London 2012 organizers have said that "they remain 'on track' to balance the books before the dissolution of the organizing committee this year, although there may be no money left over for the British Olympic Association," according to Owen Gibson of the London GUARDIAN. The cash-strapped BOA, which recently agreed to a £2M ($3.2M) deal with the the government to allow small businesses to use the rights to London 2012, would receive the first £5M ($7.9M) of any surplus made by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. But LOCOG's annual report predicted that it "would only break even," balancing the £2.4B ($3.8B) raised in commercial and ticket revenue with its expenditure. In addition, the organizing committee confirmed that it had spent £800M ($1.3B) of public money on tasks that the government "decided it was better placed to deliver." The accounts, for the 18 months to September, showed that LOCOG "had made an operating loss" of £53M to that point but had deferred income of £78M. It said that the balance "would be used for other expenses involved in winding up the organisation, which ceases to exist" in June '14 (GUARDIAN, 2/8). The BBC reported accounts also show LOGOC directors "were paid more than" £2.1M over the 18 months. Former LOCOG CEO Paul Deighton "was paid a bonus in excess" of £330,000 during the accounting period. His total bonus while in charge of LOGOG "has amounted to" £1.34M, all of which he has given away (BBC, 2/8).
