Ecclestone ready to splurge over £35m to stage London Grand Prix

London, June 28 (ANI): Formula one supremo Bernie Ecclestone has said he is prepared to pay over 35 million pounds to stage a Grand Prix in London.

He proposed the race circuit would have a route through some of the capital's most famous landmarks, including Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square.

The billionaire Formula One chief executive, who has long harboured hopes of staging a race in London, claimed he was prepared to cover the costs for the event.

"With the way things are, maybe we would front it and put the money up for it. If we got the OK and everything was fine, I think we could do that. Think what it would do for tourism. It would be fantastic, good for London, good for England - a lot better than the Olympics," The Guardian quoted Ecclestone, as saying.

The route is expected to eclipse that of the Monaco Grand Prix, taking in sights such as Nelson's Column and Piccadilly Circus,

The plans of a London Grand Prix come at a time when governments around the world are queuing up to buy the rights to stage a grand prix for up to 30 million pounds per race.

Plans drawn up for the event, suggest that it would be watched by more than 120,000 people in grandstands along a three-mile route, and is set to attract a global television audience in the tens of millions, generating as much as 100 million pounds for London's economy. (ANI)