London clears first Olympic hurdle
London has cleared its first hurdle in its bid to stage the 2012 Olympics – submitting a detailed questionnaire to the International Olympic Committee by yesterday’s deadline (Jan 15). And today bid chairman Barbara Cassani revealed which venues will be used in the Games at a special gala event at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. They include well known tourist landmarks including Hyde Park (road cycling and triathlon), Regents Park (baseball and softball) and Horse Guards Parade for beach volleyball. Cities outside London including Manchester and Cardiff will host some early round football matches. The event was attended by Prime Minister Tony Blair along with London Mayor Ken Livingstone and athletes including Jonathan Edwards. Ms Cassani said that: “Competitors will be inspired to deliver personal best performances against the backdrop of Londons world-famous landmarks.” She added: “Winning the 2012 games will be good for British industry: construction, hotel, airline, retail the list goes on. We are proud and excited, and I’m sure that our enthusiasm will spread throughout the UK over the coming months.” Eight other bidding cities including Paris – seen as London’s main rival – have also handed in detailed descriptions of their Olympic plans to the IOC. The IOC will say which of the nine bidding cities have been shortlisted on May 18, with the winner decided by a vote next July. Along with Paris, the other bidding cities are Havana, Istanbul, Leipzig, London, Madrid, Moscow and New York.
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