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• Question by: Elizabeth Howlett
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

Thank you very much. I am going to ask this question about hidden cost and also a capacity issue for the whole of London, not just east London. I wonder whether, in fact, you have been in discussion with London NHS as to capacity, and how it could bear an influx of a huge number of people. There will be people who will be ill; there will be people who will have accidents. Now, London's hospitals carry a very, very high bed occupancy, with hardly any spare room. Are you discussing this problem with London NHS?

• Question by: Bob Blackman
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

We will part on that issue, because I think most people in London, especially in the suburbs, do not regard themselves as being necessarily Londoners. They would regard themselves as living in particular parts, a network of villages. To move on to another issue, which I think is significant in this whole thing, there are a substantial number of businesses in the area that is supposedly to be regenerated that are going to be displaced and that are basically going to go out of business, with a great loss of business at the time and, potentially, loss of jobs in...

• Question by: Bob Blackman
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

Yes, thank you. I think it is interesting that there is deep suspicion outside the parts of east London, and we have already heard that there is deep suspicion in parts of east London, as well. Actually, all this is an attempt by you as Mayor to regenerate the east part of London, and it is a very complex way of doing it. Therefore, the issue is all the new build and all the redevelopment is going to take place in east London, and the question then should be why should not those people that are going to benefit from...

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

Could you ask them to put one in about that?

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 13 October 2004

All the discussion of the finances so far has focused on the cost side. Can I try to focus on the benefits side and ask what will be published as part of the case-making and the building of public support in terms of projections around the economic benefits - jobs, tax revenues, extra visitors, hotels, etc.? There ought to be a very positive economic case for this, and I fear it is not getting out.

• 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.