Cambridgeshire: Olympic Torch Relay Cost

20 May 2013, 08:39 | Updated: 20 May 2013, 08:55

New figures reveal how much councils spent hosting the Olympic Torch relay last year.

Peterborough City council spent £134,000 and Cambridgeshire County Council spent just under £50,000.

On average, authorities paid out just over £40,000 to host the flame, funding items such as security and street furniture, as well as road-closure notices and evening celebrations.

The biggest spends were in the London boroughs of Bexley and Waltham Forest, who both forked out in excess of £279,000, while more than a dozen other authorities recorded six-figure sums to host the Torch.

Flick Rea, chairman of the Local Government Association's culture, tourism and sport board, said councils wanted to make the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity memorable.

She said: "The torch relay was a huge logistical challenge."

"Without council efforts in managing thousands of road closures, recruiting a small army of volunteer marshals, setting up safety barriers and managing crowds, cleaning up after the cavalcade and handling a vast range of other issues, it simply wouldn't have happened."

"The cost to each council could be affected by many things. Few, if any, meaningful conclusions can be drawn by comparing expenditure on an issue with so many variables.''

The figures were obtained by the Press Association under the Freedom of Information Act.