IOC Inspection Team Praises London 2012

The London 2012 organising committee won a strong endorsement from the IOC
Co-ordination Commission after an inspection team completed a three-day review
of the preparations for the Games.

Having reviewed a thorough cross section of areas of Games preparation with
LOCOG and its partners, the IOC stated that sound planning and consistency of
vision were combining to ensure that robust foundations were being laid for the
five years ahead.

‘The IOC has been very impressed with what we have seen this week,’ commented
committee chairman Dennis Oswald.

‘Across the board – from venue construction, sport, the Olympic village,
through to technology, media operations and the progress being made in
sponsorship negotiations, we see that the work is thoroughly thought through.

‘Operationally and financially they are on-track; interest from the business
community is high, with key new commercial partners signing up in the coming
months. All this has progressed without any deviation from the vision that was
laid out in Singapore.’

Over the course of the three day visit, the Commission viewed the progress
made at the Olympic Park, took a tour around The O2 prior to its opening and
experienced some of the transport links to and from the Olympic venue.

Oswald also had words of encouragement for the new logo for the 2012 Games
which has come under immense criticism in the last few weeks.

He said: ‘I love it. It’s very simple. We have a fantastic logo, it’s very
creative, very young and very dynamic. I’m very enthusiastic about it.’