I was invited onto BBC Radio Leeds today for a live discussion about reports of the Tour de France’s budget having a £2m shortfall. Is £2m a lot of money?
£2m is a lot of money – of this there is no question. When asked whether I thought this was acceptable though, I explained that budget fluctuations are incredibly common – especially this far out from the event itself.
I explained that when planning a major event you are never in complete control of everything affecting your success, so costs can and do go up and down as the scope of what you’re dealing with evolves.
The overall budget for the Tour de France is some £27m. Whether this budget is realistic is a different discussion. The £2m shortfall for essential requirements though is a fraction of the overall budget. This far out from the event there are still ways of moving budgets around and trimming costs.
The task the organisers face is a large one and one being carried out under immense scrutiny. Did I think the budget issue is a concern? No, so long as it gets sorted and there is, in event terms, still a great deal of time to sort it out.