WILLIAMSBURG, Va., March 12 (UPI) -- The cost of this year's 400th anniversary celebration of the historical settlement of Jamestown, Va., has surpassed $200 million, a report said Monday.
With the estimated 90,000 guests ranging from Britain's Queen Elizabeth to former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the three-day celebration has substantially risen in cost as organizers prepare to recognize the New World settlement, the Washington Post said.
Organizers have scheduled musical performances, exhibits, fireworks and even a small fleet of 17th-century replica ships May 11-13 to honor the founding of the colony.
Costs increased dramatically after Jamestown underwent massive excavation and renovation.
Former Virginia Gov. George Allen defended the expenditures, saying that the colony's 400th anniversary was a special occasion.
"Teddy Roosevelt rightly called Jamestown the blessed mother of us all," he told the Post. "It's America's first home town. It's where we encountered each other."
