We'll find out on Wednesday as to who has won the bid to host the 2012 Olympics -

London 'poised to snatch victory in race for Olympics'
By Simon Hart in Singapore
(Filed: 03/07/2005)

www.telegraph.co.uk . . .

Sebastian Coe and his London campaign team are growing increasingly confident that they can leapfrog odds-on favourite Paris to land the 2012 Olympic Games when the 115 members of the International Olympic Committee vote on Wednesday.

Lord Coe however is tight lipped. Publicly, Lord Coe will say only that there is everything to play for during the next few days of lobbying, but sources in the London camp say the mood is buoyant after a recent upbeat assessment of prospects by bid strategists.

Optimism was also rising in Downing Street last night as the Prime Minister flew to Singapore to join Lord Coe, David Beckham and the Princess Royal for the final presentation.

Tony Blair was said to be "more optimistic than he has ever been" after a week of signs that London's bid looks set to eclipse that of Paris. An aide said: "The sense is that it is tilting our way."

Mr Blair said: "I have no doubt that the prize of bringing the Olympics back to London is well worth the effort."

The London team believes that, according to one voting scenario, it could establish a lead over the four other candidate cities as early as the first round.

The election is a secret ballot in which several rounds of voting take place until one city has an overall majority. After each round, the city with the fewest votes drops out. IOC members from countries with candidate cities are not allowed to vote but can join the ballot once their city is eliminated.

Promises of support from individual IOC members are normally treated with caution by bidding cities since it is not uncommon for promises to be made to more than one city. Instead, London's strategists use a technique they call "triangulation" - giving credence only to information verified by at least three bona fide sources.

The race to secure the Games is likely to be a tale of three cities, with Madrid a possible dark horse behind London and Paris. Moscow, which received a poor report by the IOC's evaluation commission, and New York, where the Manhattan stadium proposal was recently vetoed by a state committee, look the likeliest to drop out after the first two rounds.

The ballot is expected to be close and will almost certainly come down to which city can scoop up the most second- and third-choice votes. Singapore's hotel lobbies have been awash with gossip of a secret agreement between London and Madrid that whichever is eliminated first will vote for the other, so damaging Paris's prospects.

Similar intrigue can be expected in the days leading up to Wednesday's election as the bidding teams are joined by their political leaders. Mr Blair is expected to arrive in Singapore tomorrow for 48 hours of lobbying and, according to Downing Street, he has already arranged "between 20 and 30" private meetings with IOC members.

President Jacques Chirac of France, who has clashed with Mr Blair over the future direction of the European Union, will also be in town. He will be joined in the battle for Olympic votes by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the Spanish Prime Minister, Mikhail Fradkov, Russia's Prime Minister, and Michael Bloomberg, the New York mayor.

The Princess Royal will deliver the opening speech in London's bid presentation - the last opportunity for the capital to woo wavering voters.

The Princess represented Britain in the three-day event at the 1976 Games in Montreal and has been a member of the IOC since 1988 but she has been criticised in the past for her hands-off approach to Olympic affairs. Not so this time, she is fully engaged in lobbying IOC members.

Paris has recruited French film director Luc Besson to choreograph its presentation. London is said to be planning a simple but emotionally appealing pitch.

In a departure from royal protocol, the Princess has agreed to help lobby IOC members, particularly fellow royals on the committee such as Princess Nora of Liechtenstein, Prince Albert II of Monaco and Holland's Prince of Orange.

Her involvement underlines the Palace's desire to support the London cause after the Queen was embroiled in controversy earlier this year when she reportedly confided to a schoolboy that she expected Paris to win.

In February the Queen made amends by hosting a glittering dinner at Buckingham Palace for the visiting evaluation commission. In the IOC inspectors' final report on London, published last month, they wrote: "The bid enjoys strong support and commitment from the Queen."

Yesterday, the Queen sent a message to Lord Coe and his team, saying: "I have been impressed to see how people have united behind the bid to bring the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games to the United Kingdom in 2012.

"As a nation we share a great passion for sport and a desire to see a greater participation in sport, especially among younger people. The Olympic Movement has done much to promote the values of sport and to show how these values can inspire us all.

"I wish Lord Coe and his team the very best of luck at the IOC meeting in Singapore."

Last night, top French media correspondents were secretly hinting that London would be announced the winner. When asked the reasons why, various reasons were given :-

> French strikes (Parisians went on strike the very day the IOC inspectors came to their city)

> French "NO" vote on EU Constitution.

> lack of direction and control in Europe - Blair is seen as the anchor man and very inspirational.

> lack of respect on the international stage. Britain is seen to be doing a lot more particularly with it's Africa debt and cancellation policies. Nelson Mandela has urged everyone to back London Bid.

> Britain internationally has a strong and growing confident stature, France is being seen more as inward looking and weaker particularly in recent events.
-------------------------------------------------

That is what the French media are saying!

And on BBC News 24 this morning, a Frenchman who was being interviewed said that he was sure that London will win the bid and that Paris peaked too early.

And it's also good for London that Paris has been the favourites for so long - the favourites to win the Olympics bid hardly ever win the Olympics bid. Paris were the favourites for a long time to win the bid to host the 2008 Olympics, but Beijing won that bid.

   

The French already aren't feeling very confident about their country and the future, due to their crumbling economy and DECLINING per capita purchasing power parity. Just a few days after the British celebrated their victory in the Battle of Trafalgar, will the British AGAIN be celebrating if London beats Paris to win the bid to host the 2012 Olympics? And if so, how would the French feel?



July 02, 2005

Paris fears a modern-day Agincourt

From Charles Bremner and Adam Sage in Paris



A NIGHTMARE haunts the Elysée Palace as President Chirac prepares to fly to Singapore with Bertrand Delanoë, the Mayor of Paris, to present their case next Wednesday for the 2012 Olympics.



The ghastly vision is the grin of commiseration on Tony Blair’s face at Thursday’s Gleneagles G8 summit if London snatches the games. A heavenly alternative is the thought of the President triumphing in what Paris sees as a very Franco-British showdown.

After spending £30 million and mobilising the nation in a near faultless campaign, the Paris organisers are worried that deft last-minute lobbying by l’Albion perfide may rob them of their glory. Paris, and M Chirac in particular, desperately need the Games. The betting says that they will win, because Paris has an impressive and safe plan. It is backed by nearly 90 per cent of France and most of the infrastructure already exists. With the media in full patriotic cry behind L’Amour des Jeux, barely a squeak of dissent has been heard against a project trumpeted on most public buildings, shops, police cars and taxis.

What Paris fears are the last-minute politics that may swing the vote. As well as Lord Coe’s effective campaigning, Mr Blair, some believe, has used his drive for African aid to reap the continent’s IOC votes, despite M Chirac’s pressure on French clients there.

With the President staking his shaky prestige on the IOC vote, failure would spell doom for him. Losing to London would be Waterloo, Trafalgar and Agincourt rolled into one, as one French diplomat put it. “Paris needs these games the most, as much on the economic as on the morale front,” Arnaud Lagardere, 44, who heads the Club of Businesses behind the bid, said. “After the ‘no’ in the (EU) referendum, it would be a real hammering.”

The remark was a departure from M Delanoë’s ban on comparisons with other candidates as Paris strives for humility to scotch the arrogant image that helped to kill its bids for the 1992 and 2008 Games. M Chirac was behind both of those, first as Paris Mayor and then as President.

As the 200 French officials pack their Singapore presentation suits, designed by Givenchy, dissenters have been complaining about the brainwashing and excesses of a Soviet-style Olympic campaign. Many hail from the anti-globalisation movement, which is active on the internet. More embarrassing for M Delanoë, criticism is also coming from some Green Party councillors, who are part of his governing coalition.

WHO DECIDES?



The IOC has 117 members but the president, Jacques Rogge, does not vote and one member is suspended, so 115 people can vote in the secret ballot, but only 102 will do so in the first round


The remainder represent countries with bidding cities and they are allowed to vote only once their country has been eliminated


The city receiving the least votes in each round is knocked out with the contest continuing until one has a simple majority. If every member votes, the breakthrough figure in a final round face-off, which is expected to be between London and Paris, would be the best of 109


Paris is still the bookmakers’ favourite. Ladbrokes have listed Paris at 2-9, London at 7-2 and Madrid at 12-1. New York is quoted at 25-1, with only Moscow further back at 50-1. However, Paris being the favourite is not good for Paris - the favourite city to win the bid rarely wins the bid.



thetimesonline.co.uk

   

French arrogance may have ruined their Olympic dream.

London is winning supporters fast.


Blair arrives in Singapore to back 2012 bid as London surges in Olympic race

Denis Campbell, Nick Mathiason, Alex Duval Smith in Paris and Helena Smith in Athens

Sunday July 3, 2005
The Observer

London is enjoying a last minute surge of support in the five-city race to stage the 2012 Olympics just days before the decision is taken. Members of the 116-strong International Olympic Committee, who will choose the host city on Wednesday in Singapore, believe the capital better-placed to win than at any time in the three years of the contest. Sources said that support for Paris, London's main rival, is ebbing due to the perceived 'arrogance' of the French bid team, a corruption scandal involving one of its leading officials and over-familiarity with the merits of city which has been the clear favourite from the start.

London is gaining ground amid sustained last-minute pleas of persuasion by Tony Blair and the bid chairman, Sebastian Coe, and growing recognition that the world's largest sporting event would spark massive regeneration.

I'd say London and Paris are now neck and neck. Paris suffering from having been the favourite for too long and leaking votes, some of which London is picking up,' one overseas IOC member said. 'If I were forced to call it the moment between the two of them, I'd say London will win.'

Another foreign IOC representative added: 'It's true the French were the favourites but they've been quite arrogant in the way they've handled their bid and that's been off-putting. London has done very well, especially since Seb Coe came in. He's so impressive and very respected as a sportsman among IOC members. It's impossible to say that London will win, but what's for sure is that he's turned the bid around.'

Olympic insiders are amazed that while Blair arrives in Singapore today to spend three days meeting IOC members at functions and in one-on-one encounters, the French president Jacques Chirac will not arrive until Tuesday. IOC members say Blair is potentially London's best asset.

The Prime Minister and his wife, Cherie, who is an ambassador for the London bid, will meet as many of the 10 to 20 IOC members who are still undecided, including several from Asia. With the race so close, one or two votes may prove crucial. They are also hoping to secure agreements for IOC members to switch to London in the second round of voting, if their preferred city has been knocked out.

One IOC member said that while London had not yet built as many sports facilities as Paris, 'what's in its favour is that it's a truly multi-cultural city and in terms of infrastructure, it has more to gain from the Games'.

Coe and other key strategists moved to Singapore yesterday from the nearby island of Sentosa, where they had spent four days honing their 45-minute final presentation. It will acknowledge the IOC's preference for cities to come back with fresh bids despite being rejected initially - this is Paris's third - by stressing that London is Britain's fourth bid in 20 years, following three from Manchester and Birmingham.

Coe will lead London's 'platform party' which will feature 10 bid leaders and Britain's three IOC members, including Princess Anne. They will use five short videos to emphasise London's many attractions, cultural diversity and potential Games-driven revitalisation of the city's East End.

In a good luck message to the delegation yesterday, the Queen said: 'As a nation we share a great passion for sport and a desire to see a greater participation in sport, especially amongst younger people. The Olympic movement has done much to promote the values of sport and to show how these values can inspire us all.'

Senator Hillary Clinton yesterday became the latest heavyweight to be confirmed as joining the fray in Singapore as part of New York's final presentation team.

London's surge comes as doubts have emerged over key components of the Paris bid which threaten to take the gloss off what so far has been an assured, if unspectacular, French campaign.

The centrepiece of its bid - the Stade de France - is no longer seen as the jewel in the crown, while its Olympic village site faces criticism from Olympic experts for failing to provide a worthwhile legacy.

The village is due to be built at a 45-hectare plot in the 17th arrondissement of northwestern Paris. It is currently occupied by a largely disused railway freight and marshalling area. But there are growing security concerns over the village's location in an area surrounded by densely populated residential blocks. There are also fears that noise will disturb athletes as the village is bordered in the west by the busiest commuter railway line in France.

Paris plans to overcome these problems by covering the railway tracks with a giant arch coated in 20,000 square metres of solar panels and building office blocks between the glass roof and the village. It is hoped the buildings will act as a sound buffer between the railway lines and the village and, for security reasons, will stand empty until the Games are over.

Critics say the cost of covering the tracks - £387m - should alert IOC members to problems with the proposal. Insiders have expressed surprise that the IOC evaluation commission failed to draw attention to these issues in its recent final report.

Emmanuelle Obligis, Paris 2012's infrastructure and operations director, admits that certain crucial, practical issues 'have still to be worked out'. On the solar roof, she said: 'We have yet to identify how it will be done but we are receiving advice from Electricite de France, who are one of the main sponsors.'

Ed Hula, an Olympic movement commentator who runs the Around The Rings website, said: 'In London we are talking about an area in need of regeneration and putting in new housing and communities there. Paris, and they don't like me saying this, is more about just another set of apartment blocks. I haven't seen anything that blows me away and makes me think the Paris Village is fantastic.'

Hula, who has an impressive record in predicting the victorious host city, cannot decide between Paris and London. 'It's hard to point to a glaring weakness in either bid. It's tough to tell them apart. It's evens.' Hula also pointed out that the Stade de France, which will host the athletic events, will be 20 years old by 2012 and suffers from poor sight lines and less than satisfactory VIP hospitality areas.

www.guardian.co.uk