Madrid, London, Paris, New York and Moscow are currently battling for the right to host the Olympic Games in 2012. Up until the announcement of the results on 9 July, Al-Ahram Weekly will offer periodic updates on the latest news of the five bidding cities, some provided by the candidates themselves Blair involved TONY Blair will be part of the London 2012 delegation at the International Olympic Committee session that will elect the 2012 host city in July. The prime minister will travel to Singapore, where the announcement will be made, to underline the government's commitment to London's bid for the 2012 Olympic Games. The announcement was confirmed in the same week that Blair met IOC President Jacques Rogge at a Westminster reception to celebrate the centenary of the British Olympic Association. "I intend to go to Singapore in July for the build-up to the IOC decision on the location for the 2012 Games," said the prime minister. "London's bid is important to me, the government and to our country, and I would be immensely proud to help bring the Games back to London for the first time in 64 years. "We have an excellent technical bid, we have a city and country that is passionate about sport and I know London would put on a spectacular Games if the IOC grants us the honour. "If they do, I know we will not let them down," pledged Blair. The announcement was welcomed by London 2012 chairman Lord Sebastian Coe. "This is a great news and shows the fantastic commitment of the prime minister to London's bid," said the double Olympic champion. "With just six weeks to go until the IOC decision, we are now in a crucial phase of the bid and the government's continuing support could not be clearer." Blair had earlier re-iterated his commitment to the bid to the House of Commons. "We will give the bid every support," he told the House. "I can assure you we will continue to push this as much as we possibly can. "I think the whole country is behind it, I know all the political parties are. I think the British public is enthusiastic about the prospect of hosting the Olympic Games here in London." Real Madrid and England star David Beckham has confirmed that he will attend the IOC session. The England captain will be part of the London 2012 delegation at the vote in Singapore. The London-born star revealed his excitement at the bid's plans for the regeneration of the East End and said he was looking forward to joining the London 2012 team. "I am honoured to have been asked to go Singapore for what will be an historic vote," he said. "I come from the East End of London where the main Olympic Park will be, so I am really excited by the plans for the development of the area. "Winning the 2012 Games will be a huge boost for sport throughout the whole of the country, and that can only be good news. "It would be great if the Games came to Britain where people really love their sport. I am delighted to play my part in what I hope will be a winning campaign for London." Beckham also highlighted the benefits hosting the Games could have for the next generation of east Londoners. "The Games in London will help to inspire young people. The fact that the new facilities will be in the area where I grew up makes this so special for me." The news was welcomed by Coe who said Beckham's global appeal provided a unique boost to the capital's bid. "David Beckham is admired by young people around the world," he said. "He is a true inspiration to millions of fans and he is a wonderful ambassador for the London bid. "David and I both believe passionately that sport has the power to transform lives." In more news, London 2012 has received a massive boost as it was announced that the capital will host the World Gymnastics Championships in 2009. The event will take place at The Dome -- London 2012's proposed venue for gymnastics and basketball if the city is awarded the Olympic Games. The six-day event will be the first major sports tournament to take place at The Dome which was originally built for London's Millennium celebrations. The championships are expected to attract nearly 1,000 participants from more than 100 countries in front of an audience of more than 16,500 spectators. Coe welcomed the news. "This is tremendous news and will be a great test event for the gymnastics competition in 2012," he said. "It further demonstrates the country's commitment to hosting world class sporting events and adds to London's experience at staging major events on a regular basis." Mayor of London Ken Livingstone said the announcement confirmed London's status as a city capable of staging major sporting events. "This is great news for London and the UK and a real boost to our 2012 bid," he said. "London's unrivalled cultural diversity means competitors, officials and spectators arriving from around the world will be guaranteed a very warm welcome from the most enthusiastic sports fans in the world." Brian Stocks, president of British Gymnastics, added: "We are delighted. I'm sure it will give added confidence to London's bid." Commonwealth champion Gymnast Beth Twaddle said: "This is a great honour for British gymnastics and great for the British public who love to watch world class gymnastics. "I know from my experience at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester what a difference it makes to have a home crowd and your family there with you. "The British team have come a long way in 10 years and this will give a real boost to the young gymnasts who are coming through the ranks now." Zero debt A MAJOR post-Olympic legacy for the French: zero debt and an impetus for economic progress in France. France says its budgetary planning is balanced, controlled and 100 per cent guaranteed by the public authorities The total cost of the Games in Paris was evaluated at EUR 4.1 billion -- EUR 2.2 billion for the Games' operating budget (OCOG) and EUR 1.9 billion in investments on existing infrastructures and facilities (non-OCOG). The OCOG budget, says Paris, is both realistic and conservative. Its basic principles are expenditure-control, made easier by Paris 2012's operating concept (one village and two competition venue clusters), on the one hand, and by the quality and quantity of the existing sporting infrastructures on the other. The budget will be 100 per cent funded by Games revenues (IOC contribution, TOP sponsors and local sponsoring, ticket sales, official suppliers, lottery, licenses and donations), and will not require any public subsidies. The non-OCOG budget, meanwhile, is particularly well-controlled, due to the fact that 95 per cent of the transport and accommodation infrastructures required to host the Games in Paris in 2012 already exist. It is made up mainly of investments to fulfill identified needs within the population, already planned by the city of Paris and the Ile-de-France region. The local authorities' commitment alongside Paris 2012 can be seen in the financial guarantees that the state ratified at the end of 2004. This limited and controlled budget will not entail an Olympic Games tax on the population, and will guarantee France's population a major legacy: greater employment, development in the tourism and business tourism sectors, local economic attractiveness and overall growth in the services sector. According to a Boston Consulting Group survey, hosting the 2012 Olympic would generate phenomenal benefits for all of France. Between 2005 and 2012, the preparations, organisation and consumer spending tied to the Games would generate some EUR 6 billion in additional business activity for the French economy. Between 2012 and 2019, some EUR 5 billion in additional activities would come about each year, and 42,000 permanent jobs would be created. The revival of the north of Paris, owed to the Northern Cluster concept, would help boost the area's economic vitality. A large number of French and international enterprises, enthused by the use of Olympic infrastructures after 2012 in the area, have already sent in their written commitment. The business community is particularly interested in the Olympic Village site as well as in the infrastructures to be built for the International Broadcast Centre and Main Press Centre. The Olympic Games would bolster the added value of an urban area destined to gain recognition as a new European industrial hub. The fantastic economic vitality that the Games would bring to France explains, in part, the unanimous support that Paris 2012 currently enjoys with the business community: the economic community, from major corporations to SMEs and VSEs, is confident in what France would gain by hosting the Games, and support Paris 2012. France's labour organisations are also confident that the Games will be very valuable in terms of job creation: they support Paris and have committed to working with the future OCOG should Paris have the honour of being elected host city. Paris 2012 determined its budget by drawing on the lessons learned at the Sydney and Athens Games, with the support of a large number of French and international experts. Paris 2012 pledges to hold a celebration that will remain forever etched in the public mind, use the momentum created by the Games to give a strong legacy to all of the French people, all the while cutting down on the cost of the Games, leaving no debt and integrating the Games into the nation's long-term development. The existence of the aforementioned infrastructures is central to the post-Olympic legacy to be left to the French people: They will make it possible for Paris 2012 to control its budget and take advantage of the momentum created by the Games as a catalyst for economic progress, by focusing investments on the infrastructures truly needed by the French after the Games. All of the permanent facilities built for the Games meet identified requirements. Where no lasting post-Olympic requirement has been identified, Paris 2012 will use temporary facilities, thereby preventing white elephants, which generate unnecessary spending and a negative legacy. Thanks to constructive vision of the Games set out above, and the quality of the already existing infrastructures, France is ready to host a sustainable Games, which will enhance the Olympic movement in the long term and vitalise economic progress in France for many years.
