OLYMPIC GAMES

Source: www.london2012.com

Construction progress on the Athletes’ Village was praised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) today as the first residential plot was completed.

The IOC’s tour of the Village was part of their biannual Coordination Commission visit, and coincided with the release of the new Olympic Park flythrough and latest aerial images.

IOC Coordination Commission Chairman Denis Oswald said, ‘The Olympic Village is at the very heart of the Games experience for thousands of athletes. It represents their home away from home and the place where they will prepare to achieve their Olympic dreams.

‘It is therefore encouraging to see that excellent progress has been made in constructing this accommodation, especially knowing that this Village will become a vibrant new community in legacy.

‘With its close proximity to the Olympic Park, the athletes will undoubtedly take full advantage of being able to walk to events and this will allow them to soak up the atmosphere and live their Olympic experience to the full.’

The other 10 plots of the Village remain on track to be completed by the end of the year. The Village lies adjacent to the Olympic Park and will accommodate the athletes and officials during the London 2012 Games. After the Games the Village will deliver new homes for east London. These homes will be joined by new parks, open space and new education and healthcare facilities in one of the best-connected parts of the capital.

Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) Chief Executive Dennis Hone added: ‘The IOC’s praise for the Athletes’ Village is extremely encouraging and with our first residential plot now completed, we are seeing beds for athletes and new homes for Londoners taking shape.

‘The Village will create a new neighbourhood for east London with the best of city living all in one place where essential new housing will be joined by education and healthcare facilities, new parklands, public squares and open space.

‘With construction work firmly on track, discussions to secure a long-term private investor in the Village are also making good progress with a shortlist of investors due to be selected in the coming weeks.’

Source: www.sportbusiness.com

UK Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has called for a swift resolution to the current dispute between the British Olympic Association (BOA) and the organising committee for the London 2012 Games (LOCOG).

The BOA, which is effectively seeking a bigger cut of any financial surplus to arise from the Games, is taking its dispute with LOCOG to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland. The disagreement escalated late last week when BOA chairman Lord Moynihan and CEO Andy Hunt were barred from LOCOG board meetings.

"This is not the right argument to be having so close to the Olympics in our country," Hunt told BBC Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek. "I think it is an extraordinary thing that just over a year before the Games that we are going into this sort of dispute, which frankly is not going to benefit anyone."

Hunt added: "We need to sort it out quickly, it is just very disappointing and I do not think anyone would say it is the right way to be focusing our energies...I can't really see how anyone's going to be a winner from this because there is no more money."

The dispute centres on whether the BOA is entitled to a share of the surplus from the Olympics alone, or the Games and Paralympics combined.

The BOA has insisted the two events should be kept separate on the final balance sheet, but the International Olympic Committee recently backed LOCOG's claim that the Olympics and Paralympic Games should be combined before surplus payments are distributed.

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Lord Moynihan, the British Olympic Association chairman, is facing a backlash from some of the sports he represents following his decision to pursue a controversial legal action against the London 2012 organising committee.

Moynihan, who along with BOA chief executive Andy Hunt has been suspended from the Locog board until the dispute over Olympic cash has been resolved, will face accusations that he is taking the BOA down a highly damaging path when the leaders of all 33 summer and winter Olympic sports in Britain gather in London on Tuesday for what could be a stormy National Olympic Committee meeting.

Moynihan has written to each of the NOC members setting out the reasons for his legal challenge, but he is certain to face strong opposition.

The head of one national governing body, who asked to remain anonymous, said the stance taken by Moynihan was “unacceptable” and “severely embarrassing” and that he was prepared to “take him on” in Tuesday’s meeting.

He said: “We seem to have alienated the International Olympic Committee, the International Paralympic Committee and now we’ve clearly got difficulties with Locog.” He also branded as “abhorrent” Moynihan’s argument that the Olympics and Paralympics should be separated for accounting purposes to boost the surplus payable to the BOA.

He said: “Where do we stand in terms of our image with the public and the international community if we’ve taken a decision, purely out of avarice, to treat able-bodied and disabled people as a different matter?”

The NOC is the BOA’s policy-making body which re-elected Moynihan as chairman in 2008 and also appoints six board members. Although any decision to halt the legal dispute would rest with the board, a groundswell of opinion against taking the case any further would be impossible to ignore.

One board member said: “I think the board would have to listen to the NOC. They would be fools not to. The board is put in post by the NOC because they are their electorate.”

The legal row centres on how Locog calculates any surplus after the 2012 Games. The BOA is entitled to a 20 per cent cut of the profit but Moynihan believes any surplus should be confined to money generated by the Olympics.

Locog insists the Paralympics, which could make a loss and reduce the amount payable to the BOA, should be included.

The IOC and the IPC have both sided with Locog but Moynihan has refused to back down and is prepared to take the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

By Duncan Mackay

The row between London 2012 and the British Olympic Association (BOA) escalated further today when chairman Colin Moynihan and chief executive Andy Hunt were excluded from a Board meeting of LOCOG, the Organising Committee.

It was retaliation from London 2012 because the BOA is taking legal action against them in a row over whether their share of profit from the Games should include the cost of the Paralympics.

"Colin Moynihan and Andy Hunt remain directors of LOCOG," said London 2012.

"The LOCOG board has decided to exclude them from Board meetings whilst they are individually and actively involved in pursuing a dispute against LOCOG.

"Both have been invited to send alternate representatives to board meetings.

"The BOA is ably represented on the LOCOG board by HRH the Princess Royal, Sir Craig Reedie, Sir Phil Craven and Adam Pengilly, all of whom are on the BOA Board."

The decision gives lie to the claim by Moynihan and the BOA that the dispute is a "narrow technical dispute" between them and London 2012 and relations have not been affected by the row.

The BOA are claiming their cut of any surplus after the 2012 Games should not include the costs of running the Paralympics, and have ignored an IOC ruling against them to take their claim to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The BOA hit back at the London 2012 decision and said that they would not ban any LOCOG Board members from sitting in their meetings, even though they may be conflicted by having a foot in both camps.

These include the Princess Royal, the President of the BOA, and Sir Craig, who was chairman before he was succeeded by Moynihan in 2005.

Sir_Craig_Reedie_and_Princess_Royal_Singapore_2005
"With respect to the British Olympic Association (BOA) Board of Directors, we do not feel a similar action is necessary and we are not taking the same steps as LOCOG," they said in a statement.

"We see no reason to do so.

"We continue to welcome British International Olympic Committee members, all of whom are LOCOG Directors, and their contributions in the interests of the athletes and the success of the Games.

"This decision by LOCOG will have no bearing on our primary responsibility, which is to prepare Team GB for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

"Everyone at the BOA is 100 per cent supportive of the success of London 2012.

"The original vision for London 2012 shines as brightly today as ever."

But, as pressure continued to mount on Moynihan, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has, meanwhile, accused the BOA of "undermining the vision" of London 2012 as one festival of sport.

IPC chief executive Xavier Gonzalez said in a letter: "The London 2012 Paralympic Games will not make a loss and will more than cover its costs.

"The Games will be a tremendous sporting occasion, featuring 4,200 world-class athletes competing at the top of their game.

"In 2005, the vision for London 2012 - as clearly set out in the bid book - was for one festival of sport, with an integrated Olympic and Paralympic Games, underpinned by a single budget.

"The International Olympic Committee fully supports this position, as it said so clearly last week when it was asked by the BOA to define the surplus of the Games.

"It is very disappointing that this vision is being undermined by the BOA.

"The sooner we can all get back to focusing on the Games, the athletes and the sports, the better."