London Update -- Economic Downturn Crunches Olympic Builders

 ODA Leader Promises Thrift

Olympic Delivery Authority chairman John Armitt says there is no room for complacency as the ODA sets about meeting new targets and staying on budget in the coming year. · Work began on the Aquatic center last week. (LOCOG)

“This is a unique project within an immovable deadline and it is essential we maintain the momentum created so far,” Armitt says in the ODA's 92-page annual report published Monday.

“We have set out challenging milestones for the next 12 months and will continue to bear

down on costs as we strive to meet them.”

More than 2,500 workers are on site at the 2.5 square kilometer Olympic Park in east London where construction work is ahead of schedule on the 80,000-seat Olympic stadium and the aquatics center. Work is also underway on the $2 billion Olympic village.

Progress has also been made in other areas of the 2012 project, including transport infrastructure for the Games.

But concerns persist over the cost of the Games.

The ODA report states that “as we enter the big build phase the potential for significant scope change has passed”.

And ODA chief executive David Higgins offers reassurances over the $18 billion budget for venues and infrastructure amid fears that costs may rise to accommodate overspends.

“There will always be financial challenges on a multi-billion pound program of this complexity and we are directly impacted by the credit crunch and the deteriorating property market,” he says.

“We will continue to exert the tightest possible financial control while striving for maximum value from the investment in the project.

“The challenge now is to take our performance to the next level as construction intensifies across the project and the spotlight falls on London after the Beijing Games. We are ready for it.”

The ODA report reveals that to March 31, $1.7 billion of work had been spent on preparing the Olympic Park for construction and designing venues for the site and around the country.

It also shows that in 2007/08 Higgins collected a salary of $1.2 million, including performance-related pay of $409,000.

Last week, the ODA announced the start of work on the aquatics center and its 10 milestones to July 27, 2009 – three years out from the Games.

By this stage of preparations, the foundations of the $1 billion Olympic stadium will be complete and work underway on the upper seating structure and roof. Construction of the aquatics center structure will also have started, with foundation work beginning on the velodrome and IBC/MPC.

LOCOG Sets New Goals

LOCOG will announce new targets for the coming year to mark the four-year-to-go milestone to the 2012 Olympics.

Organizers are expected to unveil the revamped website, more details on the Cultural Olympiad and disclose some plans for the recruitment of volunteers later this week. The Olympics open on July 27, 2012.

LOCOG will also underscore the achievements to date. Among the main accomplishments is the sponsorship drive, which is said to be ahead of any other host city at this stage of preparations. Six of the eight top-tier sponsorship categories are now filled.

Next week, London 2012 will publish a list of about 25 'live' sites around the U.K. which will be used to show the handover ceremony at the Beijing Olympics Aug. 24.

“They will be a great way for the public to watch the handover moment at the closing ceremony,” a LOCOG spokeswoman tells ATR.

The mix of permanent and temporary venues will then be called into service for other London 2012 events in the build-up to the Olympics.

Head of NOC Relations

London 2012 has named James Macleod as head of national Olympic committee and national Paralympic committee services and relations.

He will be part of the sport department and responsible for delivering all the necessary services to support the NOCs and NPCs and their athletes as they prepare for the 2012 Olympics.

Macleod will develop plans such as the selection process of pre-Games training camps, athlete and NOC/NPC needs at the Olympic and Paralympic villages and organize the Chef de Mission program.

“The success of the London Games will be measured on the service it provides its partners before and during Games time, and chief among these partners are national Olympic and Paralympic committees and their athletes,” he said in a statement.

“NOC/NPC Relations will develop a strong knowledge of their needs to LOCOG’s overall planning and will guarantee that each of them feels like they are being welcomed home.”

Macleod has worked at the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne since 1996 in various areas relating to sport and NOC management, most recently as head of the athlete section in Olympic Solidarity, managing the athlete development programs for the 205 NOCs.

He takes up his post in November.

Livingstone for 2012?

Ken Livingstone helped lobby for the London Olympics as mayor, but only for development money for the East End, he says. (Getty Images)

London's former mayor Ken Livingstone says he wants to run for the post in 2012.

“If a mayoral election were held tomorrow, I would put my name forward for it, and if nothing changes I will put my name forward to run in 2012,” he was quoted as saying in British media.

Livingstone was ousted in May by Boris Johnson.

If selected to run in 2012 and successful in the mayoral election, the veteran socialist politician would be back in power to steer London through the Olympics.

Security Tenders

The ODA is inviting expressions of interest for its ‘Command and Perimeter Security System’.

The CPSS contract includes the design, manufacture, supply, installation, integration, works and site testing, commissioning, maintenance and training for a range of systems.

Deadline for expressions of interest is Aug. 18.

Media Center Project Manager

Gleeds is to work as project manager on the media center for the 2012 Olympics, according to reports.

The ODA only last week signed a deal for Carillion and Igloo to build the 1.3 million square feet International Broadcast Center and Main Press Center.

The British consortium will transform the media hub into mixed-use office and business space after the Games.

With reporting from Mark Bisson .

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