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Councillor slams spending on Olympic 'binge'

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A COUNCILLOR has slammed Worcester City Council's decision to spend £50,000 on helping to host a huge party to mark the arrival of the Olympic Torch in Worcester.

We reported last week how Worcestershire County Cricket Club's New Road ground had been chosen to stage an evening celebration to welcome the Olympic Torch Relay to the city on May 24.

The council has pledged £50,000 to Visit Worcester to help organise the evening of live music, light shows and other entertainment which is expected to attract thousands of people.

Council leaders have described it as a once in a lifetime opportunity to promote the city, but Coun Alan Amos (Lab/Warndon) said the celebration should be funded out of the London Olympics' £9.3billion budget.

He said: "It's not the right time to be spending this sort of money on some Olympic binge when the council is having to make cuts elsewhere."

"The people of Worcester are paying twice over for the Olympics because they have already paid through their taxes towards the Olympics budget and now they are having to pay a second time with this additional £50,000."

The Olympic flame will be carried through the city on day six of its UK tour of 1,018 locations before reaching the Olympic Stadium in London.

A giant cauldron will be lit at New Road when the Torch Relay arrives as part of a celebration at the ground to mark its overnight stay in Worcester.

Coun Amos added: "This torch is going through over 1,000 other towns and cities so it's not going to put Worcester on the map at all.

"Worcester is already on the map and we have a proud history. I'm not a killjoy, if people want to have a party to celebrate something then good luck to them. But there are far more useful things to spend this money on than some glorified knees up."

But Council leader Simon Geraghty said his comments were ill-judged and insisted the Olympic celebrations would bolster the city's economy and help inspire a generation of young people to take up sport.

"There will be the great benefit of marketing Worcester in a better way as a sporting city and a destination of choice to come to," he said.

"The economy needs all the help it can get at the moment to make sure people keep their jobs or find employment. This is a good investment in Worcester's future. "