Britain drafted in another 1,200 troops Tuesday to perform security duties at the London Olympics in the continuing fallout from the failure of a private security firm to provide enough guards.
The announcement takes the extra troops drafted in for the Olympics to 4,700 after security giant G4S said it could not provide the 10,000 guards it had originally promised. Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the numbers to be provided by G4S “continue to rise significantly” but that ministers would “leave nothing to chance” in Britain’s biggest ever peacetime security operation. In total, 18,200 soldiers are now helping to guard 10,500 competitiors at the Games, alongside thousands of private guards and police.
Meanwhile, the London organisers were struggling to keep secret the details of the opening ceremony overseen by “Slumdog Millionaire” director Danny Boyle after spectators at a rehearsal leaked images and video through social media. Tens of thousands of people attended a technical rehearsal on Monday, one of the final run-throughs before Friday’s £27 million ($42 million, 34.5 million euro) spectacular.
Boyle pleaded with the audience, which included guests of the Games organisers and families of those taking part, not to leak details about the event.
The Twitter hashtag “savethesurprise” was emblazoned on the stadium’s giant screens.
