alt SEBASTIAN COE (pictured) has used another important milestone until the start of the 2012 Olympics to hit back at critics of the project, reassuring the public that it is not spiralling out of financial control.

 

Today marks 2,000 until July 27 2012 - the day the opening ceremony is due to take place.

 

But the occasion again takes place under a dark cloud of fears over the budget and final cost of the Games and doubts over whether the construction work will happen on time, much to the frustration of Coe.

 

“A lot of the financial reports have been ill-informed," he said in an interview with The Sun published today. 

 

"This is the opportunity of a lifetime.

“The London Olympics will transform lives and surrounding communities.
 
“There are 450 people working on the Olympic site, drilling underground power cables, and it already looks very different to six months ago.
 
“The construction and design contracts of the Big Five — the Olympic Stadium, the Velodrome, Aquatic Centre, Athletes’ Village and Media Centre — will be signed in the next few months.
 
“We already have the masterplan in place which no host city has ever achieved at this stage.”