Tag Archives: bournemouth

Raided reserves, extra staff, and lots of bunting: how did your council foot the £13m torch relay bill?

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Intersport general manager Tom Foley and Next's Group Product Director Christos Angelides exchange an olympic 'torch kiss'

Intersport general manager Tom Foley and Next’s Group Product Director Christos Angelides exchange an olympic ‘torch kiss’ – photo from BBC Stoke

By Carol Miers, Juliet Ferguson and Paul Bradshaw

Funds intended for maritime festivals, economic development, council reserves and food markets were among pots which were raided to pay for torch relay bills, according to an investigation by Help Me Investigate users.

The details come from almost 100 Freedom of Information requests to local authorities by Carol Miers and Juliet Ferguson. They reveal that over £4m was spent by respondents to meet Olympic organisers’ requirements for hosting the events. If the figures are representative, the total bill across the UK could top £13m.

Now we need your help to find out more.

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Useful Olympic links for July 3rd through July 6th

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Here are the Olympic-related links we’ve been looking at over the last week from July 3rd through July 6th:

  • London 2012: even Beijing didn’t put an army on the gates –
  • Olympic Torch storm: locals shunned in favour of corporate nominees (From Bournemouth Echo) – • Four Olympic staff members – a venue health and safety officer from Epping and three people who work for the Olympic Broadcasting Service.

    • A Basingstoke councillor, who is also a senior manager at Lloyds Banking Group.

    • A Belgian, nominated for having an eco-home and driving an eco-friendly car.

    • A Vodafone account manager, who says on an online profile that he was nominated to carry the Olympic Torch because of his strong sales performance.

    • A man from Ballymena in Newport, who has no nomination story but does appear to have a profile on a website called British Sex Dating.

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    • A Met Police constable.

  • Police told cinema worker dressed as Batman to stop | Stratford Observer – The Stratford Picturehouse staff member dressed as the caped crusader, who like the hero wishes to remain anonymous, was stopped by Community Support Officers (PCSOs) working in the town on Sunday, when the Olympic Torch came to town, because they were concerned he might be part of a protest group. Read more: Police told cinema worker dressed as Batman to stop | Stratford Observer
  • Chelsea School of Sport | University of Brighton – Chelsea School of Sport has an excellent national and international reputation for teaching, research and consultancy in sport-related studies. Courses are taught by leading researchers in their fields as well as coaches and sport scientists who work with top athletes.
  • IASE – Home – Purposes of IASE (extract of the status): ¨ Promote the economics of sport ¨ Encourage academic exchanges among researchers ¨ Offer to members all the necessary means to improve their knowledge and skills in the economics of sport ¨ Supply expert analyses in the field of the economics of sport