- The Observer,
- Sunday October 27 2002
Senior Government figures believe hosting the Games in London in 2012 would lead to transport chaos, endless cost overruns and the building of a 'white elephant' Olympic stadium, which would turn Britain into a laughing stock.
Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, is the most prominent of a growing number of Ministers who oppose spending up to £2 billion of public money on bringing the Olympics to the capital for the first time since 1948.
Paul Boateng, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, has privately told colleagues it would be 'madness' for Britain to lodge an official bid. Even Tessa Jowell, the Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, has serious doubts about whether Britain should stage the event.
'The memory of the spiralling cost of other big projects like the Dome, Jubilee Line Extension, new British Library and Wembley Stadium is still fresh in the memory and who's to say a 2012 Olympics wouldn't become another financial black hole?' said a senior Whitehall source.
Jowell believes money for an Olympic bid would be better spent turning more British sportspeople into world-beaters.
The opposition to a 2012 bid across Whitehall will dismay the British Olympic Association.
With the Olympics now rotated between the five continents, 2012 is seen as 'Europe's turn' and would probably be a straight fight between London and Paris. If London missed out, it would not be able to bid again until 2032.
Ken Livingstone, the London Mayor, and the Greater London Authority are also strong backers.
However, no bid will succeed without the Government's backing. Tony Blair will make a final decision by the end of the year.
Ministers are studying an unpublished report into the the event by consultants Arup. But many doubt its claims that 2012 could produce profits of up to £100m and believe the potential cost overrun could be more like £750m than the £109m Arup calculates.
