Olympics security bill continues to rise

In the bid it was estimated that security for the Olympics would cost £190 million.  That was increased to £600 million with the new budget in March.  Now the Telegraph reports that it has increased again to £1.2 billion.  The Department's assurances that the Olympics will stay on budget are including more room for manoevre each day.  "The Government admitted it could not guarantee that the overall bill will not exceed the £9.3 billion announced earlier this year" although "Tessa Jowell, the Olympics Minister, claimed that the total bill remained in line with the budget she published in March".

The truth is that, just like with Northern Rock, the Government might be able to get the money back but a lot is at risk and they aren't managing that risk well.  Pressures on the budget will really start to bite once the drop-dead date starts to loom.  It will be then that the Games' management will really start to be tested.  Unfortunately, the structures are a mess with too many bodies promising oversight and no one really in charge.  The National Audit Office produced (PDF) a graph of it all:

At the moment the budget is slipping but the organisation of the Games is a recipe for disaster when the budget really comes under pressure, which it will.