LONDON, UK —THE government has decided to deploy an additional 1,200 troops on the eve of the Olympic Games opening as a precautionary measure "to not leave anything to chance".

“In a continuing saga of the G4S security scandal, the government has now committed 12,200 armed forces personnel to carry out security and bag checks at the various Olympic venues,” a report on the UK Telegraph website said.

The decision to deploy the troops came after a cabinet committee for the Olympics, chaired by Prime Minister David Cameron, reached the conclusion that no last-minute hitches should be risked.

The opening ceremony on Friday night is to be followed by a hectic first day of Olympic competition, including the road cycling race from London to Surrey and back.

In a statement, the government said the G4S (British security services company) numbers continue to rise significantly.

"We have every expectation that will continue to be the case," they said.

The G4S said they have 5,800 security guards working across all Olympic venues and will add another 1,000 before the opening ceremony.

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Olympic security: 1,200 extra troops deployed to help secure London 2012 venues