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Lottery could fund London Olympics Posted: Thursday January 16, 2003 7:31 PMLONDON (AP) -- With lawmakers and government officials reluctant to back a London bid for the 2012 Olympics, a sports body proposed Thursday that lottery funds be used to help pay for the games. UK Sport, which coordinates major events in Britain, said a slight redistribution of lottery money could raise 1 billion pounds (US$1.6 billion) over 10 years for the Olympics. Prime Minister Tony Blair's cabinet is to decide by the end of the month whether to submit an Olympic bid. In two days of parliamentary hearings this week, politicians questioned whether it was worth spending billions of pounds (dollars) on the games. The government said the total cost of hosting the Olympics could be 4.5 billion pounds (US$7.2 billion). Of that, the government would have to pay 2.5 billion pounds ($4 billion) to underwrite the games. UK Sport chairman Sir Rodney Walker said channeling 8.25 percent of lottery money into an Olympic fund would go along way to paying for the games. "All sports councils are concerned about the underwriting costs that would be required should a bid for the 2012 Olympic Games succeed," he said. "We are unanimous in our views that any funding required should not divert investment away from our core work of supporting participation initiatives and our elite athletes. "However, by diverting a small proportion of the total amount of lottery funding made available for all good causes, over 10 years the government could create a new pool of funding -- an extra 1 billion pounds. "This could be used to help stage the Olympic Games, thereby solving many of the current concerns over where the money will come from." Blair has said London should bid only if it has a realistic chance of winning. Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, a key cabinet minister promoting the bid, will meet International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge on Friday in Lausanne, Switzerland to assess Britain's chances. Jowell said Wednesday she believes London has no better than a one-in-three chance of winning. New York City and Moscow have already entered the 2012 race. Cities in Germany and Spain also plan to submit bids, while Paris and Rio de Janeiro are among other potential candidates. The deadline for submission of bids is July 15. The winner will be chosen by the IOC in 2005. Walker said London can win if all parties work together and "vested interests" are set aside. "There is absolutely no reason why this country is not capable of both bidding for and succeeding in securing the Olympic Games, and indeed organizing a successful event," he said.
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