06/06/2005

London praised in Olympic report

London has been praised for its “high-quality” bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games in an inspection report published today.

The report by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said that London’s bid demonstrated a “high level of planning” by the key organisations involved. However, the report said that “careful planning” would be required to ensure that facilities, including a building programme and improvements to public transport, were completed in time.

Paris, widely regarded as the favourite to host the 2012 Olympic Games, was also praised for its bid, scoring highly in most categories, most notably for accommodation, which was described as “excellent”.

The Paris bid also has massive support from the French public – 85% in Paris and 79% in France, compared to 68% in London and 70% in the rest of the country.

New York, Madrid and Moscow are also in the running to host the 2012 Olympics.

The report was based on visits to each of the candidate cities by the IOC’s inspection team. The report does not rank the cities, but examines the technical strengths and weaknesses of each city.

The 117 IOC members will vote for which city will host the 2012 Olympic Games on July 6 in Singapore.

(KMcA/SP)

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