Gymnastics Backs Wembley 2012 Move

British Gymnastics have bucked the trend and given their backing to Wembley Arena as a potential venue for the sport during the London 2012 Olympics.

Seeking to cut costs, 2012 organisers have been considering axing plans to build a £40m temporary venue near the Olympic Park and moving the three sports to be housed there to Wembley.

However both badminton and boxing officials have opposed the switch to arguing that the move will result in long travel times for competitors.

But Brian Stocks, the chief executive of British Gymnastics, said Wembley Arena would be a ‘great venue’ for the rhythmic gymnastic competition.

The artistic gymnastics event in 2012 will continue to be based at the 02 Arena, where next month’s World Championships take place.

Said Stocks: ‘We would be delighted to be in a historical site like Wembley, host of the 1948 Olympics. We staged a World Championships there several years ago.

‘Yes, we’d like to be closer to the centre of the Village, we’d like to reduce some of the travel time. But Wembley would be an ideal venue as opposed to a drafty tent that could have some air-handling issues.’
 
Wembley Arena is around an hour’s drive from the main Olympic venues, but London Mayor Boris Johnson is keen to make use of the venue in a bid to reduce the cost of staging the Games.

Reports suggest he was involved in a row with the British Olympic Association over the issue at an Olympic board meeting last week.