Johnson Pulls Fifa 2012 Hotel Offer
Mayor of London Boris Johnson has withdrawn the offer of a free stay in the capital’s exclusive Dorchester hotel for FIFA executives during the 2012 Olympics in the aftermath of the controversial decisions over the next World Cup hosts.
The Mayor of London had offered the free accommodation for FIFA president Sepp Blatter and his team.
But after FIFA’s decision on the 2018 World Cup vote – which saw the England bid get just two votes out of a possible 22 – the offer was rescinded.
Free hotel rooms for VIP guests are handed out by LOCOG, the Olympic organising committee.
The Mayor is understood to have discussed the issue with LOCOG chairman Sebastian Coe although he has not commented on the decision to cancel the free stay.
Following England’s defeat in the bidding process, Johnson, who travelled to Zurich to personally lobby FIFA’s executives, said the result was a ‘big blow and tremendously disappointing’.
He added: ‘We put together a cracking bid, our technical specification was top-notch and our stadiums would have been packed to the rafters.’
