London Olympics 'to come in £476m under budget' - BBC News
The London Olympics is set to come in under its £9.3bn budget with £476m of the contingency funding left, according to new government figures.
Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said it was "fantastic news" that the games would be on time and under budget.
Ministers expect to be able to return the remaining money to the Treasury.
The £9.3bn budget, which included a £2bn contingency, was set in 2007 and was almost four times the estimated cost at the time London bid in 2005.
The budget was revised upwards after taking into account previously overlooked costs such as VAT, increased security costs, and an expanded brief for the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) to regenerate the lower Lea Valley area.
Addressing the original bid budget of £2.4bn, Sports Minister Hugh Robertson said there was a "recognition right from the word go that figure would have to change dramatically on the basis of delivering the Games".
Mr Hunt said: "Britain has proved that not only can we put on a great show for the world to watch like we did with the Jubilee but that we can also deliver big construction projects on time and on budget."
Mr Robertson said the latest figure for the Games, which begin next month, was "a great advert for the British construction industry, for sport and for UK Plc".
Following the success of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the ongoing Olympic torch relay, additional funding of £19m has been earmarked to bolster crowd control and public information for the games.
The money, which will be allocated from within the £9.3bn budget, will pay for additional stewards and crowd flow measures in central London as well as the "last mile" - what organisers describe as the distance between transport hubs and Games venues.
Mr Robertson said: "We know exactly how many tickets have been sold and roughly how many people should be in London. Absolutely nobody knows how many people are going to turn up.
"London this summer is going to be the place to have a party. It is a great national event. It is very difficult for us to know exactly how many people are going to come across on the train, in the car or on the ferry only for a party."
The government confirmed the work of the ODA, which is responsible for developing and building the venues and infrastructure for the games, is 98% complete.
It will not be fully completed until after the Games when the ODA will convert apartments in the Olympic village into thousands of new homes.
'London 2012 terrorist threat' adverts banned - The Guardian
An advertising campaign by a firm aiming to cash in on the fear of terrorism during the London Olympic games by using images of the 7/7 attacks to sell bomb-blast window film has been banned by the advertising watchdog.
The Advertising Standards Authority described the campaign, which used an image of the bus destroyed in Tavistock Square in the 7 July 2005 bombings, as "wholly inappropriate and shocking" and likely to cause serious offence.
In its ruling the ASA said that the campaign had "exaggerated the potential threat faced by businesses due to the Olympic Games and could have caused undue fear and distress to someone who received the mailing".
The advertising regulator added that the campaign was in breach of the advertising code and banned it.
Used as part of a direct mail campaign by a company called Northgate Solar Controls that aimed to drum up orders for its anti-shatter window film, the 7/7 image was sent to about 4,400 businesses.
Northgate Solar Controls told business owners they may have already been visited by the Metropolitan police or another "government agency" to warn of a "red alert for the Olympic Games".
The campaign talked of a "very real threat" of suicide bombers entering the country more easily because of large numbers of visitors swamping ports of entry and "undetected terrorist sleeper cells" that could launch an attack affecting businesses.
Northgate Solar Controls said that it only targeted businesses in London and the home counties, where most of the Olympic activity is taking place, and that it was not scaremongering but instead wanted to "help minimise the risks in the event of an explosion by the application of bomb-blast film".
However, the business that complained to the Advertising Standards Authority about receiving the direct mail shot was based "almost 50 miles away from the nearest Olympics venue in Essex".
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London 2012: Syria's National Olympic Committee Head Could Be Banned From Games - huffingtonpost.co.uk
The head of Syria's national Olympic committee may be banned from attending the London games because of his links to President Bashar Assad.
General Mowaffak Joumaa is expected to be refused entry to the UK because of his connection to the Syrian military, The Guardian reported.
The troubled Middle Eastern state has seen a recent spike in violence by the forces of President Assad's regime.
The Home Office is responsible for carrying out background checks on behalf of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and advises the committee on whether an applicant is suitable for accreditation.
A statement on the Home Office website says: "Accreditation will also not be recommended where an individual's presence at the Games (or in the UK) would not be conducive to the public good."
The Foreign Office is also involved in exclusion decisions, and sources said particular interest would be shown in visitors from countries where there are human rights abuses. Officials are expected to keep a close eye on Syria.
Foreign Secretary William Hague has compared the recent massacres in Syria to those in Bosnia in the 1990s while Prime Minister David Cameron has condemned the killings as "brutal and sickening".
The Syrian charge d'affaires in London has already been expelled in the wake of mounting condemnation of the attacks.
Visas are still being sought for all of the 11 athletes and 20 officials - including coaches - wanting to attend the games on behalf of Syria, whose regime has been condemned by Britain for its crackdown on opponents.
It is thought that the athletes may receive visas because those of Olympic standard are not required to serve in the armed forces, but there is a question mark against General Joumaa and other officials.
General Joumaa has said he will complain to the International Olympic Committee if his visa is denied.
General Joumaa said: "If anyone was blocked because of their military background, that would be unfair. Anyone who has a military background in Syria, they are an ordinary citizen of this country.
"You have seen how much Syria enjoys security and safety. We are a peaceful country. The Syrian people have love in their hearts for the British people."
Last month Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said that no figures associated with atrocities would be allowed into Britain, under new rules preventing entry by people who are not "conducive to the public good".
However, he would not give assurances on specific individuals.
"As far as we are concerned we have recently said very clearly - if you have abused human rights and that is shown to be the case, you can't come into this country," he said.
Asked whether anybody connected to the atrocities in Syria would be blocked from coming for the Olympics, he said: "Of course, what I can't tell you is exactly who those names are."
The decisions on the Syrians are thought to be imminent and showjumper Ahmed Hamsho, 18, is expected to be allowed to compete, The Guardian said.
Hamsho, who has close family ties to the regime of Mr Assad, is the first ever Syrian equestrian to qualify for the Olympics.
A Home Office spokesman said: "We are undertaking stringent checks on all those seeking accreditation.
"This rigorous process has been designed to ensure those working at the Games are fit to do so. We will leave nothing to chance in our aim to deliver a safe and secure Games that London, the UK and the whole world will enjoy."
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