LONDON 2012: Laying Solid Foundations For The Future

The IOC’s Coordination Commission for the London 2012 Games, led by Chairman Denis Oswald, concluded three days of meetings with the Organising Committee for the Games of the XXX Olympiad – London 2012 (LOCOG) with a strong endorsement of the quality and professionalism of the work being carried out. Having reviewed a thorough cross-section of areas of Games preparation with LOCOG and its partners – the British Olympic Association, the Mayor of London’s office, the Department of Culture Media and Sport and the Olympic Delivery Authority – the IOC stated that sound planning and consistency of vision were combining to ensure that robust foundations were being laid for the five years ahead.

The Vision
“The IOC has been very impressed with what we have seen this week,” commented Oswald. “There is an excellent team in place, who work together with real spirit. Across the board – from venue construction, sport, the Olympic village, through to technology, media operations and the progress being made in sponsorship negotiations, we see that the work is being thoroughly thought through. Operationally and financially they are on-track; the interest from the business community is high, with key new commercial partners signing up in the coming months. All this has progressed without any deviation from the vision that was laid out in Singapore. The Commission members – all of whom have a huge amount of Olympic Games experience - and I come away confident in the structures and people and feeling energised by how the London Games will have a positive legacy and help move sport higher up the agenda – something that is so close to the IOC’s heart.”

Great Olympic Experience
The athlete representative on the Coordination Commission, Olympic medallist Frank Fredericks, commented, “Having toured the Olympic Park, seen the Dome and heard the presentations given by LOCOG this week, I’m really excited about the quality of the London Games. I’m sure that if LOCOG keeps up the good work, the athletes competing in 2012 will have a great Olympic experience – one that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.”

7 Minutes
On the first day of its visit, the Commission viewed the progress that has been made at the Olympic Park and saw the Dome just before its grand opening. The Commission members then became the first passengers to travel from Stratford International Station to St Pancras in central London, a trip that will allow spectators to travel from central London to the Olympic Park in only seven minutes at Games time. During the meetings, the Commission heard reports on Games-related topics such as sport, the Olympic Village, venue development, NOC Services, transport operations, communications, commercial activities, the environment and sustainability and the Paralympic Games. These discussions allow not just the Commission to be informed of LOCOG’s progress, but also for members of the Commission to share their Games experience and provide LOCOG with advice and guidance on elements of the 2012 project, thus helping the organisers to produce truly successful Games.

LONDON 2012
London was elected as the host city for the Games of the XXX Olympiad on 6 July 2005 at the 117th IOC Session in Singapore. London eventually succeeded in the fourth round of voting, taking 54 votes from a possible 104. London faced stiff opposition during the vote from the other four candidate cities: Paris, New York, Moscow and Madrid. There will be 26 sports on the Olympic programme in London in 2012 and around 10,500 athletes.