APRIL 3 - CLAIMS that the cost of preparing the infrastructure for the 2012 Olympic Games is set to increase by £2 billion have today been denied by chairman Sebastian Coe. Meanwhile, some of Britain’s builders have reacted angrily to claims by London Mayor Ken Livingstone that the success of the Games depends on the people running it not being British.

 

A Sunday newspaper quoted David Higgins, chief executive of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), as saying redevelopment funds would be higher than anticipated. The timing could hardly have been worse timed with Coe currently in Seoul for the SportAccord meeting, where he was due to update the international sports community on London’s early preparations. “David Higgins did not say there was a £2 billion overrun,” said Coe. “This is not what he said and he did not mention a figure.”

 

Coe insisted that London Games organisers had purchased land in the Lower Lea Valley area of East London and carried out necessary preparations early enough to avoid any potential budget overruns. The ODA is responsible for building and delivering key Games venues and was formally established when the London Olympic and Paralympic Games bill was passed through Parliament last week.

 

Coe said that Higgins has been talking about projects that were not directly linked to the Games, but were part of a wider redevelopment programme to be continued after the Games have finished. “We’ve got work going on, as one would expect, and we must work on maximising the legacy use,” he said. “What David Higgins was talking about was non-Olympics costs.”

 

Coe told National Olympic Committee chiefs in Seoul that the Olympic Village for their athletes would be located within the Olympic Park and would be the most spacious and accessible in Olympic and Paralympic history. But he also reassured them that London not allow complacency to set in.  “This is never a seamless process,” he said. “What is important is to start early and have venues completed early enough to allow for proper testing.”

 

Meanwhile, Livingstone has angered many in British industry with an interview in the Financial Times today where he said the success of the Olympics hinges on the fact that “almost all the people running it won’t be British.” Higgins is an Australian while Jack Lemley, chairman of the ODA, is an American.

 

BSA, the policy forum for major outsourced service companies – many of then potential Olympic contractors – hit back. “In order to score political points, Ken Livingstone has deliberately ignored the fact that the contractors involved in the Wembley delays are not British but Australian,” said Norman Rose, the BSA Director General. “He also omits to point out that under the Government’s PFI initiative, almost all UK projects are delivered on time and on budget.

 

“The Mayor seems to have no appreciation of the negative effect on morale of such ill-conceived comments from an influential professional politician. The reality is that British companies are renowned for their ability to deliver successful projects, and the success of the London Olympics will be dependent on this range of national and international experience.

“We, as the companies who will be called upon to achieve this, are committed to work with the various Olympic agencies to ensure that the London 2012 Olympic Games are the best they can be. This, we believe, will help to make the 2012 Games a winning ‘gold’ for London, the participants and the spectators, and for the long-term future of the local communities.”