IOC Watchdog Voices Support For 2012

The IOC’s watchdog body which is running the rule over the progress of London
2012 has dismissed recent criticism of the organising committee, stating it is
‘very happy’ with the progress so far.

The London 2012 organising committee has been under pressure in recent weeks
after Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell reported to the House of Commons that
construction costs for the Olympics had risen to £3.3bn.

However, IOC co-ordination commission chairman Denis Oswald told Olympics
executives there would be no ‘knee-jerk reactions’ to claims of spiralling
costs.

Oswald said: ‘London has made a lot of progress and the timelines of the
project are going to schedule. I believe we will see an operational budget still
in line with the bid.

‘I believe the increases mentioned have nothing to do with the Games and can
be easily explained, but we will look into this more with our London colleagues
in due course. A clear differentiation should be made between the various costs,
so that it is clear which are truly Games-related costs and which are costs
associated with other investments that are using the catalytic effect of the
Games to make projects happen sooner and faster.’