£500,000 bill for Olympic torch relay in region

Across the country, authorities paid out just over £40,000 on average to host the flame, while the figure in Yorkshire was closer to £34,000.

In the main, the money went on funding items such as security and street furniture, as well 
as road-closure notices and holding evening celebrations at the end of each leg of the torch’s journey.

However, the sums also included more mundane expenditure such as the £60.90 invested by Rotherham Council in 14 first aid bumbags.

Further afield, belly dancers and rappers cost Wirral Council £250 while Barking and Dagenham council spent £265 on face painters.

Other spends included £180 on ponchos in Salford and £163.95 for a loud hailer in Enfield.

Flick Rea, chairman of the Local Government Association’s culture, tourism and sport board, said councils wanted to make the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity memorable.

She said: “The torch relay was a huge logistical challenge.

“Without council efforts in managing thousands of road closures, recruiting a small army of volunteer marshals, setting up safety barriers and managing crowds, cleaning up after the cavalcade and handling a vast range of other issues, it simply wouldn’t have happened.

“The cost to each council could be affected by many things. Few, if any, meaningful conclusions can be drawn by comparing expenditure on an issue with so many variables.”

The torch was carried through Yorkshire twice last year, spending a total of five days in the region and was watched by thousands of people.

The flame arrived in Cornwall on May 18 from Athens on a flight which counted former England football captain David Beckham among its passengers.

It was then carried around the country by a relay of sporting stars, celebrities and members of the public recognised for their contribution to their communities.

The torch was accompanied by a formidable caravan of vehicles, some supporting the runners and their police escort and others promoting the event’s sponsors.

The 70 day journey culminated in the lighting of the cauldron at the conclusion of the opening ceremony for the games.

According to the new figures, the total amount spent by councils nationwide as a result of the event was around £6m.

The biggest spends were in the London boroughs of Bexley and Waltham Forest, who both forked out in excess of £279,000, while more than a dozen other authorities recorded six-figure sums to host the torch.

Those councils who enjoyed multiple visits from the iconic flame and its formidable entourage often reported larger spends than those whose glimpse of the parade was fleeting, while larger authorities with huge populations spent more than their smaller counterparts.

More than 150 councils were asked to provide details of their expenditure on the torch relay last year.

Trafford Council. in Greater Manchester, recorded the lowest spend at just £1,500.