London 2012 Olympic bid

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The bidding process is now complete, and this article contains historic information on the bid, rather than ongoing information on the project. For further developments, please see 2012 Summer Olympic development article.
2012 Summer Olympic bids
Overview · London (winner)
Madrid · Moscow · New York City · Paris
London 2012 logo
2012 Summer Olympics
Details
City {{{city}}}
Bid committee British Olympic Association
Official site
Previous games hosted
1908 Summer Olympics
1948 Summer Olympics
Decision
Result Defeated Paris in Round 4, 54-50
2004 IOC score 7.6
Scored poorly in the "Transport concept" and "Government support, legal issues and public opinion" categories, but received a 10 in the "Accommodation" category.

London 2012 was the successful bid for the 2012 Summer Games, to be held in London with most events taking place in Stratford, Newham. The British Olympic Association had been working on the bid since 1997. In December 2000 the report was shown to Government ministers.

Following three failed consecutive UK bids (Birmingham in 1992 and Manchester in 1996 and 2000), the decision was made to bid with London, given the clear indication that it was the only city in the UK that had a chance of being selected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) when put up against other world cities in a competitive bidding process. On 6 July 2005 at its 117th Session in Singapore, the IOC awarded the London Bid with the rights to host the Games of the XXX Olympiad. The city beat out the favourites (Paris 2012) on the fourth and final ballot 54 to 50 and will become the first city to host the Games three times.

The budget projection is around £1.4 billion and involves a major regeneration of the Stratford area of London, as well as improvements to surrounding services and associated venues. Public transport, an aspect of the proposal which scored poorly for the bid, will see numerous improvements, including the London Underground and the new "Olympic Javelin" service.

The celebrations were somewhat silenced the following day (7 July 2005) when the city suffered from a terrorist attack. The 7 July 2005 London bombings shut down the public transport system and killed 52 people, injuring hundreds more. There was no confirmed link between the IOC decision and the attack.

Following the success of the bid, the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) was established to oversee the ongoing development of the Games. There have been some alterations since the bid was accepted, including the decision by the IOC to eliminate some sporting events and a new layout for the Olympic Zone, both resulting in some relatively minor changes to the 2012 Summer Olympic venues.

Contents

[edit] London 2012 bid file

London 2012 banner at The Monument.
Enlarge
London 2012 banner at The Monument.

[edit] Dates and timing

The London 2012 bid proposed that the Games take place between Friday 27 July 2012 and 12 August 2012. This was chosen to coincide with the best weather and with school holidays, with the theory being that the demands on the facilities in London would be lower when schools and universities were closed. It would also allow younger people the opportunity to attend the events.

[edit] Sporting venues

The 2012 Olympics were planned to use a mixture of newly built venues, existing facilities, and temporary facilities, some of them in well known locations such as Hyde Park and Horse Guards Parade. In the wake of the problems that plagued the Millennium Dome, the intention was that there would be no white elephants after the games. Some of the new facilities would be reused in their Olympic form, while others would be reduced in size and several would be relocated elsewhere in the UK. The plans would contribute to the regeneration of Stratford in east London which would be the site of the Olympic Park, and of the neighbouring Lower Lea Valley.

However this would require the compulsory purchase of some businesses and this caused controversy, with some of the business owners claiming that the compensation offered is inadequate. The purchased buildings would be demolished to make way for Olympic venues and infrastructure improvements.

The majority of venues have been divided into three zones within Greater London: the Olympic Zone, the River Zone and the Central Zone. In addition to these are those venues that, by necessity, are outside the boundaries of Greater London.

The IOC noted that future negotiations were necessary to ensure the use of the Old Trafford and Villa Park football stadiums. The need for compulsory purchase orders was also highlighted as a possible problem for the Olympic Park, but did not expect this to cause any "undue delay to construction schedules".

[edit] Olympic Zone

The Olympic Zone was to encompass all of the facilities within the 500 acre (2 km²) Olympic Park in Stratford. This park was to be developed on existing waste and industrial land, at grid reference TQ379849, and would be just seven minutes by Olympic Javelin train from central London. The park would contain:

[edit] River Zone

ExCel Exhibition Centre
Enlarge
ExCel Exhibition Centre

The River Zone featured five main venues in the Thames Gateway area straddling the River Thames:

[edit] Central Zone

Bird's eye view of New Wembley Stadium(2006)
Enlarge
Bird's eye view of New Wembley Stadium
(2006)

The Central Zone was formed out of all the remaining venues within Greater London. They are quite widely spread across central and West London:

[edit] Outside Greater London

Three of the venues would be just outside Greater London:

The Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, in Portland Harbour, Dorset on the south coast of England, would be used for the sailing events. It is around 120 miles (192km) from central London.

The earlier stages of the football competition would be played at football stadia around the country including:

[edit] The Olympic village

  • The village will have 17,320 beds and provide each athlete with 16m² floor space.
  • Each apartment will have a TV, internet access, a private courtyard.
  • The dining hall will cater for 5,500 athletes at a time.

[edit] Transport and infrastructure

A London Underground train decorated to promote London's olympic bid – this coincides with plans for investment the city's public transport network
Enlarge
A London Underground train decorated to promote London's olympic bid – this coincides with plans for investment the city's public transport network

Public transport, an aspect of the bid which scored poorly in the IOC's initial evaluation, was planned to see numerous improvements, including the expansion of the London Underground's East London Line, upgrades to the Docklands Light Railway and the North London Line, and the new "Olympic Javelin" service. It is almost impossible to assess how many of the proposed improvements would have happened in any case. The games were won without a commitment to deliver Crossrail by 2012. This is the largest transport project proposed for London, and it was widely assumed in the early stages of the bidding process that the games could not be won without a guarantee that it would be completed before the games.

The bid envisaged that 80% of athletes would be within 20 minutes of their events and 97% would be within 30 minutes of their events. It was estimated that 80% of spectators would arrive by rail. Together, all the planned heavy rail, light rail, and underground services (excluding Crossrail) were expected to deliver around 240 trains every hour. [1]

Further details:

  • 93 % of training venues were planned to be within 30 minutes of the athletes' village.
  • The aim was for 90 % of venues to be served by three or more forms of public transport.
  • There were to be two major park and ride sites off the M25 with a combined capacity of 12,000 cars, within 25 minutes of the Olympic Park.
  • There were 9,000 planned park and ride spaces to be made available at Ebbsfleet where spectators can board a 10-minute javelin service to the Olympic Park. This is the same station where continental spectators travelling by Eurostar will join the Olympic Javelin to the Olympic Park.
  • It was predicted that on event days 78 % of spectators are likely to travel from within London and 22 % from the rest of the UK and Europe.
  • Organisers estimated 80 % of visitors and staff of the Games would use rail services to reach the Olympic Park.
  • Low or no-emission vehicles would be used to transport Olympic athletes and officials.

[edit] Budget

The principal items in the bid's budget are listed below. The lists are incomplete:

[edit] Costs

  • £560 million for new venues, including £250 million for the Olympic Stadium.
  • £65 million for the Olympic village.
  • £1.5 billion to run the Games.
  • £200 million on security.

[edit] Revenue

  • £1.5 billion from a special Olympic National Lottery game.
  • £625 million from a council tax surcharge of £20 per year for London households.
  • £560 million from IOC television and marketing deals.
  • £450 million from sponsorship and official suppliers.
  • £300 million from ticket sales.
  • £250 million from the London Development Agency.
  • £60 million from licensing.

The bid team believed that London could end the Games with a surplus of more than £100 million.

The British Government has plans to spend £800 million on infrastructure improvements on the Lower Lea Valley. This was not included in the budget for the Olympic bid. The total cost of public transport costs relevant to the Games was estimated at £7 billion, but most of these projects would probably have happened in any case, though perhaps slightly later.

[edit] Ticketing

  • There were to be 9.6 million tickets for sale – 8 million for the Olympics and 1.6 million for the Paralympics.
  • Organisers said 75 % of all tickets will cost less than £50 and offer free travel on London transport.
  • A sell-out rate of 82 % for the Olympic Games and 63 % for the Paralympics was predicted.
  • Tickets for the athletics were planned to start at £15 and there would be 20,000 £10 tickets for the Olympic Park to watch events on big screens.

[edit] Political commitment

  • A Cabinet-level minister would be responsible for delivering the Games (see Minister for the Olympics).
  • Government would create an Olympic Delivery Authority to ensure delivery of Olympic infrastructure and new venues.
  • There would also be a Cabinet-level Olympic Security Committee to co-ordinate all security planning.

[edit] Other details

  • A tri-generation plant would supply electricity, heat and chilled water to the Olympic Park using technology which produces 33 % lower CO2 emissions than from the electricity grid.
  • By 2012 it was estimated that over 135,000 hotel rooms will be available within 50km of the Olympic Park, up from 103,000 presently. 40,330 rooms had been guaranteed at the time of the bid.
  • For the first-time in any Games live Olympic backdrop presentation facilities would be available to broadcast rights holders via rooftop studios on the main press centre with a direct view of the Olympic Stadium and Park.
  • The financial plan included £750 million that was to be gained through the National Lottery.
  • Goods required for the Olympic Games would be authorised free of duties and taxes.
  • Based on the averages of prior data, it was predicted that there would be five days of precipitation during the Games.
  • The torch relay would highlight the "Olympic Truce" by passing through the countries of Nobel Peace Prize winners.

[edit] Planned legacy of the Games

[edit] Sports venues

One of the priorities governing the contents of London's bid was to avoid leaving "white elephants" after the games. The legacy sports venues in London would be:

  • A 25,000 seat athletics stadium.
  • The Aquatics Centre.
  • The Velopark.
  • A 5,000 seat hockey venue.
  • The Broxbourne Slalom Course.

In addition, several of the indoor arenas would be assembled elsewhere in the UK. The construction of the Aquatics Centre and the Velopark was confirmed before London won the Games, so it might be more accurate to call them legacies of the bid rather than of the Games. While the legacy venues would be tailored to London's ongoing needs, some of them would be expensive for that purpose. For example, London will have paid for an 80,000 seat athletics stadium, but will only possess a 25,000 seat stadium.

[edit] Involvement in UK Sport

At the time of the bid, those involved in British sport were hopeful that there would also be a legacy of increased commitment to sport in the UK, with the social and health benefits they believe that could bring, but it will be difficult to assess whether or not this really happens. Some commentators have argued that it would be better to invest directly in grass roots sport.

Disability organisations including the Autism Awareness Campaign UK were confident that the Olympic and Paralympic Games would encourage people across the disability spectrum to take up sport.

[edit] Social and economic benefits

Other legacy items would include the conversion of the Olympic Village Polyclinic into a lifelong learning centre for the east London community with a nursery and primary and secondary schools, and the conversion of the media and press centre into a creative industries centre for East London. The organisers claimed that 3,000 new permanent jobs would be created, but opponents of the games were concerned that some of the 11,000 existing jobs in the Olympic Zone may be lost [2]. It was also hoped that there will be a wider economic effect from the improvements which the games might make to London's image.

[edit] Transport

The planned transport legacy for the capital included new bus transit schemes, extensions to existing Underground lines, redevelopments of London Underground stations and upgrades to the trains used. There were also to be many upgrades to National Rail services with the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, a new high speed rail link, several new stations and upgrades to stations such as Kings Cross St.Pancras. Please view the Legacy Map in order to see the upgrades to the London Transport network in context.

[edit] Other details

  • The village was to be converted into 3,600 apartments, most of them will be affordable housing.
  • The media and press centre would become a creative industries centre for east London.
  • The sports equipment used in the Games would be donated to charities.

[edit] Timeline

[edit] Bidding process

  • 15 July 2003 – Deadline for the initial bid
  • 15 January 2004 – Deadline for the full bid proposal details
  • 18 May 2004 – Announcement of the five shortlisted candidates
  • 3 July 2005 – Tony Blair PM flies to Singapore to "lobby for London".
  • 4 July 2005 – David Beckham, and other sport stars fly to Singapore to show support for London's Bid.
  • 6 July 2005 – Nomination of Candidature of the Olympic Games received by the 120 members of the IOC at a ceremony in Singapore. London wins the vote 54-50. (Watch the BBC's coverage of the announcement [3].)

[edit] Development and construction

At the time of the bid 60% of the venues and facilities were in place. The following is the schedule for the completion of the remaining venues for the games:

[edit] Miscellaneous

[edit] Support and evaluation

[edit] Support

The Head of the IOC evaluation commission praised the passion behind the London 2012 bid when they visited Stratford and other places in the city. The IOC evaluation commission chair Nawal El Moutawakel speaking at a press conference in London observed: "We could feel it, hear it and see it." She added, "It was in every speech and every word."

2012 was seen as a window of opportunity as observers saw Europe as the destination for the Games. 4 out of 5 of the cities applying were from Europe.

Support for the bid topped 70% of the people of the United Kingdom and 68% of the people in London, as shown by an opinion poll commissioned by the IOC. Some of the support can be attributed to the city's "Back the Bid" campaign, which included the slogan on posters that were hung around London in the months leading up to the decision to award the 2012 Games to London. Many disability organisations including the Autism Awareness Campaign UK urged all people with disabilities to back the London 2012 bid.

On 17 June 2005, British Prime Minister Tony Blair reiterated the Government's total commitment to London's bid for the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. Mr Blair told BBC Five Live that he would be travelling to Singapore with the London delegation to stress the 'complete 100 % support' of politicians from all the major political parties in the country. "The most important thing is to show people that the Government is absolutely behind the bid", said Mr Blair, who travelled to the Far East before returning to chair the 31st G8 summit at Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire, Scotland. The leaders of the opposition parties also attended the meeting and expressed their support of the venture.

[edit] Criticism

Many Londoners have challenged the high cost of the Olympics and the £20 per year council tax rise to fund it as well as the possibility of white elephant sites like the Millennium Dome being left. Additionally there are concerns that unions, including the RMT, will strike near or during the proceedings for bonuses and that construction deadlines will not be met.

Outside of London the success has not been universally welcomed, fearing that the event will divert funding from the rest of the country and that the rest of the United Kingdom will be forced to help fund it, for no benefit. Local business - some extant in this area for over 100 years - have been questioning the package of measures in place to allow them to find new sites when the new Olympic village displaces them.

Comparison has been drawn between the Manchester bid and this one, in terms of the amount of government support, and the overwhelmingly hostile attitude of the London based press to Manchester's bid. Furthermore the cost of travelling and accommodation is set to rise across London which may outprice tourists and leave many events under-attended.

[edit] International Olympic Committee evaluation report

The International Olympic Committee's evaluation report was generally very positive:

London has proposed Games based on providing world-class facilities and services for the athletes, and a legacy for sport and the community. Whilst the Olympic Park would undoubtedly leave a strong sporting and environmental legacy for London, the magnitude of the project, including the planned upgrade and expansion of transport infrastructure, would require careful planning to ensure all facilities and rehabilitation projects were completed on time. Air quality in London at proposed Games-time is generally satisfactory. Increasing levels of ozone pollution are however a concern, but legislation and actions now in place are aimed at correcting that trend. With its rich history, the capacities of UK Paralympic Sport are among the best in the world. Athletes have been closely involved in the planning of the Olympic Village. The east side of the village would appear to be somewhat crowded.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

[edit] Publications and information

[edit] News

[edit] Other sites

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