Olympic bid: Live 8 shows London is ready

Monday, 4 July 2005 12:00 AM

London is ready to host the Olympic Games in 2012, according to its mayor, Ken Livingstone.

Mr Livingstone said the smooth progress of events this weekend, including the Live 8 concert, Wimbledon finals and the England vs Australia cricket match, indicated that the city was capable of hosting the Olympics.

The mayor, like prime minister Tony Blair, has joined the 2012 bid team in Singapore to add weight to the UK's lobbying to secure the games.

Today, Mr Livingstone was making London's case. "The whole cacophony of those things were organised perfectly," he said of the weekend's events.

"The transport works, security works, and I have to say it's I think a good indication of how we would be able to deliver the Olympic Games."

Tony Blair, who arrived in Singapore yesterday, believes the London team has put together an impressive package and has praised the leadership of Lord Coe in promoting the city.

Mr Blair said: "We think it's a very strong bid, both in terms of a fantastic games for the athletes but also a great legacy not just for sport in the UK but for the Olympic movement. The government is strongly behind this bid."

And London's bid received another boost this morning with news that the Paris team has decided not to file an official complaint after two consultants who had worked on the London bid criticised the view from sections of the Stade de France and questioned its suitability for athletics.

The stadium, built for the 1998 World Cup, will be the centrepiece of the games if Paris proves the bookies right and wins the race.

Jim Sloman and Rob Sheard, the Australian pair who made the comments, no longer work on the London bid, but there was still concern that their criticism could prompt a complaint from Paris.

Under the rules of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), rival bid teams are not allowed to criticise each other.

But this morning the Paris bid team said they would not be making an official complaint and would instead leave it to the IOC ethics commission to investigate.

Along with Paris, London is facing competition bids from New York, Moscow and Madrid for the games.

The 116-member IOC will vote by secret ballot on Wednesday to decide which of the five international bid teams will win the games.

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