London to co-host Olympics with France

The Government is drawing up plans to "farm out" several events at the 2012 London Olympics - including the showpiece opening ceremony - to Paris.

Steeply rising costs and unexpected delays in developing the London site have forced the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to draw up the radical contingency proposals.

Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary, is understood to have set up a top level, inter-departmental working party to consider the options.

One idea is to stage some of the events in Paris, which was narrowly beaten by London to host the Games when the International Olympic Committee made its choice in 2005.

Miss Jowell is adamant that London will not lose any of the major athletics events, but some of the track and field heats could take place in Paris.

The opening ceremony, which is costly and not truly sports-related, could even be transferred to the Stade de France. A memorandum from the Foreign Office to the working party, seen by this newspaper, notes: "The French are very good at fireworks."

Officials have estimated that moving some of the events across the Channel would make considerable savings on the projected £9.3 billion cost of hosting the Games. Further savings would be made if the closing ceremony were also held in the French capital.

Sources at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport are preparing to take a bullish line on the controversial proposals.