BBC SPORT | London Olympics 'could make profit'

The British Government have been told they would not lose money by hosting the 2012 Olympics in London - and could even make a small profit.

Consultants Ove Arup are expected to tell Parliament in a report published on Friday that hosting the Games would cost under �2bn.

Sports Minister Richard Caborn had previously said the cost would be more than that.

We should seek to stage the 2012 Games if we are serious about sport

UK Sport's John Scott

That prompted the British Olympic Association (BOA) to claim that "guaranteed incomes and benefits" would outstrip the �2bn London would have to shell out.

The Government has the final say on whether London should bid and they will use Ove Arup's report to make the decision - probably by the end of this year.

Now the first shot has been fired by the BOA.

It said in a statement: "The Arup report shows that the outlined costs fall short of �2bn.

"When set against guaranteed incomes and conservative projections of quantified benefits, the Games could even make a small surplus."

View of City of Manchester stadium
The Commonwealth Games were hailed as a huge success
The BOA also point out that the report builds into its estimate for cost �100m for 'risk', which covers the possibility of capital costs spiralling in the build-up to the Games.

Others are not as keen as the BOA for London to submit a bid, however.

Sports Minister Caborn is touring previous host cities alongside culture secretary Tessa Jowell to study what legacy the Games can leave.

But he has talked in the past of "significant risk" and even said recently that bidding for the 2012 Games "could be a recipe for disaster".

Caborn wary of Olympic bid

The Government has been wary of committing public money to hosting sporting events after the cancellation of the 2005 World Athletics Championships at Picketts Lock.

It also had to come to Manchester's rescue with an extra �105m when the Commonwealth Games hit difficulties with sponsorship.

A London Olympic bid could see the Games centred on Stratford, East London, where a rail link between the east and west of the city is already planned for the next decade.

The International Olympic Committee will pick the host city in 2005.


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