More funds announced for Commonwealth Games

British Culture secretary Tessa Jowell announced a fresh £105m cash package to support next year's Commonwealth Games in Manchester.

The British government will provide £25m to "ensure a first rate Games" and national lottery distributor Sport England will pump in £20m. But Manchester City Council, which is underwriting the Games, has applied for additional lottery funding and must find a further £35m.

The extra cash follows reports that the event is heading for a huge deficit.

Last month a report commissioned by the government in London came to the devastating conclusion that the Commonwealth Games should be cancelled unless the government came up with the extra cash that is required.

The new package also includes a "contingency fund" of £25m, including £5m from the government, £10m from Sport England and £10m from the council.

Jowell told a press conference at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in London on Monday that the cash injection was "about looking forward".

She said, "This is stressing the government's commitment to elite sporting events in the UK. They generate interest and inspire young people to get involved in sport and encourage the good to get better.

"What we also want is to leave behind a legacy of facilities that enhance sport at its grass roots."

Jowell denied that the government had left it too long to provide funding for the Games.

Charles Allen, chairman of Manchester 2002, admitted there had been a £20m gap in funding for the main stadium, which was put down to inflation in the construction industry.

City council leader Richard Leese guaranteed the Games would go ahead and said it would be "a very real regeneration with benefits brought to the areas that have been blighted".

Related report:
2002 Commonwealth Games in danger of collapse