Danica Kirka
THE PAY ISN’T great, the job is temporary and you could be a target for terrorists.
But when Mabel Cross heard that she might be able to work at the 2012 Summer Olympics, she rushed to get to a London recruitment centre early.
Immaculate in a navy suit and pink shirt, Cross painstakingly filled out forms Thursday in hopes she could be part of a vast new Olympic workforce.
The recruitment effort at a school just outside the Olympic stadium in East London is the most visible signal yet that organisers are ready to stop building arenas and start delivering sports events.
“I wish I could be successful,” the 52-year-old said in a voice just above a whisper. “I would be so interested to work for the Olympics.”
Some 10,000 security guards are needed and organisers have already received three times that number in applications from around the country. The guards will work alongside British police and the military to deliver a robust — and expensive — security operation involving about 23,700 people.
Planners are also moving to finalize security, ticketing and transport plans despite a series of setbacks that have pushed costs higher.
“We’re switching from planning stuff to really doing it,” said organising committee chief executive Paul Deighton.
Costs
While Britain’s total cost for the event remains at £9.3 billion, auditors say there’s little wiggle room for the unexpected. The budget for the games is “finely balanced,” with less than 0.4% of the total left to cover unforeseen expenses, the National Audit Office has said.
If anything unexpected and expensive happens, Olympic officials will have to ask British taxpayers, already struggling in tough economic times, for more money. Paying more for the games would not enhance their popularity among a public already angered by a complex, computerized ticketing system that was riddled with glitches and left many people unable to attend.
Part of the reason for the budget worries is that security costs have continued to rise. British officials last month doubled the funding for security operations at venues, raising overall security costs to more than £1bn.
Glitches
London Olympic organising committee chief Sebastian Coe assured The Associated Press in an interview that the games were on track and will stay in the black.
“Occasionally some things are slightly more than you expect,” he said, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “On a lot of occasions, they’re slightly less than you expect, but overall those changes have taken place within that 9.3 billion-pound envelope.”
Coe vowed that glitches in the ticketing process were being ironed out before the next batch go on sale in April. About 1.9 million people made 24 million ticket applications for the 6 million tickets available.
Most of the construction work is finished, with centerpiece arenas like Olympic Stadium and the saddle-shaped swimming venue visible for miles. London Mayor Boris Johnson has even taken in the view of Olympic Park from the platform on the almost-finished Orbit, a ruby red sculpture that towers over the stadium.
On weekends, the site can even get quiet — with no beeping construction vehicles backing up.
Work crews are now focusing on details. Ecologists have reintroduced newts to the park. Bats have taken up residence. Even in a bleak London winter, grass has taken root.
