London Olympics 'to come in £476m under budget' - BBC News
The London Olympics is set to come in under its £9.3bn budget with £476m of the contingency funding left, according to new government figures.
Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said it was "fantastic news" that the games would be on time and under budget.
Ministers expect to be able to return the remaining money to the Treasury.
The £9.3bn budget, which included a £2bn contingency, was set in 2007 and was almost four times the estimated cost at the time London bid in 2005.
The budget was revised upwards after taking into account previously overlooked costs such as VAT, increased security costs, and an expanded brief for the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) to regenerate the lower Lea Valley area.
Addressing the original bid budget of £2.4bn, Sports Minister Hugh Robertson said there was a "recognition right from the word go that figure would have to change dramatically on the basis of delivering the Games".
Mr Hunt said: "Britain has proved that not only can we put on a great show for the world to watch like we did with the Jubilee but that we can also deliver big construction projects on time and on budget."
Mr Robertson said the latest figure for the Games, which begin next month, was "a great advert for the British construction industry, for sport and for UK Plc".
Following the success of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the ongoing Olympic torch relay, additional funding of £19m has been earmarked to bolster crowd control and public information for the games.
The money, which will be allocated from within the £9.3bn budget, will pay for additional stewards and crowd flow measures in central London as well as the "last mile" - what organisers describe as the distance between transport hubs and Games venues.
Mr Robertson said: "We know exactly how many tickets have been sold and roughly how many people should be in London. Absolutely nobody knows how many people are going to turn up.
"London this summer is going to be the place to have a party. It is a great national event. It is very difficult for us to know exactly how many people are going to come across on the train, in the car or on the ferry only for a party."
The government confirmed the work of the ODA, which is responsible for developing and building the venues and infrastructure for the games, is 98% complete.
It will not be fully completed until after the Games when the ODA will convert apartments in the Olympic village into thousands of new homes.
London 2012 - Olympics hits home for Grainger - Yahoo! Eurosport
Even in the current climate of questionable selection policies it would have taken the keenest of imaginations to concoct a scenario where three-time Olympic silver medallist and nigh-on untouchable world No.1 Katherine Grainger could be overlooked for London 2012.
But despite her pre-eminence the Scottish rower admits it is a week which included a brush with the Olympic flame - and the much-expected rubber-stamping of her British spot for London 2012 - that has finally brought home the reality of a home Games.
If the sporting Gods - and the Edinburgh University Boat Club - hadn't intervened, Grainger could have been a fellow martial artist such as Aaron Cook, who has found himself in the middle of an almighty selection row in recent weeks.
Despite being ranked the world's best fighter at -80kg Cook, having been overlooked for selection in favour of Lutalo Muhammad, is most likely facing up to a legal battle to secure his Games participation.
In contrast Grainger's progress has been serene - indeed in the last two years, since an comparatively unsuccessful foray into the world of single sculling in 2009, she and double sculls partner Anna Watkins have barely broken sweat in going through successive seasons unbeaten.
That equilibrium was thrown slightly off course in a rare day off the water when Grainger took her turn with the Olympic flame in Glasgow last Friday.
And, while insistent she's exactly where she wants to be with London 2012 just around the corner, the 36-year-old admitted getting up close and personal with the torch brings with it a sense of trepidation.
Rowing redemption - in the shape of Olympic gold at the fourth time of asking - is Grainger's unequivocal London goal and she said: "It was an emotional moment holding the torch.
"Partly because of the chaos getting to hold it and rushing through the traffic to get there but also partly because when you hold it you think, this is it, this is the flame that's going to light the London Games in a few weeks time.
"It definitely brought the Games very close, a lot of the time when you are training you are away from the spotlight and it is in dark sweaty gyms or on windswept and rain-swept waters.
"So in a way you feel quite detached from the experience of an Olympic Games. We hear about it the whole time on the radio and TV and newspapers but when we go training day-to-day you still feel a little bit away from that.
"And then with a combination of the selection and the torch you suddenly realise that, one you're very much a part of this huge, massive ongoing building experience to what will be this greatest show on Earth and tow that we are now counting it in days.
"We have counted in years for a long time and then it was months, weeks and now it is days so it does feel like we are getting to the end now."
The end - London 2012 - for Grainger will be a career-defining moment regardless of the outcome. After three consecutive Games silvers Grainger has been vocal in her win or bust attitude towards the home Olympics.
And in carrying the torch the 36-year-old admitted she had a moment of clarity - realising just how all-encompassing the Olympics has been on her life.
"The flame and the torch is such a symbol of the Games so to actually be holding that means so much to me and my life," she added.
"London is something that I have been building to for seven years and to be honest the last 15 years of my life has been slightly defined by the Olympic Games.
"Last week was massive with both the official selection, although it wasn't a huge surprise, and carrying the torch.
"It wasn't whether or not we had been picked it's that big milestone that we are now officially part of Team GB.
"Although you know it's been coming for a long time it's the first moment when you know it's definitely going to happen and you're definitely going to be a part of it."
London Olympics 2012: Millar Gets Road Race Nod - ibtimes.co.uk
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On the track, four-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Chris Hoy leads the sprint contingent in London, with Jason Kenny and Philip Hindes making up the remainder of the male squad.
Hoy, who in London will compete at his fourth games, is proud to be representing Team GB on home turf.
"It's a huge honour to be selected to represent your country at an Olympic Games," he said. "It's even more special to know I'm definitely part of the team for London 2012. This will be my fourth Olympics but my first home Games, and it's going to be an amazing experience and a once in a lifetime opportunity for all of us.
"The standard in the British cycling team is so high and the selection process is always going to be tough, but there's a great atmosphere in the team and we just need to keep putting in the hours in training and make sure we're in the best shape possible for race day.
British Cycling are however yet to decide whether Hoy or Kenny, who edged the Scot in the World Championships in Melbourne earlier in the year, will take the one individual sprint spot for London, an event which the 36 year-old Hoy is currently Olympic champion.
Victoria Pendleton and Jessica Varnish will look to match their gold medal winning performance at February's World Championships, with both making up the female sprint team.
In the endurance events, all attention will be on the male and female sprint quartets hoping to replicate their Melbourne heroics come London, while Laura Trott will hope to build on her omnium world title. Ed Clancy will compete in the men's omnium event.
Shanaze Reade and Liam Phillips will hope to build on their Olympic debuts with medals in the BMX competition, while Liam Killeen and Annie Last make up the Mountain Biking team.
Reade is hoping support from her British support can help to glory come this summer.
"I'm really excited to have been selected for the London 2012 Olympic Games," she said. "If the test event and the recent World Championships in Birmingham are anything to go by, the home support will be a massive boost to me. I feel that I am in good form at the moment and I'm really motivated for this. I just can't wait to race."
Team GB Cycling squad:
Track (Sprint):
Philip Hindes, Chris Hoy, Jason Kenny, Victoria Pendleton, Jessica Varnish
Track (Endurance):
Steven Burke, Edward Clancy, Wendy Houvenaghel, Peter Kennaugh, Danielle King, Joanna Rowsell , Andrew Tennant, Geraint Thomas, Laura Trott
BMX:
Liam Phillips, Shanaze Reade
Cross Country Mountain Biking:
Liam Killeen, Annie Last
Men's Road (five to be selected)
Mark Cavendish, Steve Cummings, Chris Froome, Jeremy Hunt, David Millar, Ian Stannard, Ben Swift, Bradley Wiggins
Women's Road (four to be selected)
Lizzie Armitstead, Nicole Cooke, Katie Colclough, Sharon Laws, Lucy Martin, Emma Pooley
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'London 2012 terrorist threat' adverts banned - The Guardian
An advertising campaign by a firm aiming to cash in on the fear of terrorism during the London Olympic games by using images of the 7/7 attacks to sell bomb-blast window film has been banned by the advertising watchdog.
The Advertising Standards Authority described the campaign, which used an image of the bus destroyed in Tavistock Square in the 7 July 2005 bombings, as "wholly inappropriate and shocking" and likely to cause serious offence.
In its ruling the ASA said that the campaign had "exaggerated the potential threat faced by businesses due to the Olympic Games and could have caused undue fear and distress to someone who received the mailing".
The advertising regulator added that the campaign was in breach of the advertising code and banned it.
Used as part of a direct mail campaign by a company called Northgate Solar Controls that aimed to drum up orders for its anti-shatter window film, the 7/7 image was sent to about 4,400 businesses.
Northgate Solar Controls told business owners they may have already been visited by the Metropolitan police or another "government agency" to warn of a "red alert for the Olympic Games".
The campaign talked of a "very real threat" of suicide bombers entering the country more easily because of large numbers of visitors swamping ports of entry and "undetected terrorist sleeper cells" that could launch an attack affecting businesses.
Northgate Solar Controls said that it only targeted businesses in London and the home counties, where most of the Olympic activity is taking place, and that it was not scaremongering but instead wanted to "help minimise the risks in the event of an explosion by the application of bomb-blast film".
However, the business that complained to the Advertising Standards Authority about receiving the direct mail shot was based "almost 50 miles away from the nearest Olympics venue in Essex".
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London 2012: Aaron Cook to reveal next move in British taekwondo row - The Guardian
Aaron Cook is set to reveal whether he will continue fighting his controversial non-selection for the Great Britain Olympic taekwondo team, a day after his rival Lutalo Muhammad asked everyone involved to move on.
Cook has called a press conference for Wednesday morning and is expected to reveal whether he plans further legal moves, having seen an appeal to the British Olympic Association fail.
Muhammad, 21, was nominated by GB Taekwondo, and ratified by the BOA, ahead of Cook to fight in the under-80kg category at London 2012, despite Cook's status as the world No1.
Muhammad has stepped down from the under-87kg class where he won a European title in Manchester earlier this year, and the decision to select the Londoner, ranked 59th in the world for that weight, has drawn criticism.
Cook earlier revealed his belief that there is an agenda against him after he resigned from the Great Britain world-class performance programme to pursue his own training schedule outside the guidance of GB Taekwondo last June.
"It is hard to put into words," Cook told the Daily Telegraph. "I just feel numb. The last five weeks have been a nightmare. My results are vastly superior to Lutalo's. The quality of players I have faced is far higher and I have won nine of my last 12 tournaments.
"I have recently defeated 10 of the top 15 qualified 2012 Olympians and world medallists including the five-times world champion and two-times Olympic champion Steven López and the current under-87kg world champion Yousef Karami and the under-80kg world champion Farzad Abdollahi.
"According to my coach, Patrice Remarck, GB Taekwondo also questioned my ability to perform under pressure and how I might perform in front of a home crowd.
"I find this a strange point as I have a proven track record of success under pressure at home as well as abroad, including seven British Open wins, an Olympic test event win and the European Championship.
"Why have I not been selected? Simple. Because I left the British Taekwondo system last year."
Muhammad, ranked 59th in the world in the under-80kg division, insists the controversy has been hard on him too and should now be put behind them as the focus turns towards the Games.
"It's been tough on both of us," he said. "It was always going to be a tough decision that would have created a tough ordeal for both of us. But I think the situation has really been blown way out of proportion more than any of us expected.
"It's been tough on both of us and I don't really think that's been fair. At the end of the day we're both European champions. We both just want to compete to the best of our ability so I think the fact that there's been all this going on is probably not fair on me or him."
Muhammad insists there is no personal animosity, though the pair have not spoken about the selection issue.
He said: "I have no problems with Aaron. Even after this ordeal, I still don't have any problems with him. But the nature of sport is that there will always be winners and losers.
"I wish him the best with his future and all through this ordeal, but my focus right now can't be Aaron Cook. It has to be being on the top of that podium in a few months' time."
Muhammad added: "I have to put all of this out of my mind and focus on my training. I'm just really excited about showing what I can do. It's gold or nothing for me in terms of targets."
The WTF has also launched its own investigation. The BOA Team GB chef de mission Andy Hunt, though, has no doubts proper procedure was followed in the selection process.
"The WTF have not come back yet with a clear plan as to how they are going to undertake their review process of what went on in the selection process with taekwondo," he said.
"There is no timescale and I do not know the composition of that review. We will absolutely comply and provide whatever information they need."
London 2012: Syria's National Olympic Committee Head Could Be Banned From Games - huffingtonpost.co.uk
The head of Syria's national Olympic committee may be banned from attending the London games because of his links to President Bashar Assad.
General Mowaffak Joumaa is expected to be refused entry to the UK because of his connection to the Syrian military, The Guardian reported.
The troubled Middle Eastern state has seen a recent spike in violence by the forces of President Assad's regime.
The Home Office is responsible for carrying out background checks on behalf of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and advises the committee on whether an applicant is suitable for accreditation.
A statement on the Home Office website says: "Accreditation will also not be recommended where an individual's presence at the Games (or in the UK) would not be conducive to the public good."
The Foreign Office is also involved in exclusion decisions, and sources said particular interest would be shown in visitors from countries where there are human rights abuses. Officials are expected to keep a close eye on Syria.
Foreign Secretary William Hague has compared the recent massacres in Syria to those in Bosnia in the 1990s while Prime Minister David Cameron has condemned the killings as "brutal and sickening".
The Syrian charge d'affaires in London has already been expelled in the wake of mounting condemnation of the attacks.
Visas are still being sought for all of the 11 athletes and 20 officials - including coaches - wanting to attend the games on behalf of Syria, whose regime has been condemned by Britain for its crackdown on opponents.
It is thought that the athletes may receive visas because those of Olympic standard are not required to serve in the armed forces, but there is a question mark against General Joumaa and other officials.
General Joumaa has said he will complain to the International Olympic Committee if his visa is denied.
General Joumaa said: "If anyone was blocked because of their military background, that would be unfair. Anyone who has a military background in Syria, they are an ordinary citizen of this country.
"You have seen how much Syria enjoys security and safety. We are a peaceful country. The Syrian people have love in their hearts for the British people."
Last month Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said that no figures associated with atrocities would be allowed into Britain, under new rules preventing entry by people who are not "conducive to the public good".
However, he would not give assurances on specific individuals.
"As far as we are concerned we have recently said very clearly - if you have abused human rights and that is shown to be the case, you can't come into this country," he said.
Asked whether anybody connected to the atrocities in Syria would be blocked from coming for the Olympics, he said: "Of course, what I can't tell you is exactly who those names are."
The decisions on the Syrians are thought to be imminent and showjumper Ahmed Hamsho, 18, is expected to be allowed to compete, The Guardian said.
Hamsho, who has close family ties to the regime of Mr Assad, is the first ever Syrian equestrian to qualify for the Olympics.
A Home Office spokesman said: "We are undertaking stringent checks on all those seeking accreditation.
"This rigorous process has been designed to ensure those working at the Games are fit to do so. We will leave nothing to chance in our aim to deliver a safe and secure Games that London, the UK and the whole world will enjoy."
With a month until the Olympics, London is preparing for 'impending chaos'. So where's Boris? - Daily Mail
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Bad decision: Boris Johnson has made a visit to North America to plug his latest book, despite the imminence of the London Olympics
I wish it wasn’t so. I wish I could report on a re-elected and re-energised London mayor leading our great capital through what most of us can agree is a bit of a hard slog. The Jubilee is over, but roads and bridges are still unaccountably blocked. The rain never stops, and nor does the chaos on the Tube. Even the Evening Standard, which enthusiastically urged readers to vote Boris Johnson only a month ago, has now decided that London is currently “heaving under a cloud of impending chaos.”
Simon Jenkins, its Boris-backing columnist, railed earlier this week that “Gun-toting militia, claiming to be police, haul motorists aside in the name of “Olympic security”. Misshapen towers have risen over the City. One in five shops is boarded up. The air is filled with police sirens. This is not the casual, carefree London I used to know. It seems a sinister place where it rains all the time and the river has turned grey/brown, like the Limpopo. Were I sentimental, I would say the old place was weeping in grief. The truth is that London is assailed by trauma.” And where is the mayor, Sir Simon? “The mayor has gone to New York,” he writes, “reportedly mad.”
I cannot vouch for his madness or otherwise, but Johnson’s trip to North America just six weeks ahead of the world descending on his city for the Olympics, just after nearly a million people gave him a second four-year mandate, when his creaking transport system is showing signs of a dangerous nervous breakdown, when his police force is mired in yet another racism scandal and facing the biggest anti-terrorist challenge in its history, is at first glance rather, um, odd.
Even odder is the fact that the mayor of London was not on an official visit on behalf of his city but on a private jaunt – taken as annual leave – to publicise his book ‘Johnson’s Life of London.’ (The sixth book to be published by Johnson, it has been described by A.N. Wilson as ‘the longest personal manifesto’ in mayoral history, in which every page is a ‘coded plea’ for votes.) To this purpose Johnson has undertaken what must have been an exhausting schedule of press interviews – such as with the Toronto Star where he pronounced rather tactlessly that he had never even heard of the city’s mayor Rob Ford – and TV appearances – including an A-list celebrity slot on the David Letterman Late Show.
The Evening Standard, which supported Boris in the Mayoral elections, has since conceded that London is 'heaving under a cloud of impending chaos'
Amidst all the joking about his typically mussed-up hair – ‘How long have you been cutting it yourself?’ asked Letterman – Johnson has pushed his book. He has held it up to the camera, talked about it, said ‘book’ when his hosts weren’t mentioning it, all just in case the point was not being made sufficiently loud and clear. Indeed, on more than one occasion Letterman actually advised the mayor of London to ‘calm down’. Imagine if he were our prime minister!
Johnson’s formidable talents as an entertainer were nevertheless on display for all America to enjoy. He got a good laugh when he promised New Yorkers, facing a ban on large helpings of pop from their own mayor Michael Bloomberg, ‘sanctuary’ from this ‘soda tryanny’ in London. He presented himself as a great fan of Letterman and indeed Bloomberg too – at least until he realised that the Bloomberg anti-soda regime was wildly unpopular.
Much of his airtime, though, was spent plugging his book. But among his pronouncements, when pressed on London, Johnson declared that last year’s riots were not protests or manifestations of a social malaise but ‘eruptions of materialistic randomness,’ and that as part of his great works on transport, 40 per cent of tube lines have air conditioning (actually, they won’t until 2016).
Larger than life: London Mayor Boris Johnson gesticulates wildly as he appears on The Late Show with David Letterman in New York
These assertions would have been news to some people back in London if Johnson’s bizarre departure had been more widely reported. Instead, there has been more of a flurry of interest in a story suggesting that Johnson had hired his first wife Allegra Mostyn-Owen to join his Muslim Taskforce – presumably on the basis that she is now married to a Muslim man half her age. Much prominence was given to the fact that the appointment came via a ten-word text from the mayor short on detail including whether she was to be paid or not. An evidently delighted Mostyn-Owen said there had been, however, a mayoral silence ever since.
Indeed, interested observers have found it difficult to track down the said taskforce. Inquiries to City Hall were met with an official response: "We are still in the process of reviewing our community engagement programme and we seek to work with all faiths and all communities across the capital."
Indeed, it was explained that press reports of her appointment or the existence of a taskforce were, perhaps in the manner of Mark Twain’s death, ‘exaggerated’. So there we have it. A ‘reportedly mad’ mayor, a non-existent or at least mysteriously secret task force and a heavily publicised book. Not a bad first month’s work then.
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