London 2012 comes on heels of UK recession
Posted July 30, 2012 2:11 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
As excitement builds for the London 2012 Olympic Games, the multi-billion-dollar event comes at a time when the host nation is mired in a recession.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said the United Kingdom should recover the more than $14-billion spent over the past seven years to build the infrastructure for London 2012.
While the budget has doubled since the International Olympic Committee awarded London with the 2012 Games in 2005, spending by the British government has been a quarter of what China allocated to Beijing 2008.
The use of existing or temporary facilities has helped keep costs down.
The games arrive as Britain’s economy shrank the most in more than three years in the latest quarter — extending its first double-dip recession since the 1970s.
The chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority admitted organizers had known in 2004 how difficult things would be now, it would have been a challenging political decision.
However, British citizens said the 2012 Games are a welcome distraction.
