2012 Olympics
Surely London cannot be the favourite to host the Olympics? With a crumbling transport infrastructure & a silly logo, I could'nt think of a worse venue.
Bookmakers William Hill have slashed the odds on London winning the 2012 Olympic Games following the glittering bid launch event at the Royal Opera House. London is now the 6/4 favourite, ahead of Paris, Madrid and New York.
William Hill make Paris 7/4 second favourite and offer 11/2 on Madrid, 9/1 on New York and 10/1 on Rio. Leipzig and Moscow odds now stand at 16/1, and Havana and Istanbul remain at 50/1.
Wembley, Wimbledon, Lord's and a brand new Olympic Park were unveiled today as the leading venues for London's 2012 Olympics bid.
Under the plans, tourist landmarks in the capital would be transformed with competitors descending on Hyde Park for the triathlon and road cycling events, Horse Guards Parade for beach volleyball and Regent's Park for baseball and softball.
The delayed new Wembley Stadium would host both the men's and women's football finals, while tennis matches would be held at Wimbledon if London is successful in achieving its Olympic dream.
Lord's - the home of cricket - could swap bats for bows with archery events planned to take place in the world famous ground in St John's Wood, north London.
Football matches in earlier rounds would be played across the country at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, Glasgow's Hampden Park, Windsor Park in Belfast, Manchester's Old Trafford, Newcastle's St James' Park and Villa Park in Birmingham.
Brand new facilities will be built in the Olympic Park in east London as part of futuristic plans to regenerate the rundown area.
The main site in the Lower Lea Valley will boast a state of the art 80,000-seater stadium for athletics and the opening and closing ceremonies.
Nearby will be an aquatic centre for swimming and diving events and a velodrome for track cycling.
Visitors would move from venue to venue within the Park along wide, sweeping pedestrian walkways.
The site would also contain an Olympic village where competitors would stay, a BMX track, a hockey stadium and a multi-sport complex for basketball, handball, volleyball and modern pentathlon events.
The ill-fated Millennium Dome would be used for artistic gymnastics, trampolining, basketball and handball finals, while Greenwich Park would host the equestrian, modern pentathlon riding and running events.
Alexandra Palace in north London would be used for fencing competitions.
Outside of London, the Eton College Rowing Centre at Dorney Lake near Windsor, has been selected as the venue for rowing and flatwater canoeing, while shooting would take place at Bisley in Surrey and mountain biking in Swinley Forest, Berkshire.
Sailing would be hosted at Weymouth-Portland.
The details form the core of London's proposals submitted to the International Olympic Committee this week.
Bid leader Barbara Cassani launched the blueprint at a ceremony at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden in London today in front of Prime Minister Tony Blair.
"The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will enhance sport in London and the UK forever," she said.
"Our people, especially the young, will benefit from new facilities. Our next generation of athletes will be better equipped to develop into future Olympians.
"Our Games will deliver the best for athletes. A compact Olympic Park with easy access from living quarters to competition venues.
"Competitors will be inspired to deliver personal best performances against the backdrop of London's world-famous landmarks.
"Let's take this opportunity to make a leap for UK sport, a leap for the Olympic Movement and a leap for London."
Organisers are keen to stress that their plans for the Olympic Park offer the most compact venue ever proposed to the IOC with many of the 28 sports within 15 minutes of the athletes' village, and only a seven-minute train ride from central London.
IOC president Jacques Rogge has said the scale of the Games recently has threatened to spiral out of control and needs to slim down.
A spokesman added: "We will deliver excellence without extravagance. London 2012 is committed to ensuring that no venues are built without a clear plan for their post-Olympic use. There will be no white elephants at the London Olympics."
Yesterday was the IOC's deadline for all the bidding cities to complete a detailed questionnaire on their vision for the Games, including the infrastructure, security and support for their proposals.
The questionnaire forms the basis on which the IOC decides who goes forward to the next stage when they make an announcement on May 18.
As the bidding race begins in earnest, Paris, which has many facilities in place, remains ahead of London from the nine rival cities as the bookmakers' favourite.
Ladbrokes have Paris at 11/8 to win the Games, London at 5/2, Madrid at 6/1, New York at 8/1, Rio at 8/1, Moscow at 16/1, Leipzig at 25/1, Istanbul at 33/1 and Havana at 100/1
Bookmakers William Hill have slashed the odds on London winning the 2012 Olympic Games following the glittering bid launch event at the Royal Opera House. London is now the 6/4 favourite, ahead of Paris, Madrid and New York.
William Hill make Paris 7/4 second favourite and offer 11/2 on Madrid, 9/1 on New York and 10/1 on Rio. Leipzig and Moscow odds now stand at 16/1, and Havana and Istanbul remain at 50/1.
Wembley, Wimbledon, Lord's and a brand new Olympic Park were unveiled today as the leading venues for London's 2012 Olympics bid.
Under the plans, tourist landmarks in the capital would be transformed with competitors descending on Hyde Park for the triathlon and road cycling events, Horse Guards Parade for beach volleyball and Regent's Park for baseball and softball.
The delayed new Wembley Stadium would host both the men's and women's football finals, while tennis matches would be held at Wimbledon if London is successful in achieving its Olympic dream.
Lord's - the home of cricket - could swap bats for bows with archery events planned to take place in the world famous ground in St John's Wood, north London.
Football matches in earlier rounds would be played across the country at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, Glasgow's Hampden Park, Windsor Park in Belfast, Manchester's Old Trafford, Newcastle's St James' Park and Villa Park in Birmingham.
Brand new facilities will be built in the Olympic Park in east London as part of futuristic plans to regenerate the rundown area.
The main site in the Lower Lea Valley will boast a state of the art 80,000-seater stadium for athletics and the opening and closing ceremonies.
Nearby will be an aquatic centre for swimming and diving events and a velodrome for track cycling.
Visitors would move from venue to venue within the Park along wide, sweeping pedestrian walkways.
The site would also contain an Olympic village where competitors would stay, a BMX track, a hockey stadium and a multi-sport complex for basketball, handball, volleyball and modern pentathlon events.
The ill-fated Millennium Dome would be used for artistic gymnastics, trampolining, basketball and handball finals, while Greenwich Park would host the equestrian, modern pentathlon riding and running events.
Alexandra Palace in north London would be used for fencing competitions.
Outside of London, the Eton College Rowing Centre at Dorney Lake near Windsor, has been selected as the venue for rowing and flatwater canoeing, while shooting would take place at Bisley in Surrey and mountain biking in Swinley Forest, Berkshire.
Sailing would be hosted at Weymouth-Portland.
The details form the core of London's proposals submitted to the International Olympic Committee this week.
Bid leader Barbara Cassani launched the blueprint at a ceremony at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden in London today in front of Prime Minister Tony Blair.
"The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will enhance sport in London and the UK forever," she said.
"Our people, especially the young, will benefit from new facilities. Our next generation of athletes will be better equipped to develop into future Olympians.
"Our Games will deliver the best for athletes. A compact Olympic Park with easy access from living quarters to competition venues.
"Competitors will be inspired to deliver personal best performances against the backdrop of London's world-famous landmarks.
"Let's take this opportunity to make a leap for UK sport, a leap for the Olympic Movement and a leap for London."
Organisers are keen to stress that their plans for the Olympic Park offer the most compact venue ever proposed to the IOC with many of the 28 sports within 15 minutes of the athletes' village, and only a seven-minute train ride from central London.
IOC president Jacques Rogge has said the scale of the Games recently has threatened to spiral out of control and needs to slim down.
A spokesman added: "We will deliver excellence without extravagance. London 2012 is committed to ensuring that no venues are built without a clear plan for their post-Olympic use. There will be no white elephants at the London Olympics."
Yesterday was the IOC's deadline for all the bidding cities to complete a detailed questionnaire on their vision for the Games, including the infrastructure, security and support for their proposals.
The questionnaire forms the basis on which the IOC decides who goes forward to the next stage when they make an announcement on May 18.
As the bidding race begins in earnest, Paris, which has many facilities in place, remains ahead of London from the nine rival cities as the bookmakers' favourite.
Ladbrokes have Paris at 11/8 to win the Games, London at 5/2, Madrid at 6/1, New York at 8/1, Rio at 8/1, Moscow at 16/1, Leipzig at 25/1, Istanbul at 33/1 and Havana at 100/1
