Culture secretary says investing heavily in London 2012 will pay off as a boost to UK economic confidence in downturn
The government has rejected calls for the London 2012 Games to be an "austerity" Olympics, amid concerns over the £9bn cost of the event during the economic downturn.
The culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, said voters would not forgive the government if it failed to make the most of the Games, which could provide a boost to the economy.
Rather than cutting its budget, the Olympics' opportunities should be "harnessed" to showcase Britain's culture, history and creativity, Hunt said.
Hosting the Games during the global economic crisis was an "incredible stroke of luck" as it would be a "huge plus sign" for UK plc, Hunt told the Telegraph.
"You can take two attitudes to the Olympics. You can say: these are times of austerity and therefore we should pare them down as much as possible. Or, you can say: because these are times of austerity we need to do everything we possibly can to harness the opportunity of the Olympics.
"We're going to be the centre of global attention and it will be the first time that we've had a major sporting event that's watched live by half the world's population. People would not forgive us if we didn't make the absolute most of this moment.
"This is going to be an incredible expression of Britain's culture, Britain's history and Britain's creativity. So, we decided that the sensible thing to do is to make sure that we finance it properly."
Ministers have faced demands for spending on the Olympics to be reduced in recognition of efforts to tackle the deficit. The government has provided £9.3bn for the Games – up from an estimate of £2.4bn at the time of the bid in 2005. There is still more than £500m unallocated in "contingency" funds.
Earlier this week, the mayor of London, Boris Johnson praised the 1948 austerity postwar Olympics in London, when athletes travelled by bus and other countries donated items.
Hunt stopped short of saying the Games could prevent the UK from entering a double-dip recession, but added: "If you are saying, 'Will the Olympics have a massively positive impact on our economic confidence?' I think the answer is resoundingly yes."
Hunt also said demonstrators would be tolerated as long as their protests were legitimate and lawful.
"We are proud to be a democratic country and protest is part of that tradition," he said. "We don't want to see disruption to the Games but we also recognise part of the package of Britain is that we allow protest, providing it's lawful and legitimate."