SPENDING more than £100,000 on allowing the Olympic Torch to pass through Oxford last summer was “great value for money”, council leader Bob Price said.
He said the event attracted thousands of people and has led to a huge uptake in sports.
His comments come as it is revealed the authority spent a total of £111,591 on the event – £104,890 on the procession and £6,701.79 on additional employee costs.
The figure was revealed as part of a Freedom of Information request a year on from the start of the relay.
Oxford City Council was one of a dozen across the country which spent a six-figure sum.
It said about 40,000 people turned out to watch the torch pass through, including 20,000 who bought tickets to the huge celebration event in South Park.
Mr Price said: “We think it was great value for money.
“It was a wonderful honour to have the event in Oxford and we were told by organisers the Oxford leg was one of the best run they had seen.
“We’ve seen a massive upsurge in things like basketball and rowing in the city as a result of it, so as far as we are concerned it was a huge success and well worth the outlay.
“It allowed us to promote minority sports and if it helped people take up activities they would not normally try then it worked.
“The event in South Park was phenomenal, the sheer number of people who came out made it well worthwhile.”
Graham Jones, vice-chairman of the Oxford Sports Council, said the cost sounded “horrendous” but added that it was a once-in-a-lifetime occasion and had proved a huge success.
He added: “Having the torch pass through did get people out into the street.
“I’ll never see anything like that in my lifetime so you have to look at it as a one-off expense.”
The torch arrived at the BMW Mini factory in Cowley before travelling along Watlington Road, Cuddesdon Way, Blackbird Leys Road, and Barns Road. It was then carried along Between Towns Road, Oxford Road, Cowley Road, and down to The Plain before heading up to St Clement’s and South Park.
- West Oxfordshire District Council was the most frugal in Oxfordshire, spending £3,132.
- Cherwell District Council shelled out £7,393.86 to host the torch procession. It paid £240 to hire a toilet, £2,750 in “pedestrian management” costs, and £1,028.34 to barrier off a pond.
Leaflets and printing worth £4,536 made up the majority of South Oxfordshire’s £6,304 total spend.
- Vale of White Horse District Council spent £4,597, including £380 for first aid cover.
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