Reports say that Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, is expected to meet Britain’s Culture Minister Tessa Jowell on Thursday to tell her he is willing to guarantee half the cost of any over runs, with the central government taking the remainder.
Livingstone plans to raise the money by charging London taxpayers an extra 18 pounds a year.
The net cost of running the Games, putting aside indirect benefits, is estimated at 1.3 billion pounds. But a worst case scenario has put the net cost at 2.5 billion pounds, a 1.2 billion pound overrun.
The Mayor estimates the costs of paying half the overrun would be 18 pounds a year over seven years.
The Mayor will also promise to pay half the cost of the bid – estimated at between 15 million pounds and 30 million pounds, with both sides sharing the cost of building an Olympic swimming pool.
Reports say that despite an encouraging meeting the with International Olympic Committee (IOC), President Jacques Rogge last week, Jowell has been told France and Spain have more influence on members of the IOC, especially in Europe and South America, than does Britain.
Meanwhile, according to a poll on BBC Radio and a British Sport Channel, when people were asked the question “is bidding for the Olympic Games money well spent”, 70 per cent believe the Olympic bid is worth spending money on and that Britain should bid.
