LONDON: London Olympics chief Sebastian Coe has vowed the British capital will not become a “siege city” in 2012 despite plans to deploy large numbers of weapons and soldiers, in comments published Wednesday.

The British government had announced earlier this month it would have 13,500 troops on duty for the 2012 Games, more than the 7,000 widely expected.

Two navy ships, warplanes and ground-to-air missiles would also be deployed to provide security, it said.

But in comments to the Guardian newspaper, Coe insisted that security the concerns would be finely balanced out with making visitors feel they are most welcome.

“There has to be proportionality here,” he told the daily.

“You don’t want people coming to London from all over the world thinking they’ve walked into siege city, being filmed every 20 paces they take and being bundled off the pavements.

“It’s certainly not what you are going to get legacy tourism from.”

He added: “There is no appetite for risk ... But we also want people to come here and leave feeling they’ve had an extraordinary time and want to come back.”

Announcing the plans for troops and weapons on Dec. 15, defense minister Philip Hammond said they would “contribute to ensuring a safe, secure and most enjoyable 2012 Olympics.”

The government also raised the Games’ security budget this month from 282 million pounds ($442 million) to 553 million pounds.