tourists: they perceive that the city will be full, disrupted, congested and over-priced," said ETOA executive director Tom Jenkins.

But the chief executive of tourism body Visit London, James Bidwell, rejected the report as "full of muddled thinking and selective statistics".

Addressing the crowds in Trafalgar Square, Mr Blair accepted it would be "tough" to prepare for the Olympics, but urged Britons to reflect on the "wonderful day" London won the bid a year ago and look ahead to what would be the "greatest games ever seen".

He also noted the terror attacks which hit the capital's transport system the day after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announcement, killing 52 people.

"This time last year in two days London experienced triumph and then tragedy but it turned the same face towards both - caring, compassion, tolerance and determination in the face of the difficult challenge," he said.

Mr Blair helped unveil a special 2012 Olympic roadshow bus, which will make 50 stops on a 3,000 mile journey over the next three weeks showing people all over Britain how the games will benefit the whole country, not just London.

Ms Jowell described the Olympics as an "opportunity like no other", and invited people to be inspired by the build-up and the games themselves to get involved in sport, while Mr Livingstone announced a 'summer of sport' every year until the event began.

About 150 events are planned for this year, the mayor said, stressing: "The Olympics is not just something we watch, it is something we want to change our whole attitude. We want people to spend a little less time watching sport and a little more time practising."

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