Sebastian Coe, the president of London Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Commitee (LOCOG), promised to local media that the capital would not turn into a siege city due to military deployment next summer.
Coe told Guardian that security would not be overbearing during the Games and will be balanced by a sense of “proportionality”.
“You don’t want people coming to London thinking they’ve walked into siege city,” said the president. “It’s certainly not what you’re going to get legacy tourism from.”
In December, British government doubled the venue security bill to 553 million pounds. An extra 13,700 security guards within venues, including a part of 135,000 military personnels deployed to the Games, will be needed on top of the 10,000 already planned.
But Coe was confident that public enthusiasm would build towards the special moment.
“I think people will realise they’re in a very special year. It’s a bit like Halley’s comet, it doesn’t come around that often and everything is in alignment,” said he.
