London Olympics Most Over-Budget Games Since Atlanta In 1996

The London Games are "on course" to be the most over-budget Games in 16 years after organizers "failed to forecast demands for security and private investment," according to Chris Spillane of BLOOMBERG. Researchers from the University of Oxford said that hosting the Games in the British capital is "likely to cost more than twice the original estimate." Research co-author Bent Flyvbjerg said, “The Olympics overrun with a 100% consistency. You reach a point of no return seven years before the games where you commit to delivering and writing this blank check. You can’t trade off time with money in the Olympics.” London Games Spokesperson Adrian Bassett "didn’t comment on the study." Overruns "are typical for large projects like the Olympics" and occur when the host “strategically lowballs” the cost of the event. The Summer Games were expected to cost around £8.4B ($13.4B) compared with £4.2B ($6.5) when London bid for the games in '05 (BLOOMBERG, 6/24).