If I got permission to extend my home but failed to secure the necessary loan to build, could I fall back on the taxpayer? If they can't raise the money, then perhaps they should give the IOC a call and cancel the daft project. Besides, I live in Scotland and I'm too old to participate in 2012.

KS, Fife, Scotland

I agree Brian - I would certainly choose to 'opt out' of funding the olympics as it's a complete waste of time. As soon as London was awarded the games I thought to myself "here we go" and I was right but unfortunately the worst is yet to come. It's time to seriously think about emigrating!

George, York,

With most people struggling with their household bills, I think the olympics will be the last thing on their minds. Why don't we just sell the right to host the olympic to another country for a few billion instead

joe, London,

I wonder how many of those that were overjoyed when the announcement was made that London would host the games are waking up to the grave financial position they have placed us all in. Lesson to be learnt? Sports Teachers should stick to teaching sport and ex-athletes shouldn't dabble in politics.

Alex Robinson, Leicester, UK

The taxpayer in London will be paying for this and not the whole country. I will not be going, have no interest in sport and would never use the facilities afterwards therefore I do not want to pay. Democracy? This country?

kim, london,

Teenagers are being critiicised for being negative about the lasting legacy of the Olympics - more a case of the little boy saying" but he's not wearing ANY clothes". The emperor is spending way over budget to the Aussie "tailors".

Diana, Derby,

Forget schools and hospitals there's much better ways of spending money like tax cuts, and also forget environmental impact because it's all hot air and won't make a jot of difference whatsoever.

George, York,

And guess what folks - the next Commonwealth Games have been awarded to Glasgow!!! The only other city bidding was Abuja, Nigeria!!!

We never seem to learn.

A Smith, Aylesbury, UK

What a surprise. Hope it is only Londoners who pay.

Tom, Tokyo,

We appear to have been lied to from the start.

Tessa Jowell the ultimate spinner - pity we can't force her to pay for it.

tony, London,

What a waste of time and money - our money!!!! What a tremendously expensive white elephant.

Andrew J Iddon, London, UK

Council tax in London going up again to fund the London games?

Rus, London, UK

Millions of ££ have been spent on 'advisers' and no one seem to have asked the question : ' What if the property and financial markets take a downturn'. Seems odd to me. I can see a disaster coming.........

Adrian., London , UK

What a waste of tax payers money.

roger, london,

everybody in the know is aware that the final cost will be in excess of 12 billion so why keep drip feeding the public on a monthly basis with increases of a billion at a time. just tell te people the facts now.

Paul, winsford,

Another fine mess LABOUR has got us into

steve tea, manchester, cheshire

The Olympics are a world heritage and a celebration of sports. The British people fail to see this like they've failed to have a culture and have succeeded in eluding from numerous Crimes of War dating back from its Imperialism. Give the Olympics to a country with historical culture. France perhaps?

Andreas Andreou, Nottingham,

Easy solution - hire Center Parks factilities across the country - use taxpayers money to put up another dome next to each one for respective sports - then all can have access to more undercover holiday facilities and subsidized holiday vouchers for each taxpayer that can be traded or not = win win

graham topp, toulouse, france

Londoners were not asked if they wanted this project. They don't. Few people want to see drug boosted athletes, who often do not come from the country they represent, sell Coca Cola. The cost is appalling, the benefits derisory. Is it not too late to get the French to host this tired charade?

Simon Evans, Crockett, California

Olympic is advertising for the country and a motor for economy, fact. YOU elect the man/women which decide such. And, there are powers above the Party-structures where your Elected go to bed with?!

tommes, Rhineland, Germany

Bumbling inefficiency. Huge cost blow-outs.Over paid rich men wallowing in public money. Tax payers supine before the ferocious patronising nanny state. Where else but Britain? Australia managed it better. Why? The people simply would not be bullied by their Government the same way the as the Brits.

Oliver Wrathall, Normanton, Australia

this is just as ridiculous as when they allowed that "designer" to make the logo for the london 2012 olympics and wasted around what.. £5 million? i could have done way better as a GCSE graphics student.

A.Paul, Wolverhampton,

How interesting. Over 53 comments, and not one is positive or supportive of the Games. We heard that a huge percentage of Londoners wanted the games in the media spin that followed. Did London and UK really WANT to be the host - in the end there will be no winners.

Jez, London, UK

I for one am not surprised, after it took 5 years simply to re-build the national football stadium.

The phrase involving inebriation and a brewery springs to mind whenever the UK is tasked with organising a big event.

Jon Leigh, Southern, France

Old people have their care cut, handicapped people have their care cut, Ill people have their drugs refused on a "cost basis". Brave soldiers drive inadequately armoured land rovers to their deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan, whilst this government promotes the Olympics..Why???????

Ian Woolger, Budleigh Salterton, England

Britain is a financial mess. When money is not available for private home buyers then major projects shouild not receive funds either. The Europeans should provide a helping hand as Britain is their neighbour and they will brenefit from the Olympics.

Jim Wills, Brisbane, Australia

Its funny ... given all of new labour's failures over the last 10+ years with large expensive projects ... only the PBT (poor bloody taxpayers) could see this debacle coming!

Geo, Glasgow,

I haven't watched the Olympics in years. I stopped watching when it became more politics than sports. The amount of money wasted on this venture could be put to far better use for the betterment of society as a whole. I am in total agreement with JT of Austin, Texas.

Sandra, Pahrump, Nevada, USA

The taxpayer is not going to bail out all those facing repossession who can no longer get financing at an affordable rate - why bail this fiasco out?

Who wanted it in the first place except Livingstone and cronies, no doubt looking forward to all the money to be "accounted for".

David, London,

Instead of countries pumping millions into these bids, and then poor tax payers around the world having to make up the winning bidders and organisers deficeits. Why doesn't the gravy train just come to a halt and the IOC have one permanent Olympic Venue in Greece. Sponsorship could then pay for it

Dave, birmingham,

This reminds me of so many other Government schemes Wembly Stadium, over budget and late, Scottish Parliament building, ten times over budget and late of course. The public cost of the Olympics will be 10 times over the original budget.

A Seymour, Peterborough, UK

... as if we didnt see this coming.

I bet the so called organisers of this jamboree, along with their cronies and hangers on, can't believe their luck - a bottomless trough of public funds.

We will end-up paying over 20Billion + for this. But this Govt couldnt find 30m for the police pay rise!

Joe, Kent, England

Why not ask Greece to be the host for ALL future Olympics. All participating countries could then contribute at a rate commenserate with the number of their athletes attending. We could then tell our athletes to get their own funding to attend the games. Wow! I would not have to pay anything then.

cliff, Barnsley,

They're facing the credit crunch but they expect US the tax payer to bail them out - forget it. We are far worse off than them. Go find the money from big business and leave the poor beleagured tax payer alone.
We didn't want this from the start.

Samantha Jones, Bucks, England

this whole thing was used as an excuse to regenerate the east end.,,it can't be! the east end is poverty stricken, rife with crime, and most residents live in council housing. it is like pumping money into a black hole!

Alex, London, England

What about "Lord" Coe and his responsibility for this mess?
Hasn't stopped him drawing a huge salary and expenses, though.

Peter Lewin, Northwood, Middlesex

Yawn,yawn -- how predictable - here we go.
That's why nobody,except those with a vested interest like Coe,wanted this disaster waiting to happen and we haven't even started the 2008 Olympics yet.
Pull out now and cut losses it's only a get-together for drug taking cheats and anatomical freaks!

james allen, manchester, england

It was obvious from day one that the figure quoted was nonsense. Any kind of development in rip-off Britain will have spiralling costs. It is how the public sector operates - financially inept.

Julian, Shrewsbury, UK

I, for one, am very pleased to see that the ancient Olympian tradition of amateurism is being upheld so well by the organisers.

Ken Whysall, Hemel Hempstead,

Cutting back on the legions of consultants and other worthies getting up to £400/hour for sitting in meetings would help.

Let's have a "back to basics" Olympics where the emphasis is on the athletes and the games rather than the egos and festivities and trying to outdo the previous Olympics.

Chris K, Cheltenham, UK

Yet another case of London getting all the cream and the rest of us continually having to pay to feed the cow. Post-Olympics, they'll be left with some rather nice facilities, won't they..?

Julian, Brynmawr, Gwent

Sickening waste of money. It make my eyes and ears want to bleed. Meanwhile half the Army is in rags on basic pay dying for Queen and country. Nurses are low paid and hospitals need to be built, Schools are shutting at an unprecedented rate. I am moving my family abroad ASAP. Cheers Gordon & co

Mark Hulton, Stoke on Trent, England

Does a 'promise' made by a government minister mean anything at all these days?

Lincoln Towers, Brussels, Belgium

Initial budget £3bn, Now its nearly £10bn.. it'll end up at closer to £20bn before we are done.... and all for two weeks telly, some more needless publicity for the most famous city on earth and the "legacy" of 5,000 small flats in the east end and a few stadiums for cycling , swimming and athletics

abharrisson, london,

What a waste of money and the cost will still get worse.

I dont want to pay 1p towards the games

Spend it on the NHS

Colin, Colchester,

offer the drug companies the opportunity to sponsor the olympic village as their products will have a significant bearing on the results.

or perhaps lord coe and ken livingstone and the other enthusiasts for the 2012 games will chip in and leave us taxpayers alone !

david c, purbeck, uk

We ALL knew this would be a disaster from the start. Massive wage packets paid to so called advisers, corrupt and inefficient building contractors, lack of interest from the general public.The list goes on and on. The only ones rubbing their hands are the government who see pound notes to be fleeced

Mike Jones, Farnborough, Hampshire

I actually think hosting the Olympics is a fantastic honour and that for two weeks in 2012 this country will be the venue for the greatest event in the world. Any cost now will be recouped in those two weeks. Now if complaining were an Olympic sport then we would win something..

Joey, New York, US

Let's tell our dear friends and allies the French that we'll have a Referendum with a nice simple question - the result of which is completely binding on both sides.

'Should we let the French hold the 2012 Olympics?.'

I'm sure it will get a YES response .... which MUST be the right answer.

Donna Walker, Effingham, England

This is what happens when they start counting chickens before they hatch. I wonder how London won the bid without having any of these things planned. Already every taxpayer in this country has his/her hand nearing their mouths with rising fuel/energy/every bills. Olympics - a bane to the country.

Ashwin, Bristol,

Oh dear, yet another mess Gordon finds himself rolling around in. Surely after the millennium dome and the wembley fiasco, the government has realised it doesn’t do building schemes well. With our record we’ll not have any of it built in time for the Olympics in 2012 and have the games taken from us. That would be real egg on face!

stuart, exeter,

As those "in the know" predicted at the time the 2012 Olympics was announced, £20 billion would be a more realistic figure. And it's proving to be the case. For comparison, £20 billion is one fifth of the total annual NHS spend. Value for money?

Dwight Vandryver, Scholar Green, Cheshire, UK

I have an idea why dont we the Tax payer pay, then after the gmaes we could use the vilige for council houses. This would replace the council hosue stock sold off by thatcher and if we had any sense would Put something removing the wright to buy, so they would stay in council hands.

Mr W Jones, Liverpool, England

Please please please can we give 2012 to the French instead? Maybe pay them some billions to take it - it'll work out cheaper in the long run...

Andrew Carling, London,

How the government can possibly justify spending tax payers money on a hotel complex for a sports junket when whole sections of the army are forced to live in squalid accomodation and school buildings are crumbling and leaking rain water ?. Where are their priorities ?

Morse, Oxford,

Oh, look. We'll pay the bill again. Red Ken has admitted that he and his sidekicks weren't exactly "accurate" about the cost, but what's done? Nothing. The poor old taxpayer coughs up. Again.

Can't we just ditch it? What a waste of money.

Dave, Notts, UK

Bliar, Brown & Red Ken wanted the games for political gain & egotistical legacy considerations. Sadly for us taxpayers their Olympic their dishonest costings will keep being increased; they can't manage their party finances let alone big projects (e.g. Millenium dome, NHS systems); nor spend wisely!

Tony, London, UK

This Olympic fortnight looked vastly over extravagent from the very beginning. What has happened to the affordable local housing to compensate for the evictions and to replace the demolitions at Clays Lane?

Colin, Carmarthen, UK

Does nayone actually care about the Olympics? IMHO its a complete waste of money... think how many schools, hospitals, youth centres etc could be built with all this money..

james clarke, norwich,

In the present sate of the Public Finances I think there are more important uses for taxpayers' money than picking up an inflated bill for a failing project.

Anthony Price, Truro, Cornwall, UK

Could we try selling this monumental waste of money to the French?

David Michael, Antalya, Turkey

Any one want to help me plot a coup?

Marco, london,

No the original plan was Portacabins now a coat and a pair of sticks are the only option although we are being charged a few billion even for that by a foreign company as we sold all of our contractors abroad.

Tom, Epsom,

I hope the USA never bids to host the Olympics again. What a waste.

JT, Austin, TX, USA

Sebastian Coe who was paid a mint to promote Britain's cause for the Olympics , after having profited from the French President Chirac's pre voting Olympics gaf of saying, Finish people can't cook , that cost France the Olympics.
Perhaps Coe will repay his fee, to help bail out poor England.

jOhny, Rennes, france

Perhaps we could start by surcharging those who told us that the Games would cost a "prudent" £2.4bn back in 2005.

David Meyer, London, UK

Ditch the olympics. Can anyone show me 1, just 1 benefit?

Sascha, London,

Looks like most are agreed, the Olympics are a huge waste of money, most especially in these days and much worse is still to come.

Peter, London, UK

Britain will regret the day they won the Olympics.

How a small country can afford to entertain the world at these costs is beyond belief.

A strong government would recognise this financial timebomb & cancel the event & building projects

Tim, startford on avon,

Anyone counted the Envoronmental cost of the Olympic games ?

All those plane journeys etc.?

As a genuinely 'service poor' rural Northerner, I didn't want any part in the London Olympics, just knowing that I'd pay for it and get no benefit.

Good old Red Ken !

cap, Lincoln, UK

Surely there must be a way that the general public can "opt" out of paying taxes and leave those who are interested to "foot" the bill for this event in which I've absolutely no interest in. This should also applies to your MPs salary and expenses!

Brian, Scotland,

What a disgrace! The writing was on the wall from the start, when all the UK developers with expertise - from Land Securities to Quintain - refused even to tender for the Olympic Village. UK taxpayers will end up paying billions - exactly the redistribution to London that Ken wanted.

Fred, Exeter,

Our navy's shrinking to the size of Belgium's navy because of New Labour's cuts, and yet they can find billions of tax payer's money for a two week sporting event in 2012. Shameful.

Raymond, Somerset,

Well, there's a surprise! I just knew I'd end up paying through the nose for this nonsense.

John Tomlinson, Brentwood, UK

With such a shortfall of cash, i am being to think that the Athletes’ Village will just be a collection of Portacabins. A

Clive, Dartford, Kent

Typcial! The cost just keeps spiralling up and up and now it looks as though the taxpayer will be footing the bill. The only difference is that we don't have the option to back out of giving the money. Is there any chance of getting a final cost or do we keep having to watch it rise?

Euan , Edinburgh,

Do we really need to host 2012?

No! As a taxpayer, I demand that my opinion be heard seeing as it looks as if I am going to bepaying for this fiasco!

A Thorn, London,

we are lining up 8 - 12 millenium domes worth of costs.

... and all for a load of sports nobody is interested in.

danny, london, uk

Do we really have to have these ridiculous Olympic extravaganzas foisted upon us to satisfy the egos of so few? I know of no-one who thinks this is money well spent or a worthy cause. All this waste of resources for a few days of running and jumping but, hey, it's public money so that's OK then!

Ian Dickson, Brighton , UK