Swift Money

Government officials have come under fire for allegedly not properly understanding Olympic funding.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) faced Conservative criticism after it promised £100m in funding from the private sector.

The DCMS has since owned up to not realising it could not pledge the money for training back in 2006.

Quoted by Marketing Week, David Wyatt, DCMS parliamentary private secretary, said “none of this was understood in 2006″ in reference to the lack of rights his department had to offer firms looking to be connected to the 2012 Games.

Tory politicians are now demanding “clarity” on the issue, and expressed concerns further errors could be made.

Jeremy Hunt MP is Shadow secretary of state for culture media and sport. According to Marketing Week, he said he “shudders to think” what other miscalculations might be made.

In June the magazine reported that the DCMS had no-one in place to fill a £100m gap in finance for UK Sport.

Officials have since touted a possible deal to link different companies to different Olympic venues at London 2012.

Olympic marketing and sponsorship rights are complicated and firmly regulated. Global marketing rights are owned by the International Olympic Committee.

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