First of all my own opinion, it was an amazing couple of weeks that lifted the spirits of most people in the country and got such things as 0% annual growth predictions from the Bank Of England, Eurozone crises and whinging politicians off the headlines for a short while and made the nation feel good about itself again.
For those who wish to debate whether or not it was "worth it" in monetary terms, there are presumably several questions to answer:
1) What were the actual costs, apparent and hidden?
2) Where did that money actually come from (i.e. direct government money vs lottery funding, sponsorship input, sports funding, etc). So how much did the taxpayer actually contribute?
3) What are the financial immediate and long term benefits, and costs, to the country?
For those who consider it a waste of money, fine you're entitled to your opinion. Kindly lobby your MP as vociferously about the vast amounts of money the government wastes each year on the EU gravy train, various aspects of the welfare budget, etc to name but two. I would suggest that if you are sincere about saving taxpayers money there are far worst examples that happen year upon year, as opposed to once every 50+ years.
From my point of view I consider most of the money (G4S aside) was well spent.