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Blair set to back London Olympic bid
London, May 06: British Premier Tony Blair was reported today to be ready to back a bid by London to host the 2012 Olympic games.
London, May 06: British Premier Tony Blair was reported today to be ready to back a bid by London to host the 2012 Olympic games.
Government endorsement of the campaign could come next week as ministers rush to put the finishing touches to the project, the London Evening Standard reported.
Whitehall sources say a clear majority of the cabinet now backs the plan to bring the world's greatest sporting extravaganza to Britain for the first time since London was asked to host the first post-war games in 1948.
Now that the war with Iraq is over, Blair wants to push ahead with the plan, which will cost about 2.8 billion pounds (4.2 billion dollars) of taxpayers' and lottery cash.
Officials have yet to strike a deal with Lottery Operators Camelot over launching a special Olympic lottery game to raise 800 million pounds towards the cost.
Plans to levy an extra 550 million pound rate on businesses in the capital to help pay for the games are also likely to be dropped because of opposition from London firms.
A supplementary council tax levied on all households in London for six years from 2006 will raise about 500 million pounds, while 300 million pounds will be taken from lottery money earmarked for sport and 200 million pounds from lottery cash meant for good causes.
The London development agency is also set to contribute more than 500 million pounds.
Blair, who was initially reluctant to give his backing, had been won round shortly before the conflict with Iraq began, but believed that the time was then not right to fire the starting gun on a major sporting extravaganza.
Bureau Report
Plans to levy an extra 550 million pound rate on businesses in the capital to help pay for the games are also likely to be dropped because of opposition from London firms.
A supplementary council tax levied on all households in London for six years from 2006 will raise about 500 million pounds, while 300 million pounds will be taken from lottery money earmarked for sport and 200 million pounds from lottery cash meant for good causes.
The London development agency is also set to contribute more than 500 million pounds.
Blair, who was initially reluctant to give his backing, had been won round shortly before the conflict with Iraq began, but believed that the time was then not right to fire the starting gun on a major sporting extravaganza.
Bureau Report