London Update -- ODA Denies 'Draconian' Contracts; Airwave Radios In

ODA chair John Armitt (left, pictured with Prime Minister Gordon Brown) insists his organization is not trying to hide anything. (Getty Images)The Olympic Delivery Authority in London is accused of “taking Draconian steps” in its contracts with suppliers, applying gagging orders on its partners that last for six years.

According to a BBC report broadcast Monday, the contracts even give London 2012 power to access their partners’ offices, rifle through their files and read their e-mails.

The report claimed that companies that agree to work for the ODA have signed confidentiality agreements with unusually restrictive terms that forbid the supplier from discussing publicly Olympic costs, the environment and health and safety.

The BBC said it had seen copies of such documents, although ODA chair John Armitt said he had not seen any contracts with such clauses.

Armitt disagreed with the report, saying that the ODA had been very open with its affairs. “We’re not trying to hide anything at all,” he said.

“It is quite normal in business to have a confidentiality agreement which works both ways between you and your suppliers. Our standard agreements do not have some of the clauses to which [the broadcast report] has referred to.”

It Pays to Advertize?

Such demanding clauses may explain the efforts taken by Saatchi & Saatchi to deny a report in last week’s Campaign magazine that the advertizing giant has been appointed by London 2012. “Leaks to the press” were blamed, without an outright denial that a deal was about to be inked.

According to Campaign, “Saatchi & Saatchi will now devise a strategy that will communicate the positive long-term effects of the Games in a bid to ensure that the British public does not perceive the event to be an expensive one-off spectacle.” The magazine, the leading European industry title, said that S&S would handle London's branding, image and advertising.

Sources at Canary Wharf denied that any appointment had yet been made, while indicating that S&S – which ran advertising for former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s election campaigns in the 1970s and ‘80s – was among the favorites to land the key role.

Airwave Signs Sponsor Deal

Airwave is the latest tier three supplier to London 2012. Announced Monday, Airwave is to be the official private mobile radio services supplier. It is the first time in Olympic history that this has become a sponsorship category.

Airwave owns and operates the biggest public safety network in the world. Established in 2000, the company provides communications to the emergency services and U.K. public safety organizations.

LOCOG has announced three tier three and one tier two sponsorships this month, a response in part to other negative coverage of the 2012 finances amid the credit crunch. The announcements also coincide with visits from IOC and IPC officials in the coming week.

London Looks for Social Networking Buzz

LOCOG is preparing to launch a social networking program based around sponsored mass-participation activities to engage younger audiences with the Games.

Adidas, which has a $140 million sponsorship deal with London 2012, will be the first sponsor to launch a project through the social program, with a soft launch planned for spring. It will be an online sports activation project to encourage 12- to 18-year-olds to participate in sport.

Alex Balfour, head of new media at LOCOG, said that the scheme would tie-in with government aims to improve the British public’s health and fitness. Balfour said LOCOG aims to have a presence on all major social networks – such as YouTube and Facebook - by the end of this year.

Balfour also revealed that LOCOG has put out to tender a complete redesign of London 2012’s Web site following a usability review.

Olympics Spark Wave of Cybercrime

The London Olympics are inspiring an “explosion” in cybercrime, with police shutting down several bogus Web sites offering work, tickets or souvenirs.

The frauds include Internet lotteries claiming to offer tickets or cash prizes, Web sites soliciting for CVs and net pages claiming to sell a “virtual Olympic torch.”

“The 2012 Games is going to attract a lot of criminal attention. There is going to be an explosion in junk mail and scams. I'm not surprised it has started,” said Graham Cluley of online security firm Sophos. He warned Internet users to be particularly vigilant of sites offering tickets.

A London 2012 spokesman said: “Tickets for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games do not go on sale until 2011 and will only be available via official channels. Any company or individual claiming to be selling or reserving tickets now is not a legitimate source, and should be reported to London 2012.”

The extent of cybercrime has also attracted criticism for London 2012’s apparent tolerance of the vast number of Web sites that abuse its title, logo and the iconic Olympic rings, despite the stringent protection of the 2005 Olympic Act.

“You have to ask why they are tolerating this,” said Christopher Stokes, chief executive of NetResult, a company that specializes in protecting intellectual property on the Internet and whose clients include soccer’s English Premier League. “It's just ridiculous and disappointing that they haven't done anything about it.”

Football Competition Manager Named

Rachel Ely has been appointed as LOCOG’s football competition manager. Old Trafford will be one of the football venues for 2012. (Getty Images)She will oversee the running of the London 2012 football tournament at venues across the U.K.

The Olympic and Paralympic football competition will involve over 500 athletes, making up 16 men’s teams and 12 women’s teams. Football stadia including Old Trafford, St James’ Park, Villa Park and Hampden Park will be used. For both competitions, the finals will be at Wembley Stadium.

Ely joins LOCOG after spending the past seven years working in two of the major football organizations in England – The Football Association and the Premier League.

Bridge Links Rail Station to Olympic Park

A bridge entrance to Stratford International Station – a key gateway between the main rail link and London’s Olympic Park – has been lifted into place ready for its official opening in December.

The 110-foot bridge was lifted, fully glazed, more than 40 feet above the domestic service railway lines at the station by a giant crane. It will form an important part of the interchange between Stratford International, Stratford City and Stratford Regional Station by enabling direct pedestrian access between the three sites.

Written by Steven Downes

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