London Olympics would be in profit
The chances of a London bid for the 2012 Olympic Games have been improved by a government report which suggests that holding the world's biggest sporting event in this country could generate a profit.
The report, by consultants Arup and Insignia Richard Ellis, claims that while bidding for and hosting the Games, including transport and urban improvements, will cost £1.79billion, the event could still make a £79million profit.
It contradicts last week's leaked findings of the government's Strategy Unit which suggested there was no proven economic benefit in staging international sporting events.
The Arup report confirms the expected view that any bid would focus on regenerating the East End. It predicts a successful bid would create 3,000 new full-time jobs.
A potential London bid has also been boosted by the news that Tessa Jowell, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, and Richard Caborn, the Sports Minister, are to embark on a tour of Olympic host cities to assess the impact of the Games. The Government have confirmed that trips to Sydney, Barcelona, Athens, Moscow and Munich will take place over the next two months.
Other key findings in the report conclude that the cost of bidding is estimated at £13m, of which £7m would come from sponsors; an elite athlete development programme is priced at £167m and an Olympic village at Stratford would cost £40m.
The total operating cost of staging the Games is £779m, but the Olympics could give the British tourist industry an injection of between £280m and £610m.
A ministerial decision on whether to back the British Olympic Association's campaign is expected in December. All bids must be submitted next May, with the decision made in September 2005.
