London to hit revenue targets

London 2012 is set to hit and even surpass all of its revenue targets, chief executive Paul Deighton has said.

There will not be a significant surplus left over from running the Games but London 2012, which was quick off the mark to secure sponsors after being named as host in 2005, is in positive mood with 100 days to go to the start of the Games.

Mr Deighton told the Press Association: "We have always tried to push up revenues and keep costs down with every penny and try to bring them as closely balanced as possible.

"I am very, very confident we will hit the revenue target given the tickets we have left and the merchandise sales, we can be absolutely sure of that.

"But at this stage in the project there are always more strains on the cost side of the operation than on the revenue side."

London 2012 must raise £2 billion from the private sector to stage the Games.

London has now exceeded its sponsorship revenue target and is expected to raise more than £700 million.

Mr Deighton said that the necessary expenditure on the remaining preparations, including fitting out all the venues for the Games and constructing a number of temporary arenas, would swallow up most, if not all, of the income.

London 2012 has sold seven million Olympic and Paralympic tickets to the public and has another four million to go. The remaining ticket sales alone should easily cover the £200 million gap to reach the revenue target, while income from sponsors has already exceeded expectations and merchandise sales should add to that.

More than £1 billion of sales is expected from the London 2012 merchandising programme, contributing more than £80 million to the staging of the Games.