London Olympics organisers report cash surplus

LONDON (AFP) –

Olympic rings adorn the Basketball Stadium for the Games in London on July 25, 2012. The British Olympic Association (BOA) revealed on Thursday that it has received a windfall of £5.3 million ($8 million, 6.1 million euros) after the organising committee of the London 2012 Olympics reported an unexpected surplus in its final accounts.

The British Olympic Association (BOA) revealed on Thursday that it has received a windfall of £5.3 million ($8 million, 6.1 million euros) after the organising committee of the London 2012 Olympics reported an unexpected surplus in its final accounts.

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) initially expected to break even over the course of its eight-year existence but instead reported revenues of £2.41 billion and costs of £2.38 billion.

As a result, as well as being able to bestow funds upon the BOA, LOCOG will send £2.6 million to the British Paralympic Association (BPA) and pay back £20 million to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

“One of our key objectives was to deliver an outstanding Games within a balanced budget and I am proud to say that we have achieved this, thanks to the strong management of our core finances,” said Sebastian Coe, head of LOCOG and incoming chairman of the BOA.

“It means we can make payments to the BOA and BPA, allowing both organisations to move into their next round of Olympic and Paralympic commitments with some additional certainty, return monies to DCMS, while also leaving a legacy for the International Inspiration charity and Join In Trust for them to continue their excellent work.”

The British sport minister, Hugh Robertson, praised LOCOG’s financial management.

“In what was a tough economic climate, LOCOG did a great job to secure over £2.4 billion from the private sector in the build-up to the Games,” he said.

“The sound management of the finances has meant commitments to the BOA and the BPA have been met ahead of the Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016 Games.

“As LOCOG winds down, I would like to place on record my thanks to Seb Coe, (LOCOG chief executive) Paul Deighton and the whole team for their hard work over the years in staging a remarkable London 2012 Games.”