SINGAPORE, Oct 26: The security costs for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics have ballooned to 240 million dollars as a result of the terror attacks in the US, International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Kim Un-Yong said Friday.

Kim, president of the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF), said “the total Salt Lake budget is 1.3 billion dollars. But for security, 240 million dollars.”

The security cost “has gone up with the US government providing support ... in the face of immediate serious concerns,” he said on the sidelines of the GAISF annual meeting being held in Singapore.

The figure was released two weeks after the IOC requested 200 million dollars from the US government to ensure security at Salt Lake City.

“It’s the price the Olympic Games has to pay for the fact that they are the biggest sports event on earth but also the biggest media event,” IOC president Jacques Rogge said then.

“It is unavoidable that some people might want to abuse that, and that is the reason why the Games have to be secured.”—AFP