Olympics Leaders Confident Halfway to London 2012

Gordon Brown (right) was joined on a tour of the Olympic Park today by ODA chairman John Armitt (left), LOCOG chair Sebastian Coe and Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell. (Getty Images) (ATR) London Olympics organizers say they have no time to waste in preparations over the next three and a half years as they mark the halfway point to the 2012 Games.

It's 1,287 days since IOC President Jacques Rogge announced London as host of the next Summer Games and today Olympic officials paused to note the achievements and set out the milestones en route to the opening ceremony on July 27, 2012.

“At this halfway point, we are exactly where we want to be – and in some cases, ahead of schedule,” said LOCOG chair Sebastian Coe.

“This is a large and complex project, and we don’t have a day to waste, but I’m delighted with the progress the teams have made to date. In 1,287 days, the eyes of the world will be on London as we light the Olympic flame and deliver a truly memorable Games which the whole country can feel part of and be proud of.

“We have lots of hard work ahead, but we will be ready, and we won’t disappoint,” he added.

Construction of the Olympic Park – including the 80,000-seat main stadium costing $745 million, the aquatics center and the Olympic village – are the most obvious challenges confronting Games organizers.

As the ‘big build’ accelerates, the workforce on the Olympic Park and the Olympic Village is expected to more than triple - from 3,315 to a peak of 11,000 next year. About 30,000 workers are expected to have worked on the projects by 2012.

Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell said the jobs boost showed that London 2012 was “a key part of the Government’s economic recovery plan, providing jobs, training, and billions of pounds worth of contracts for U.K. firms.”

John Armitt, chair of the Olympic Delivery Authority, the body overseeing development of Games venues and infrastructure, said Friday the ODA was “right on track.” “The Olympic stadium is taking shape, the aquatics center and Olympic Village are coming out of the ground and the first venue – the sailing facilities in Weymouth and Portland - are complete,” he said.

“We are making good progress but we are not complacent, there is still a big challenge ahead.”

Among the challenges are keeping within the $14 billion revised budget announced by Jowell in March 2007.

The ODA has already used $146 million in contingency funds to maintain construction work on the $1.4 billion Olympic Village and isLOCOG chair Sebastian Coe says preparations for 2012 are right on schedule. (Getty Images)expected to seek more in the coming weeks. Lend Lease, the private developer of the largest Olympic construction project for 2012, has struggled to raise finances for the scheme.

With the IOC setting a March 31 deadline for the finalization of venue plans, LOCOG must also work quickly to decide the site for shooting events and several temporary venues.

The revised security budget for the Games is also due in March. There are growing concerns that the $900 million allocated will not be enough to deliver a safe and secure Games.

On the sponsorship side, LOCOG remains in a relatively healthy position, despite top tier partner Nortel filing for bankruptcy this week.

LOCOG boasts that its fundraising drive is way ahead of previous Olympic cities at the same stage of preparations – it has so far raised more than $673 million. But London 2012 will face a significant challenge in reaching its $952 million domestic sponsorship target if Nortel, the telecommunications equipment company, cannot resolve its financial problems and pulls its $58 million contribution.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson also has a big part to play this year in shaping London's post-Olympic future. The Legacy Masterplan is due out in the coming months.

Johnson today confirmed the appointment of Justin King, chief executive of British supermarket giant Sainsbury's, and private equity investor David Gregson to assist him in helping to stage the Games and in securing a sustainable legacy for the Olympic Park.

King takes up the role of the mayor’s representative on the LOCOG Board, replacing Carphone Warehouse founder David Ross who was forced to resign all his Olympic positions last year after controversy over share dealings. Gregson was named to replace Ross as chairman on the mayor’s Legacy Board of Advisors.

Their appointments come as new legacy proposals for the Olympic stadium emerged this week.

Reports claim that plans to convert the stadium into a multi-use venue for football, rugby and athletics may not now be financially viable. The athletics track would be retained when the stadium is downsized to become a 25,000-seat venue post-2012. But the latest option, reported by the BBC, is to base a sports academy at the stadium site and use the venue for track-and-field competitions and a mix of one-off events.

With reporting from Mark Bisson.

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