THE MONEY GAMES

Current estimated cost of staging the Games - over £12 billion (Rs 1. 04 lac crore) Original estimates were about £9. 3 billion (Rs 81, 000 crore). This is still the official figure British PM David Cameron has predicted an economic benefit of £13bn from the Games for the country over the next four years Goldman Sachs forecasts that the Games could add as much as 0. 4 per cent to the UK's GDP (currently estimated at $2. 43 trillion) London could see 18, 000 new jobs annually over the next three years stemming from the Olympics 10, 490 athletes will take part in the Games, from 205 nations over 19 days of the Games 4, 688 women are taking part, the most ever

BULLION AND BILLION

302 gold medals are up for grabs in 39 disciplines in 26 Olympic sports across 34 venues The Paralympics will see 4200 athletes competing in 20 sports and 21 disciplines 8 tonnes of gold, silver and copper have been used to make the 4700 Olympic medals that will be handed out The London 2012 medals weigh between 375-400 g, are 85mm in diameter and 7mm thick and will be engraved on the rim with the sport and discipline of each winner. The host nation's athletes (known as Team GB) have been given a target of 48 medals and a fourth place finish in the final standings 12, 000 cultural events are being held across Britain, in celebration of the Games Over two million visitors are expected to pour into London for the Olympics Revenue from these tourists is expected to be over£ 2 billion 11 million tickets have been sold for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics - 8. 8 million for the Olympics and 2 million for the Paralympics 70, 000 volunteers will help run the London Games Expected guests included Michelle Obama, Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff, Russia's Vladimir Putin, Google's chairman Eric Schmidt, Advertising honcho Martin Sorrell, Jonathan Ive of Apple and actors Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Christopher Lee, Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Nicole Kidman, Abhishek Bachchan. Sports legends like Muhammad Ali will also be in attendance Over 4 billion are expected to watch the Opening Ceremony on TV on July 27 21, 000 accredited media persons and broadcasters will cover the Games

MISSILE BOBBIES

More than 100 heads of state and government are expected to arrive in London for the Games 40, 000 is the size of the security force for the Games. This includes 13, 500 military personnel RAF Typhoon jets, Puma and Sea King helicopters will patrol the skies, while Surface-to-Air missiles have been mounted at various locations around the Olympic Park. A Royal Navy helicopter carrier HMS Ocean has been stationed on the River Thames Estimated cost of security for the 2012 games - £550 million (Rs 4800 crores). This could be much more, say experts

STADIA OR WHITE ELEPHANTS?

53 m is the height of the Olympic Stadium, 11 m taller than Delhi's India Gate It has a seating capacity of 80, 000 10, 000 tonnes of steel were used to build the stadium over four years Its cost - £496 million (Rs 4329 crore) Around the top of the roof of the Olympic stadium, there are 14 lighting towers reaching 70m above the sports area. They support 532 individual lights 200, 000 people are estimated to have been involved in working for the Games. This includes over 100, 000 contractors and the 70, 000 volunteers who will help run the games The Olympic Park in Stratford, East London, is the size of approximately 360 football pitches Over 250 buildings had to be demolished to build this Olympic Park 4000 trees and 74, 000 plants have been planted in the Park 14 million meals will be eaten by athletes and delegates over the course of the Games. Estimates are for 25, 000 loaves of bread, over 100 tonnes of meat, 75, 000 litres of milk and 330 tonnes of fruits and vegetables, including 2. 7 million bananas 64, 000 bed sheets, 22, 000 pillows, 11, 000 sofas, 5, 000 toilet brushes and 444 kettles will be provided to athletes and delegates 150, 000 condoms will be provided to athletes in the Games Village A total of over 10, 000 toilets will be available at all venues Bottled water inside the Olympic Park will cost £1. 60 (Rs 140), while a 500ml bottle of Coca Cola will cost £2. 30 (Rs 201)

THE FLAME BURNS ON

When the Olympic flame is lit in the Olympic Stadium, 8000 torchbearers would have run 8000 miles and carried 8000 torches across 1000 cities, towns and villages across the UK in 70 days Cost of each Olympic Torch (for bearers): £215 (Rs 18, 820) The torch is 800 mm high, weighs 800 grams and is made of an inner and an outer aluminium alloy skin, held in place by a cast top piece and base, perforated by 8000 circles. More than 10 million people are estimated to have turned up to see the torch relay across the UK