Tottenham and West Ham make final bids to take over Olympic

The increasingly bitter off-field battle between Tottenham Hotspur andWest Ham United to occupy to the Olympic park after the 2012 Games intensified today as both sides submitted their final bids to the body that will decide their fate next week.

As both football clubs lined up experts and celebrity backers to make their case, outraged Team GB athletes said they would launch a high-profile protest against the Spurs bid.

But the Tottenham chairman, Daniel Levy, appealed to fans as Pelé entered the fray, saying only the club's bid, which would remove the track, made financial sense.

Long jumper Greg Rutherford said there would be a huge backlash from athletes if the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC), chaired by Lady Ford, decided to plump for Spurs – whose bid also involves an almost complete rebuilding of the area.

"The thought of it angers me. It makes no sense. You can't build a beautiful, inspiring stadium like that and then go and destroy it," Rutherford said.

"There will be outrage from the athletics community. There would be some level of petition. Every athlete in the country, past and present, would sign it."

Spurs, who argue that providing a refurbished 25,000-seat athletics stadium at Crystal Palace alongside a new 60,000 capacity football ground on the Olympic site is the only commercially viable solution, also hit back at claims that taking down the existing structure would be a waste of public money and harm the environment.

Its experts said it would reuse 80% of the existing infrastucture of the £496m stadium. "Football and athletics cannot coexist successfully in the same stadium," Levy said.

"There are examples all over the world of where clubs have removed tracks or moved stadiums simply because of the poor spectator experience and the lack of sustainability in the long term due to decreasing attendances."

Pelé, in an unlikely intervention, said in a letter to the OPLC: "I really don't understand wanting to play with a track around the pitch. The players don't like it and it probably won't last."

The OPLC faces a tough choice between the Spurs bid – which appears more commercially robust and is backed by the O2 operator AEG – and West Ham's joint bid with Newham council, which proposes to retain the track in recognition of the promises made when London won was awarded the Games in 2005 and has strong community elements.

A third option – to go back to the original plan of reducing the capacity to leave a 25,000-seat athletics stadium – remains a fallback option, but would require finding a tenant to begin all over again. West Ham are bottom of the Premier League and have spent much of the season in turmoil, enabling Spurs to question whether they would be able to fill a 60,000-seat stadium with a running track.

Tottenham point to their 34,000-strong season ticket waiting list and AEG's proven track record as evidence of the solidity of their plans.

But most of those involved in winning the Games for London, including Lord Coe, the chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Games, and the former culture secretary Tessa Jowell, have loudly campaigned for the track to be retained under the West Ham plan.

The east London club argue they are the natural tenant, and insist their business case stacks up even if they are relegated.

The Newham mayor, Sir Robin Wales, said today that the West Ham bid, which would also stage Twenty20 cricket matches and concerts, was best for the community and insisted it would work as a multi-purpose stadium.

"We are going to make this a fantastic centre that will be good for the community, good for London and good for the country," he added. "This is a magnificent stadium in a magnificent setting and we have a fantastic bid. West Ham have been very imaginative."

Newham is lending West Ham's bid £40m towards the £100m-plus cost of converting the stadium for post-Games use. "We're making a loan, we get that back. It's costing us nothing – in fact, we make money out of it," Wales said.

In his open letter to fans, some of whom have protested against the idea of moving away from Tottenham, Levy promised them "one of the finest stadiums in the world" if it was chosen. The OPLC board hopes to make a decision by Friday 28 January.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jan/21/tottenham-west-ham-olympic-park

http://www.londonolympics2012.com/default.aspx?atk=2628

Olympic Games ticket applications open 15 March

LOCOG are excited to announce that applications for London 2012 Olympic Games tickets will open on Tuesday 15 March 2011 and will remain open for a period of six weeks, closing at 11.59pm on Tuesday 26 April 2011.

This will be your best chance to get the tickets you want, so take the time to plan your application before submitting. Remember, tickets will not be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. This means there is no advantage to submitting your application on the first day.

There are a few things to remember when planning your ticket application:

- When choosing the sessions you want to apply for, you choose seats in a price category rather than a specific seat or area within the venue.
- You can also add a price range, indicating the lowest and/or highest prices you are willing to pay for tickets to a session – by entering this range it will increase your chances of being allocated tickets.
- Wheelchair spaces and companion seats, as well as seats for people with other accessibility requirements, will be available for every sport. You will be asked to specify any accessibility requirements you may have in your application.

Please take care to avoid bogus websites claiming to sell Olympic or Paralympic Games tickets. The only way to apply will be via www.tickets.london2012.com or through the official London 2012 ticketing guide and application form which will be available on your high street from 15 March. Hospitality and travel packages will also be available via Thomas Cook, Prestige Ticketing and Jet Set Sports from 15 March.

LOCOG are also pleased to announce that applications for Paralympic Games tickets will open on Friday 9 September and will follow a similar process. Further information will be released later in the year.


http://www.londonolympics2012,com/

http://www.london2012.com/

The Real Cost of London’s Olympic Bid

www.frumforum.com/the-real-cost-of-londons-olympic-bid

Britain’s Spectator magazine has taken a page from WikiLeaks and uncovered its own scandal about what London had to agree to before being awarded the 2012 Olympic Games.

This, trumpets the Speccy is “entirely without the help of Julian Assange.”

We all know that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) reeks of favoritism, manipulation, greed and dogmatism. It’s most comfortable when feeding at the trough, which is why cities and countries vying for the Games feel required to shower gifts on committee members, and bow and scrape for the honor of playing host.

Still, the Spectator article revealing terms of London’s agreement, seem a trifle startling to even the most cynical of Olympic observers.

For one, London must provide the IOC and the “Olympic Family” (i.e. staff and officials) with 40,000 hotel rooms for the entire period of the Games. IOC elite are guaranteed 1,800 rooms in four or five-star hotels.

The 40,000 rooms do not include the athletes, who will live in an $800 million Olympic village being built for them. Nor do they include spectators to the Games, who may have to stay in lodgings 50 miles from London.

Included in the contract are 500 air conditioned limousines to carry officials, complete with uniformed chauffeurs, who will be guaranteed traffic-free speed lanes.

London was awarded the 2012 Games in 2005. Included in the contract are measures to deter what they call “ambush marketing,” which includes advertising or using the Games for promotional purposes without paying the IOC.

This includes billboard advertising, bus advertising, airport advertising. It does not yet include journalists writing about the Games, but you can be assured that if there was a way this could be done, it would be done. Especially for scribblers who might criticize the 115-member IOC.

Also in the contract is the right . .  .nay, the duty . .  . of customs officials to confiscate non-official Olympic paraphernalia that’s not approved by the IOC: “. Customs officers, instead of searching for heroin or child pornography, may end up targeting fake Olympics T-shirts.”

Also, spectators at the Games “must not wear clothes or accessories with commercial messages other than the manufacturers’ brand name.” If that dictum is enforced, it’s hard not to imagine all sorts of hell being raised by victims.

In other words, a spectator wearing a football jersey may be required to remove it, or be denied entrance to the stands. Wow!

At every ceremony during the Games, the official Olympic flag must be more prominently displayed than any other flag, including the Union Jack. How will that wash with Britons? But it’s what London agreed to, in order to get the Games.

What really offends the Spectator is that since French is the second language of the IOC, “billboards and pageantry shall (also) be in French,” which is interpreted to mean “we are required to plaster our capital city with thousands of posters in French.” (London beat out Paris for the 2012 Games.)

Considering what London had to agree to for the 2012 Games, it’s perhaps Britain’s good fortune that the groveling by Prince William, Prime Minister David Cameron, and British footballer extraordinaire  David Beckham, failed to land England the 2018 World Cup tournament.

England got only two of 22 votes and was eliminated in the first round. Russia getting the 2018 World Cup may be good news, since FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) is another of those IOC-like gangs that relish the good life and govern like dictators.

http://www.londonolympics2012.com/

Mark Lewis-Francis eyes an injury-free 2011 season

Mark Lewis-Francis is focusing on staying injury-free throughout a busy 2011 as he continues his preparations for the London 2012 Olympics.

The Walsall sprinter, who won European and Commonwealth silvers in 2010, has the indoor European Championships and outdoor World Championships coming up.

And he told BBC Sport: "My main focus is staying injury free because the fast times happen when you're in shape.

"This year is all about building blocks for next year."

He added: "If I can have a good 2011, it more or less guarantees a good start to 2012, which is just around the corner now.

"It's exciting, but I'm dreading it at the same time. Every athlete is getting a tingling at the bottom of their stomach and it's about turning that into something positive."

The highlight of the 2011 season will be the World Championships in South Korea in August.

But Lewis-Francis, 28, is also looking forward to the Diamond League - the prestigious global series that will stop off in London and Birmingham this year.

Birmingham hosts the ninth meeting of the 14-event competition on Sunday, 10 July, with London hosting the 12th leg on 5-6 August and Lewis-Francis believes the two meetings will provide a good barometer of what to expect at the London 2012 Olympics

"The Diamond League is very important," stated Lewis-Francis. "It's a big boost to have a meeting in Birmingham - I don't think I've ever run a Grand Prix in my home city and it's always good to have a competition in front of your home crowd.

"It will give the athletes and fans a taster of what to expect in 2012 as all the top athletes will be competing.

"But everything is a stepping stone to the World Championships. It's going to be hard to get in the team, but I'm keeping my drive and ambition and I want to get a spot in the final [of the 100m]."

To do that, Lewis-Francis may well have to officially break the 10-second barrier for the first time in a career that promised much as a teenager, but has only recently started to deliver.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/9355300.stm

http://www.londonolympics2012.com/default.aspx?atk=2613

As I was saying to my friend the other day.....: Dirty Laundry

As I was saying to my friend the other day.....: Dirty Laundry: "London is a great city. It has all the attributes a great city should have. A city as ancient as ours has much to recommend it - the palace..."

Frank Cottrell Boyce reveals his involvement in the opening ceremony for the London Olympics

WRITER Frank Cottrell Boyce today spoke of his excitement at being chosen to script the opening ceremony of the London Olympics. The Crosby-based author is working with long-time collaborator, Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle, on the global event due to take place in July next year.

And he admits while he was 'hesitant' at first, he's enjoying his involvement in the world's greatest sporting occasion.

He said: "I was very hesitant about doing it when Danny asked me to and said I don't know anything about that. And he said 'nobody knows anything about it' because nobody ever does it twice so everybody does it in their own way.

"We're starting with a completely clean sheet in that Beijing was the ultimate of one kind of opening ceremony, you can't compete with it on its own terms, so someone has to rip it up and start again really, which is great."

While the team, which also includes a set designer, and costume designer Suttirat Anne Larlarb who worked with Danny Boyle on his new film 127 Hours, is keeping tight-lipped about the ceremony's content, director Danny has revealed it will be "on a human scale".

It is a fitting project for Frank, who as a young man was a very good middle distance athlete and whose 15-year-old nephew is a top runner with Olympic ambitions.

The 51-year-old dad-of-seven added: "It's been amazing so far, because you meet a lot of people you wouldn't normally meet, choreographers and people who put on huge shows for other Olympic Games or U2 or whatever, and you're just thinking in a different way.

"Normally I write books and I want people to be reading them in 20 or 30 years' time. But this is going to be over that afternoon, and that's that. It's an amazing thought really."

And he said the scale of the audience is mind-blowing: "If 100,000 people see my film or read my book, that makes it very successful.

"A billion people at least are going to be watching this!"

The London Olympics run from July 27 to August 10 next year.

http://www.londonolympics2012.com/

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

London Eye to carry name of Olympic 2012 sponsor after £8 million deal

EDF Energy are to sponsor the London Eye in an £8 million ($12 million) deal designed to link in with its sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

Owner Merlin Entertainments has announced it has awarded EDF naming rights to the famous wheel for the next three years.

As part of the deal, the London Eye has agreed to take its electricity from EDF, Merlin said.

"The London Eye is one of Merlin's premier attraction brands and recognised internationally as a 21st century symbol for modern Britain," the company said.

The Eye is scheduled to reopen later this month after its annual two-week maintenance period.

The South Bank-based attraction will now be known as the EDF Energy London Eye.

The French energy supplier hopes that the London Eye link will boost brand visibility as tourists flock to the capital for the Games.

The wheel, launched in December 1999 to tie in with the new millennium, carried title sponsor British Airways' name when it opened to customers in 2000.

British Airways gave up the naming rights in February 2008.

The wheel was only intended as a temporary exhibit in its key location opposite the Houses of Parliament.

But it proved so popular it was made a permanent installation and it is visited by around 3.5 million people every year.

EDF Energy were the second company to sign up as a Tier One London 2012 sponsor when they agreed a £50 million ($78 million) deal in July 2007 to become the sustainability partner.

insidethegames.biz

http://www.londonolympics2012.com/

London Olympics: Getting Tickets

With tickets for the Olympic games going on sale in March it's time to plan. First you'll need a Visa card ... and deep pockets.

Back in the summer of 2005, when it was announced London had won the right to host the Olympic games, 2012 seemed like half a lifetime away. But the world's greatest sporting event will be here in 18 months' time - and tickets go on sale in March, so it's not too soon to start giving it some thought.

If you're keen to go to several events, you will need two things: a Visa card and deep pockets. The official advice is that to maximise your chances of getting tickets, you will need to apply for lots of things. But be warned: if you get everything you apply for, you are committed to buying all those tickets - which could mean a bill of hundreds of pounds. So families on a budget will need to think carefully.

Forget Take That, Wimbledon and Glastonbury - London 2012 is set to trigger a ticket frenzy that will dwarf all of those. Around 8.8m tickets will be available, plus another 2m for the Paralympic Games. So far, well over 1.9 million people have registered an interest in buying them.

When ticket prices were announced in October, Olympics minister Hugh Robertson pledged that "people of all ages and budgets will have the chance to attend". But some voiced doubts after it emerged that only 2.5m of the tickets would cost £20 or less, with a top-price seat at the men's 100m final or one of the swimming finals set to cost £725 and £450 respectively. Here, we tell you all you need to know (based on what we know so far) about getting those must-have pieces of paper.

How will it work?
You will be able to apply for tickets from March 2011. About 75% of the 8.8m total will go on sale to the public. Sign up to receive information by logging on to the 2012 tickets website.

How much will they cost?
Full-price tickets start at £20 for all sports, though what you pay will vary depending on the event and where you sit/stand. You can view the detailed pricing information on the 2012 website.

Prices will be per session, the length of which will vary from sport to sport. There will be 649 sessions across 26 sports. Good news if you have kids: more than 200 of the sessions will allow anyone 16 or under at the start of the games to "pay their age" for the ticket - and anyone over 60 pays £16.
How can I get the tickets I want?

Unlike Take That shows or other "hot" events, this isn't going to be first come, first served, so there is nothing to be gained from submitting your application on the first day, organisers say.
The application window will be open for a set time, after which all applications will be considered equally, they add: "With so many sports, venues and days to consider, we recommend you take your time and discuss your plans with family and friends."

For sessions where demand exceeds supply, there will be a ballot. "To increase your chances of being successful, we recommend you apply for more than one or two sessions and for a range of sports," says the Olympics ticketing team. Early indications are that the sports that will see the highest demand include athletics, swimming, gymnastics, diving, tennis and cycling.

What happens after I've applied?
It's only after the tickets have been allocated and payment taken that you will find out whether you have got what you applied for. "If you are successful in all your session applications, you are committed to buying all the tickets," say the organisers.

Can I sell tickets I don't want?
It will be illegal to sell tickets for a profit, unless you are an authorised partner, such as Thomas Cook, which will be offering hotel and ticket packages to international travellers. So if you put tickets up on, say, eBay, you will be committing an offence. However, London 2012 is developing an online exchange through which people can resell them.

Can I give them to friends/family?
The name of the buyer will be printed on the ticket, but it's unlikely that ID will be required when presenting them. A London 2012 spokesman says: "The person buying the ticket will have their name on the ticket and therefore be responsible for them. If you can't make it and pass it on to someone else, then we will be sensible about it, but our default position is that the buyer is responsible."

I don't live in London. Is there anything for me?
Travel and accommodation costs may put off lots of Brits from outside the capital. Non-London options are sailing, which is being held off the coast of Weymouth and Portland Harbour in Dorset; rowing, which will be at Eton Dorney near Windsor Castle, 40km west of London; and football, which will be held at the City of Coventry Stadium, Hampden Park in Glasgow, the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Old Trafford in Manchester and St James' Park in Newcastle. Mountain biking will take place in Hadleigh Farm, between Basildon and Southend in Essex.

How do I apply - and what's all this about a Visa card?
You will be able to apply online at the 2012 website or via forms that will be available from shops. A Visa card (credit, debit or prepaid) will be the only payment method accepted for online applications - in recognition, organisers say, of the company's support for the games. However, cheques and postal orders will also be accepted for paper applications. If you've only got a MasterCard or Amex, you should probably think about taking out one of the numerous Visa prepaid cards available.

www.guardian.co.uk

http://www.londonolympics2012.com/