Olympic Park Debt Fears Erased; Three Locations for Live Sites

Concerns Eased Over Olympic Land Debt

Residents of London will not be asked to shell out more tax to help repay an Olympic land debt of $365 million, Mayor Boris Johnson's chief of staff told the London Assembly Wednesday.

Edward Lister said making additional demands on taxpayers had "never been in any way in any discussion - it has never arisen".

One option to repay the debt that is currently under discussion is to sell the assets.

"We are looking at an approximate value of £650 million [$1 billion]. We are saying that our risk against that is £650 million," he was quoted by the Press Association.

"Of the £650 million we will have to repay £230 million so there is quite a lot of headroom in those numbers. [It is] £650 million against £230 million - I do not think that is a risk for us provided, and I do have to make the proviso, that we get agreement from government that the first call has to be repayment."

Assurances previously came from the mayor that the government would cover the whole debt as part of the agreement made when the London Development Agency (LDA) transferred ownership of the Olympic land to the Olympic Park Legacy Company.

The LDA took on the debt to pay for the acquisition and remediation of the Olympic Park. But it will be passed on to the Greater London Authority on April 1. The GLA is expecting to inherit $551 million of Olympic land debt – but government funding reduces that to $365 million by the end of March 2014.

However, the GLA had expected the government to provide sufficient funding to pay the debt off in full. The draft GLA budget shows no funding for the Olympic land debt beyond 2013/14.

Live Sites Announced

Three iconic locations in London are set to be transformed to offer hundreds of thousands of people the chance to watch Olympic sporting action for free on giant screens.

International event promoters Live Nation is creating the 'London Live' sites in Hyde Park, Victoria Park and Trafalgar Square. Spectators will have the opportunity to try out different sports at the venues, which will also host entertainment activities including concerts.

Live Nation has also announced it will stage two London 2012 celebration concerts in Hyde Park to coincide with the opening ceremony on July 27 and the closing ceremony on Aug. 12. Ticket prices and headline acts for these two concerts, along with other details of the 'London Live' program, will be announced early next year.

London Live is part of a series of free public events and cultural activities planned for the British capital during the 2012 Games.

"With the eyes of the world on London for the 2012 Games, we are creating a jam-packed program of exciting events that will show the city at its very best and ensure as many people as possible across the capital feel a part of the celebrations," said London mayor Boris Johnson.

British Women Upset Angola in Handball Test

Great Britain's women confounded expectations to beat Angola, the 2011 African Games champions, to christen the 2012 handball arena at the Olympic Park.

The London Handball Cup, featuring six countries, is acting as a test event for the London Games. It runs until Nov. 27

China and Slovakia played the first competitive match at the handball arena today, withthe former edging their opponents 28-26.

Around the Rings is on the scene at the handball arena on Thursday.

The handball arena was the third Olympic Park venue to be completed in May. It will have a 6,500 capacity at Games time. Post-Olympics, the venue will be expanded to accommodate up to 7,500 spectators as it becomes a multi-use facility for community use, athletic training and events.

Pistorius Joins 2012 Legacy Program

Paralympic gold medalist Oscar Pistorius is the latest ambassador to join London 2012’s international sports legacy program, International Inspiration.

The South African, nicknamed the 'Blade Runner', has just returned from visiting International Inspiration projects in Tanzania.

The legacy program is bringing to life London 2012 bid pledges to reach young people around the world and connect them to the Games so they are inspired to choose sport.

In Tanzania, International Inspiration aims to reach more than two million young people by 2014 with sports-based activities, mentoring support and life skills education.

LOCOG chairman Sebastian Coe said: "We have always stated that we wanted to use the power of the Games to inspire children and young people around the world to choose sport and Oscar’s involvement with International Inspiration will help us achieve this – he is a real inspiration to people both in Tanzania and around the world.’

Reported by Mark Bisson

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.