With one year to go, the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics will usher in the world's greatest festival of sport.

The £9.3bn expense was justified by the last government for the way it would regenerate great areas of east London.

Speaking on Newsnight, novelist Will Self said Londoners perceive the games as "elitist, exclusive and stupefying".

But shadow Olympics minister Tessa Jowell, who is a member of the Olympic 2012 board, defended the sustainable benefits from the games.