London 2012 "On Track, On Budget"

London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe states “We are absolutely where we would want to be”. (ATR/Panasonic:Lumix) (ATR) London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe is sounding confident as the 1000 day mark to the Olympics approaches. “On track, on budget” is how he describes progress to the Games in a teleconference with international journalists.

Coe says with 1000 days to go, “there is nothing that we should have done that we haven’t done”.

“We are absolutely where we would want to be, but we also recognize that the last three years of this project are tough years of delivery,” Coe said.

“I think that the framework, the foundation we have in place because of our forensic, detailed planning, have allowed us with optimism and certainty to move forward,” he added.

The teleconference is the first in a series of events planned through the weekend to mark the milestone.

On Saturday evening, BT Tower, London’s tallest structure, will be lit with a fireworks display as the countdown clock hits 1000 days to go.

With the IOC Coordination Commission led by Denis Oswald visiting London for a two-day inspection next month, Coe said 2012 organizers would be showing off the “extraordinary progress” on the Olympic Park venues and the great strides in fundraising towards their initial $1 billion sponsorship target.

Last week London signed up travel company Thomas Cook as its 23rd sponsor. But Coe declined to put a figure on what London might be able to rake in from sponsorship. “I don’t think we really think about it as a sort of optimum figure,” he said, adding that the stated revenue goal was “ambitious but realizable”.

His comments on the 2012 fundraising effort come in the wake of statements last week by Sochi 2014 organizers that they expect to comfortably exceed the $1 billion mark from domestic sponsors of the Winter Olympics in the Black Sea resort. Bosco Sports was confirmed as Sochi’s eighth top-tier partner on Wednesday.

During the IOC’s Nov 25-26 visit, Coe said 2012 organizers would also underline how they had developed a raft of partnerships and initiatives in communities around Britain to underscore “that it’s not just a London Games but a U.K-wide project”.

Plans to relocate badminton and rhythmic gymnastics to the Wembley Arena instead of building a temporary venue on the North Greenwich peninsula will also be discussed with Oswald and his IOC colleagues. The venue change is expected to save more than $30 million.

Coe said LOCOG was in discussions with the internationalBritish Prime Minister Gordon Brown views the construction site of the London 2012 Olympics Aquatic Centre with Olympics Secretary Tessa Jowell, Sebastian Coe (R) and Chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority John Armitt (L). (Getty Images)gymnastics federation and the Badminton World Federation.

“We will have further discussions at the time of the coordination commission in London, then the [IOC] Executive Board in December. I am very satisfied that we will reach a resolution on this very quickly,” he said.

Key objectives in 2010

Setting out the milestones ahead over the next year, Coe noted that LOCOG was focusing more on operational planning and then delivery.

He said Olympic officials would “start introducing the face of the Games” through the launch of its volunteer program in 2010.

Construction on the Olympic Park in east London and the adjacent Olympic Village would remain in high gear, he said. The ‘big build’, whichOct. 31 marks 1000 days left for London to prepare for the 2012 Olympic Games. (Getty Images)involves a workforce of 7,270 on the two sites, will next year also include the internal fit-out of venues such as the 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium.

Coe said the competition schedule for the Olympics and Paralympics would be finalized and work would continue on the ticketing strategy.

Also in 2010, the 2012 mascot will be publicly unveiled, a key moment in the organization of any Olympics.

Despite the worldwide recession that has impacted preparations for the next three Games in Vancouver, London and Sochi, Coe said he was “entirely confident” that 2012 chiefs would not waver in delivering on the legacy plans set out in the city’s bid book to the IOC.

“We haven’t changed our vision because of changed circumstances in the global economy,” Coe emphasized. “The Games have to be delivered in a responsible and sustainable way.”

“I am very, very satisfied that the central commitments we made and the vision that underpinned them are being delivered across the project.”

IOC president Jacques Rogge today praised the progress of London’s Olympic preparations.

"With around 1,000 days to go we are absolutely happy with the developments and the preparations – London are progressing according to their masterplan, they stay within budget and it is a very strong team," said Rogge.

Rogge said the challenge for the organizers was to transition from the construction into the detailed operational planning phase.

Written by Mark Bisson and Ed Hula

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