Nato’s visit to South Wales cost £81.2m

THE full £81.2m cost of the 2014 Nato summit which brought world leaders to South Wales has been revealed.

The summit, held at the Celtic Manor resort in Newport, featured the first visit to Wales by a sitting US President but came at a time of grave concern about Russian intervention in Ukraine.

The event also saw Nato leaders attend a dinner at Cardiff Castle.

The cost of policing the event was by far the greatest expense, coming to £62.5m.

Other key costs included: ■ Venue hire: £3.3m ■ Internal security: £1.7m ■ Transport: £3.8m ■ Production and media: £5.9m ■ Accommodation: £1.7m ■ Emergency services £179,000 ■ Vetting and accreditation: £107,000 ■ IT/mobile provision: £1.4m ■ Office, travel and staffing £350,000 ■ Additional staffing costs: £299,000

An associated Ministry of Defence summit cost £694,000 to stage.

The Nato summit was the first to be held in the UK since Margaret Thatcher welcomed leading politicians to London in 1990.

In addition to President Obama, Germany’s Chancellor Merkel and France’s President Hollande, leaders and senior ministers from around 60 other countries attended.

In 2014, the Welsh Government revealed it had invested £3m in the summit, provision: costs: with First Minister Carwyn Jones saying the value of the publicity the event brought Wales was “literally incalculable”.

Foreign minister David Lidington said: “The 2014 Nato summit was a significant international event, which saw one of the largest gatherings of world leaders ever held in the UK.

“The summit achieved all major UK policy objectives with the UK playing a significant role in developing the summit conclusions and brokering agreement among allies.

“The commitments agreed by all 28 Nato heads of government will contribute to our national security, strengthening Nato as the cornerstone of UK defence.

“Allies agreed to halt any decline in defence investment and aimed to attain 2% of GDP spend on defence within a decade.

“Allies also agreed on a new rapid reaction capability to enhance Nato’s ability to respond to any threat.

“New initiatives were also launched to modernise Nato and ensure the alliance is fit for purpose to counter 21st-century threats, including in the hybrid warfare and cyber areas.

“The hard work and dedication of the police officers deployed during the substantial operation to secure the event, which was delivered under budget, ensured the safety and security of local residents and all delegates.”