by Renee Israel
The London 2012 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) has handed
Camelot, operator of the UK Lottery, a flag, acknowledging its role as an
official contributor of the Games.
Camelot has guaranteed to contribute billions to the Olympics and will be
releasing unique games to help raise some of these funds ahead of London 2012.
The official contributor flag was received by the Group Chief Executive
Officer of Camelot, Dianne Thompson and the Managing Director of the group, Andy
Duncan.
Camelot will fly the flag high outside its head office in Watford.
Thompson said about Camelot's role in the Olympics and the UK Lottery
operator's Olympics flag: "The National Lottery will contribute almost £2.2
billion towards London 2012, of which £750 million will come from specially
designed lottery games."
She said that Camelot was "delighted" to fly the London 2012 Organising
Committee's Official Contributor flag at its Tolpit's Lane headquarters to
demonstrate to its employees and players the group's commitment to "the greatest
show on earth".
Thompson added: "As the largest single contributor in Olympic and Paralympic
history, our recognition is well deserved and the legacy - once the Games have
concluded - will provide lasting benefits for local communities and the nation
for generations to come."
British Olympic Association Asks Lottery for Funding
In the meantime, the Telegraph revealed that talks are in full swing
between the British Olympic Association (BOA) and Camelot for a short term
sponsorship deal, where the BOA will ask the lottery to contribute up to £2
million.
It will cost around £13 million to send Team GB to the Olympics and most of
this money will come from marketing agreements. The BOA said that while it had
£2 million in reserves, it preferred to keep the money in order to not leave the
organisation "exposed".
BOA's income will be boosted by the sale of licensed merchandise, including a
supporter's scarf and a series of collectable medallions.
A gala dinner will be held on Friday evening to raise funds.
This is the first time that the British Olympic Association has applied for
funds from Camelot, not having done so in the past as it feared that its
independence would be threatened.
However, the Chief Executive of the BOA, Andy Hunt has now said that applying
for lottery funds will not threaten the BOA's independence. "Our aims has always
been to ensure that we exit the Games in a reasonable position, rather than
having used all our reserves," he said.
