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• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

I was simply going to ask you about your track record of delivering on time and on budget. You make great play - and, indeed, you have already made great play - over the wonderful contractors that you are going to get in, who are going to deliver on time and on budget. I would like to learn from you what guarantees there are going to be from these contractors. Are you absolutely certain that they are not going to be contractors who perhaps will go belly up, so that we will have to pick up the tab? I wonder...

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

World class contractors have gone bust. Londoners will expect there to be bonds equivalent to the total bill that we are going to be expected to pay. I would, however, like to ask you some questions about this total bill. Today you have told us that you expect Band D London ratepayers to pay for 10 years at £20 a head, plus another two years at a further £20 per head. What makes you think that is going to be the end of the bill, given, as Angie Bray has already said, that we as Londoners are going to have...

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

Well, let us talk about Olympic grandstands, Mr Chairman.

• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

Damian Hockney (AM): Elements of this argument, to me, I am sorry to say, appear to be completely weird. Mayor, you mentioned the point that Olympics have broken even or made a profit since Montreal, but the reality is the Greek finance minister only two weeks ago blamed the Greek deficit, in part, upon the losses made at the Olympic Games. Then Mike (Lee), you made a point just 60 seconds later that the IOC does not want a re-run of Athens. The point about this is it is to do with money. It is to do with the fact...

• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

Could you ask them to put one in about that?

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

These Games uniquely seem to be public sector Games. How do you account for the fact that the only financially successful Games were run by the private sector? Also, given that the principal venues from the Games are on the edge of the city, why is the city not stumping up to pay for these Games?

• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

Mike (Lee), the point about that is that it is simply not the case. The number of people in that survey who said, "We will pay nothing," was 40%. Now, those people said, "We will pay nothing towards an Olympic Games in London terms." You cannot say that those people are supportive. I might have argued the question at the time, if I had been asked. I would have said, "Yes, I would like to see them in London," but if somebody then started asking about my support, on the basis of the costs that are unspecified or that we...

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

What proportion is that of the estimated total cost?

• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

This is the problem with a supranational, international body telling us what to do, so it is unaccountable, like the EU, I guess "our other interest"

• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

And the Eurovision Song Contest. No, I am a supporter of the Eurovision Song Contest, having sung in the song for Europe, but I will not go into that.