Brits 'Duped' Over Olympic Pricetag

Government slammed after projected costs soar $10B
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 22, 2008 3:00 AM CDT
Brits 'Duped' Over Olympic Pricetag
Sebastian Coe, the chairman of the London Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG), pauses during a news conference in London, in this April 21, 2006 file photo.    (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)

The projected pricetag of the 2012 Olympic games in London has more than doubled to $18 billion since the city was picked as host three years ago—and the British  government is being accused of deliberately low-balling estimates to sell the event to the public, the Guardian reports. A public spending watchdog says the original figure was completely unrealistic.

"It seems extraordinary that foreseeable costs were left out of the budget," he said. "Parliament and the public were undoubtedly misled over the true costs of the Olympic project." (More 2012 London Olympics stories.)

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