OLYMPIC GAMES

Last week saw Chefs de Missions from around 200 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) meet in London to receive an update on preparations for next year's Olympic Games from the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG).

The Chefs de Mission – who lead their NOC’s delegation during the Games and are responsible for all their athletes and team officials – met during a three-day visit to London, where they attended meetings on a wide range of topics, including ticketing, accommodation, accreditation and ceremonies.

The Chefs de Mission also visited the Olympic Park and Olympic Village, as well as Horse Guards Parade, where the FIVB Beach Volleyball International was taking place, in preparation for hosting the beach volleyball tournament during next year's Games.

The seminar enabled the Chefs de Mission to familiarise themselves with the venues, city layout, and transport operations ahead of next year's Games and helped ensure that they have the latest information about London 2012 so that their teams are well prepared for the Games.

The meeting was the final Chef de Mission seminar before the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games and enabled LOCOG to demonstrate what will be provided for NOCs, its athletes and team officials during the Games.

Seb Coe, Chair of LOCOG, said: “The athletes sit at the heart of the London 2012 Games and this week’s meetings are critical in helping countries all over the world prepare their athletes to compete in London next year.”

Bernard Rajzman, Chef de Mission for Brazil, said: “The experience so far has been absolutely incredible and the venues here in London are fantastic. You can really tell that the focus in London is on the athletes and that everyone in LOCOG understands that. There is no doubt that these Games will be spectacular and I have no concerns at all.”

Samar Nassar, Chef de Mission for Jordan, said: “After the venue tours that took us to the Olympic Park, the Olympic Village and ExCel Centre, LOCOG has shown us some superb state-of-the-art facilities, meticulous organisation, the rich English heritage and a very warm welcome. This week has been very organised and it is inspiring to see and feel that London is going to leave a legacy after the Games.”

Source: www.olympic.org

August 17 - John Armitt (pictured), the chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), has claimed that a sensible decision has been made to let the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) transform the Olympic Park venues and infrastructure for legacy use immediately after the London 2012 Games are concluded.

The original plan meant that the ODA, which built the Olympic Park and the venues on it, would be responsible for transforming the East London location for almost a year before handing it to the OPLC.

But the transfer of responsibility follows discussions between the organisations over how best to deliver the post-Games transformation works in a way that ensures value for money and avoids duplication.

The OPLC will now take the £300 million ($494 million/€341.81 million) of scope and budget from the ODA, which has also seconded its transformation team to the Legacy Company to oversee the process including the removal of temporary venues and structures on the Olympic Park, removal of Games-time elements of permanent venues and the reconfiguration of roads, bridges and other infrastructure for legacy use in a decision Armitt has called logical.

"It is clearly the most sensible thing," Armitt told insidethegames.

"The previous arrangement meant that we were going to have six to nine months and then hand the Olympic Park over to the OPLC.

"But getting the Olympic Park across to the OPLC is the logical decision because it then gives them time to do things at their pace.

"We would clearly have been focused on getting everything down and away as quickly as possible but when it comes to next year, it may not be what they decide to do from a legacy point of view.

"So they can control that programme and that is definitely what is best from a legacy point of view.

"Passing the baton for post-Games conversion works to the Olympic Park Legacy Company will also ensure value for money as there will now only be one public body responsible for the work on site after the summer of 2012, enabling the ODA to conclude its contracts and wind-up early if possible."

In addition to the transferring of responsibility, the OPLC has appointed international consultancy and construction company Mace as its project management partner to work alongside them to manage the delivery of post-Games transformation work.

Mace will initially manage two Tier One contractors to be appointed by Christmas for the North and South Park, plus existing conversion contracts such as the Aquatics Centre.

Colin Naish, the executive director of Infrastructure at the OPLC, said: "By taking on the transformation work, the Olympic Park Legacy Company can be more efficient and effective in our plans to reopen the Park after the Games and, by working closely with Mace, ensure the transformation works support our long-term vision of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park."

Mark Reynolds, the deputy chief executive of Mace, said: "We are thrilled to be one of the few companies to have been involved with the regeneration of the Olympic Park from inception, with the original master-planning and contributing to the Candidate City bid, through delivery of London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games with CLM Delivery Partner [the ODA's delivery partner] and now onto delivering the legacy.

"We look forward to developing a world-class legacy with the Olympic Park Legacy Company."

The procurement process for the transformation of the Olympic Park is already underway, with a split shortlist of seven companies bidding for contracts in either the north or south areas of the 500 acre site.

This process will not be affected following the changing of responsibilities.

A total of 145 firms registered their interest following the start of procurement by the ODA in late February - 68 of these were for work in the North Park and 77 for the South Park.

The shortlist for the South Park is: Balfour Beatty Group; BAM Nuttall; Lend Lease Construction; VolkerFitzpatrick and Skanska Construction UK; while the shortlist for the North Park is: Balfour Beatty Group; BAM Nuttall; Carillion Construction; Lend Lease Construction and Skanska Construction UK.

A tender process in underway with the winning bidders expected to be announced in December 2011.

Source: www.insidethegames.biz

By Tom Degun

Source: www.inisdethegames.biz

By Tom Degun

August 13 - Frank Warren, one of Britain's most successful professional boxing promoters, has claimed that the sport at the Olympic must remain amateur despite plans from the International Boxing Association (AIBA) to move it towards professionalism after London 2012.

Earlier this month, AIBA President C K Wu unveiled a new programme entitled AIBA Professional Boxing (APB), to be launched in 2013, which will allow competitors to retain their Olympic eligibility despite boxing professionally.

Wu, who is also an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, told insidethegames that hopeful the sport's top professional stars such as Floyd Mayweather Junior, Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan will compete in the completion saying "the door is open to them" but Warren believes Olympic boxing must remain amateur.

"News this week is that professional boxing could feature at the 2016 Olympics in Rio - but I can't see how it's a good idea," Warren wrote in his column in The Sun.

"The IOC confirmed it was discussing the move with the International Amateur Boxing Association.

"But where would it leave the amateur sport?

"Over the years, sports such as tennis have been introduced to the Olympics, even though Roger Federer and co would prefer to win Wimbledon than a gold medal.

"Pro boxers have world titles to aim for - and their side of the sport is completely different to the amateur set-up."

The new format will see amateur boxers compete without head guards while being scored by three judges but Warren said that this fact is irrelevant in comparing professional and amateur boxers.

"Even without the headguards, it's two different styles," he wrote.

"Will only 'novice' pros with a certain amount of fights be allowed to compete or can we expect to see Floyd Mayweather (pictured) and Manny Pacquiao pulling on a vest and headgears?

"There could be a few amateurs running for cover if that's the case.

"I know the proposals haven't gone down too well with members of the ABA (Amateur Boxing Association), even though plans are afoot to allow some professionals to fight in amateur competitions in the next few years.

"The IOC says that it encourages the participation of the best athletes - but boxing already works as an Olympic sport and it's supposed to be about the best amateur athletes.

"For London 2012, tickets were oversubscribed - boxing is always an event the public get behind.

"Audley Harrison, Amir Khan and James DeGale became household names after getting on the podium at Sydney [in 2000], Athens [in 2004] and Beijing [in 2008].

"In the past, Cubans and Eastern Europeans led the way in amateur boxing because their fighters had huge funding programmes and weren't allowed to turn pro.

"The gap has narrowed though with the collapse of the Soviet Union, and more funds available in Western Europe, especially in the UK.

"I'm all for innovation and trying to improve a product.

"But as far as amateur boxing goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Source: www.insidethegames.biz

By Duncan Mackay at Olimpiyatevi in Istanbul

August 13 - Istanbul hope that a successful bid for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics will be a "platform for change" Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said here today as he provided more details of their bid.

Erdogan received a standing ovation from a specially selected crowd of politicians, sports administrators, Olympic officials and international media as he laid out Istanbul's plans, claiming that they "learned our lessons" from its previous bids.

Istanbul mounted four consecutive failed bids, for the 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

In their last unsuccessful campaign Istanbul did not even make it onto the shortlist for 2012, which was won by London.

But their chances are considered to be stronger for this contest and Erdogan, a former Mayor of Istanbul, has already signalled that he is prepared to offer unprecedented support to this latest bid.

"We have listened and we have learned valuable lessons from our earlier bidding experience," he said.

"Committed to delivering solutions to the issues that were previously raised by the IOC (International Olympic Committee), we have invested heavily in increasing and improving our sporting facilities, as well as developing youth participation in sport at both mass and elite level.

"Recently we have successfully hosted international events such as the basketball World Championships in 2010, as well as the European Youth Olympic Festival in Trabzon in July of this year."

Turkey mounted a strong challenge for the 2016 European Football Championships, only losing to France by one vote in the election last year.

They had been pondering another bid to host Euro 2020 but following discussions between Erdogan and leading sports officials they have now decided to concentrate on the Olympics and Paralympics.

The bid will come on the back of the recent trend of major events being awarded to developing countries, including the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics to Rio de Janeiro and the 2018 FIFA World Cup to Russia.

"Whilst we are historically significant city that divides two continents, our world today is global," said Erdogan.

"It is not about east or west, north or south.

"It is about much more.

"It's about providing the opportunity for people to share and understand different cultures and religions from around the world.

"It's about creating good will and acceptance.

"It's about new regions of the world becoming a strong part of our world and helping us all to prosper.

"The Olympic Movement has the power to influence the course of the world and Istanbul wants to be the platform for change.

"We can be the bridge that unites the world."

The centrepiece of Istanbul's bid will be the Atatürk Olympic Stadium, which was built in 2003 and hosted the 2005 Champions League final between Liverpool and AC Milan (pictured).

Erdogan claimed that most of the facilities needed to host the Olympics were already in place while Istanbul's rapidly improving infrastructure will be ready by 2020.

"The investment needed to stage an Olympics...we are talking pennies," he claimed.

Istanbul join a field which also includes Madrid, Rome and Tokyo.

Unlike their rivals, Erdogan claims that Turkey has weathered the worldwide economic crisis without major problems.

"In a time of global economic downturn, we maintain our position as one of the fastest growing economies throughout the world," he said, claiming that the Turkish economy had grown by 11 per cent in the first quarter of this year.

"We will provide the strength, stability and secure foundation that is needed to guarantee and deliver the IOC's institutional and operational requirements.

"We are confident that the same forward thinking characteristic that is driving our economy will be potrayed within the organisational committee that will lead this bid.

"Our most siginficant focus towards the Games is on our youth and the inspirations that will drive them.

"Given that the average age in Turkey is 29, we want to leave a lasting legacy that will instil values from the Olympic Movement into the youth of today; not only in our own country, but throughout younger generations in all countries, throughout all religions and cultures."

Uğur Erdener, the President of the Turkish National Olympic Committee and a member of the IOC, was thrilled with the level of support the bid is already receiving.

"We are delighted that the whole country is rallying behind this remarkable event, and with support from the President of the Republic [Abdullah Gul], our Prime Minister, all our Government and our great nation, we fully believe that we are in line to become one of the strongest contenders for this bid," he said.

There could also be bids from Doha and Durban but Erdogan is confident that Istanbul have everything in place to be successful.

"Istanbul is ready," he said.

The host city will be chosen by the IOC at its Session in Buenos Aires on September 7, 2013.