Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The BBC has accredited 765 staff to cover the Olympics - meaning the corporation will outnumber the athletes expected to make up Team GB
The BBC's director of London 2012 Roger Mosey said staff numbers had increased from the 493 that worked on the Beijing games.
The number of athletes selected for Team GB has not been announced yet but is expected to be around 550.
Writing on his BBC blog, Mr Mosey said the increase was "inevitable" given the "massive increase in output - with four times as many TV channels and an extra radio station compared with Beijing, and double the overall number of hours" and the "predicted greater level of interest" in the event.
He said the BBC's coverage will include 24 digital channels covering different sports and reports on the build-up to the games and issues including security.
Mr Mosey said: "Big events require significant staffing levels.
"Our American colleagues at NBC have used over 2,800 staff at previous Olympics, while The Times reported that there were 380 staff working on Sky Sports' excellent host-broadcasting operation for last year's Champions League final at Wembley."
He said comparing BBC staffing levels with the number of athletes in team GB was a "very strange argument", adding: "We have to cover all the nations taking part in the Olympics; and our teams are driven by the scale of the overall coverage, not the number of British athletes competing."
Mr Mosey added that just under a quarter of staff would travel from BBC Sport's new base in Salford and said "many will be put up in low-cost student-type accommodation" if they stay overnight.
PA
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments