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Cost of security for Athens Olympics to exceed £675m

Alan Hubbard
Sunday 02 May 2004 00:00 BST
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The cost of security for the Olympics in Athens will reach a staggering €1bn (£650m) - making it the most expensive policing operation for any event in history.

The cost will include round-the-clock, armed protection of British athletes, who have been placed in a high-risk group together with the United States and Israel because of the situation in Iraq.

But no country, including Britain, will be allowed to bring their own armed security personnel to protect athletes. "It is out of the question," the minister in charge of security for the Games told The Independent on Sunday. "They may ask but the answer will be no. Security is our responsibility. We cannot have a situation where you have private security forces walking around with guns under their arms. They could end up shooting each other."

Security measures at the Olympic Village will include three separate wire fences and a moat around the 4.2km perimeter. Accommodation has already been earmarked for the 300-strong British contingent, as well as for Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee.

Coaches taking the athletes to Olympic venues will be staffed with an armed security guard and escorted by armoured vehicles. Individual athletes will be accompanied by an armed guard even on shopping expeditions - or if they go into the city for a meal. "Every kind of movement, official or unofficial, will have our protection," promised the new Minister for Public Order, 43-year-old George Voulgarakis, a former commando, or "navy seal" in the Greek special boat service, who has been specially chosen for the role by the Prime Minister, Costas Karamanlis, because of his "tough guy" image.

Following the Madrid bombings the Olympic security bill has almost doubled, together with the size of the security force, now expected to be around 80,000. In contrast, security at the Sydney Olympics cost about $300m.

"The cost was already huge but now we have to do things we probably cannot afford. This is a huge gamble and it is one we must win," Mr Voulgarakis said.

By the time the Games begin, costs for what the Greeks claim is "the biggest security operation in history" will have exceeded €1bn, three times more than Sydney and Salt Lake City. For the first time the International Olympic Committee has taken out a $170m insurance policy in the event of the Games being cancelled because of terrorism.

True to his tough guy image, Mr Voulgarakis volunteered to act as a hostage in a mock-up terrorist attack last week in which live ammunition was used. Today he flies to Washington for talks with the US government to reassure them about security arrangements. This follows suggestions, refuted by the US Olympic Committee, that their team could pull out of the Olympic Games.

"Every time I open my mouth to suggest something it means more money," Mr Voulgarakis said. "The government has to be a cash machine. We have spent a lot of money, probably more than we can afford. But it has to be. We want everyone who comes to feel secure and comfortable and to make these a happy and memorable Games."

Soaring security costs will push the Games into the red. The budget overrun for Athens 2004 is also expected to be close to €1bn. But according to Greece's deputy finance minister, Christos Folias, it will be worth it. "For we Greeks, the Olympic Games are the gift of the century," he said.

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