London Update: Jowell Returns from Brazil, Handball Venue

Tessa Jowell briefs the Rio de Janeiro bid. To her right is bid president and IOC member Carlos Nuzman. (Rio 2016) London Olympics Minister Heads Home from Brazil

London’s Olympics Minister told Around the Rings her trip to Brazil this week was of great value; meeting with leaders of the Rio de Janeiro 2016 bid, cheering a U.K. F1 winner and launching a humanitarian program spawned by the 2012 bid for the Games.

Jowell and two aides spent five days in Brazil, a trip planned for the launch of the International Inspiration program and for consultations with the Rio de Janeiro bid for the 2016 Olympics.

International Inspiration is a $40 million development program funded by the U.K. government, Unicef, the British Council and the English Premier League. An outgrowth of one of the promises made during the London bid for the Games, the program uses sport to help young people overcome poverty or violence.

“It is an expression of our commitment made in Singapore that a generation of young people would be transformed through sport,” said Jowell.

Jowell added she is also urging Rio 2016 and other bid cities to make a pledge similar to London’s that would keep the program going after 2012.

In Rio de Janeiro, Jowell toured locations planned for the Olympic bid and met with bid leaders to offer advice.

“I’ve had a unique insight how to shape, mobilize and drive an Olympic bid through government,” she commented about her expertise.

The minister said she is playing no favorites with her trip to Brazil.

“I would do the same for any of the other candidate cities,” she said. “Just because I have come to Rio doesn’t mean I’m campaigning for Rio.” Earlier this year she made a similar trip to Chicago where she noted she talked about some of the same issues as in Brazil.

“I stressed the importance of legacy. I stressed the importance of being explicit about the budget from the outset and the budget which is devoted to regeneration as opposed to the budget which is core to the Olympic development itself,” said Jowell, who finds Olympics plans in London caught by the squeeze on the financial markets.

“At the moment, we are down by about 500 million pounds ($789 million) that we might have expected in private sector equity and borrowing. Just because it’s not there now doesn’t mean that when the markets stabilize and confidence returns to the banking system that it won’t come back.” Jowell was on hand at the Brazilian Grand Prix where Lewis Hamilton clinched his world championship. (Getty Images)

A late addition to Jowell’s itinerary included the Formula 1 race in Sao Paolo, Brazil where 24-year-old Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain was crowned as the youngest champion of the circuit.

The side trip drew criticism from the parliamentary opposition who attacked the whole Brazil trip as unnecessary and a waste of taxpayer funds. Jowell said she has no apologies to make.

“Had I declined to go and support the British team, you would read the same type of articles attacking me for snubbing the opportunity to support the British world champion.”

On Barack Obama as U.S. president and the impact he might have on Chicago’s Olympic bid, Jowell remarked that while Obama may be a plus, the rest of the 2016 cities will rise to the occasion.

“I’m sure the other cities will factor that in. They have to be proud of what they have to offer from their cities.”

She went on to stress that heads of government are essential to the final lobbying for Olympic bid cities, recalling the impact made by then Prime Minister Tony Blair at the 2005 IOC Session where London was chosen.

“It was definitive, it was absolutely definitive.”

Olympic Park Landscaping Plans Revealed

London 2012 organizers unveil plans to landscape the Olympic Park for the Games at an estimated cost of $317 million.

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is transforming contaminated industrial land into 247 acres of parklands “that will provide a colorful setting and festival atmosphere” around venues, including the 80,000-seat Olympic stadium and aquatics center. A rendering of the Olympic Park with landscaping in place. (London 2012)

Olympics visitors will enjoy sweeping lawns and footpaths leading down to riverbanks, bike paths and public spaces, with live screens showing the sporting action.

A miniature version of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, west London, will stretch for half a mile between the swimming venue and the main stadium. Designed by LDA Design●Hargreaves Associates, the plans include an ecological park to feature new habitats for wildlife including wetlands, meadows and ponds.

ODA chief executive David Higgins told reporters Thursday that funding was set aside for the work. “The money is there and I have no concern about that because we are getting competitive pricing,” he said. “One of the few good things about the credit crunch is that we are getting competitive pricing on costs.”

The southern part of the park will focus on retaining the festival atmosphere from the Games, with riverside gardens, markets, events, cafes and bars. The northern area will use the latest green techniques to manage flood and rain water while providing quieter public space and habitats for hundreds of existing and rare species from kingfishers to otters.

The site will also include 1.86 miles of restored and previously neglected and inaccessible rivers, more than 14 acres of woodland and over 2,000 trees.

London Mayor Boris Johnson welcomed the plans, saying that as a direct result of hosting the 2012 Games, “London gets this fantastic green space in the heart of east London - Europe's first new public park for more than 150 years.”

Handball Arena Designs

Designs for London 2012's handball arena released Wednesday showcase a venue that will become a multi-sports facility in legacy mode.

The 7,000-seat arena will be built in the west of the Olympic Park within four minutes of the Olympic Village. During the Games, it will stage handball preliminaries and quarter finals as well as the modern pentathlon disciplines of fencing and shooting. It's also the goalball venue for the Paralympics.

Post-2012, it will become a multipurpose venue with retractable seating for 6,000 spectators and flexible facilities to hold a range of training and competition events at all levels. Basketball, handball, badminton, netball and volleyball will be accommodated.

The arena, designed by Make Architects with PTW and Arup, will include 3,000 square meters (3,587 square yards) of external copper cladding to give it a distinctive appearance. Over 700 square meters (837 square yards) of glazing will encircle the building at concourse level, opening up the venue to Olympic Park visitors.

“This is a simple, sustainable and flexible design that works well for the Games and legacy,” said ODA chair John Armitt

“The copper cladding sets the venue in the surrounding parklands and will look even more striking as it changes over time.”

Written by

Ed Hula and Mark Bisson

For general comments or questions,

click here