2012 Aquatics Centre blows budget

Olympic bosses knew the 2012 Olympics Aquatics Centre was going to blow the budget of £73m, over 3 years ago, according to front page news in The Guardian. With the cost of Hadid's building now estimated at £242m, officials always knew the original bid book cost of £73m was unachievable, argues another Guardian article, Anatomy of an Olympic-sized overspend. Most of the original proposals for the Aquatics Centre came in at over 90% over budget, with Hadid's proposal originally 20% over budget. The article describes the London Development Agency as being 'mesmerised' by Hadid.