Madrid, London, Paris, New York and Moscow are currently battling for the right to host the Olympic Games in 2012. Starting today and 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, as provided by the candidates themselves THE COMMISSION evaluating the five cities bidding for the 2012 Olympics arrived in Moscow to begin its last inspection. The Olympic inspectors will spend four days in the Russian capital, visiting existing sports facilities and sites for planned new construction. They will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. The commission will then take a private tour of Moscow's ancient Kremlin. The inspectors will be treated to a spectacular horseback parade in the Kremlin's Sobornaya Square before joining Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov and Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov for a reception and dinner in the Patriarch Palace. The city's authorities have draped Moscow's streets, buildings and billboards with the Olympic symbols, and the slogan: "Believe in your dream." "We are eager to prove to the IOC commission that all Muscovites are passionate about hosting the 2012 Olympics," said Alexander Chernov, the general manager of Moscow's Olympic bid committee. Luzhkov believes Moscow's experience of staging the 1980 Olympics and its sporting infrastructure makes it a front-runner for the 2012 Games. Luzhkov said: "Moscow has every ability to host events of such a level and we view our chances as the highest." If Moscow is successful, Luzhkov says the city will only have to build five additional stadiums and a new Olympic village, making it the most economical bid. "It's just necessary to modernise them and the main events of the Olympic Games can be held in them," he said. For that reason, he added, getting Moscow ready for the Games "should not demand serious spending, as there was in preparation for the Games in Athens". The Olympic inspectors had rounded off their Paris visit by hailing the city's bid for the 2012 Games as "excellent." Paris is widely regarded as a favourite to win the Games but workers' strikes had threatened to disrupt the evaluation commission's visit. But commission leader Nawal Al-Moutawakel said of the protests: "It's part of this society, this democracy. "The strike did not affect our work. People were demonstrating wearing 'Paris 2012' T- shirts." Al-Moutawakel added: "We have to congratulate the bid committee on the excellent quality of its candidacy file. "I will not grade its importance from one to 10, but it is important, very important." She also praised the committee for its "presentations, as well as for its exceptional team work and its professionalism" and described the visit as "very, very productive." Meanwhile, President Jacques Chirac pledged the "complete backing of France and the French people" for Paris' bid to host the Olympics "France is ready to become, for the 30th Olympiad, the homeland of the Olympic movement," Chirac said. He added that the French people supported the bid with "all their heart." And Chirac said he personally backed the bid with "all my strength, all my conviction and all my determination." Paris sought to bolster its bid by unveiling an unprecedented security force to protect the Games. Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin told the inspection team: "Security is a key factor for the Olympic Games." De Villepin said the government would be able to mobilise day and night a force of 41,000 policemen and soldiers, 3,200 firemen and 2,500 first aid personnel. Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin earlier called for an "Olympic pact between all French people" to ensure Paris wins the bid for the Games. "It's not the candidacy of one city but of all French women and men," Raffarin said at a function attended by the IOC team. "We expressed France's desire to strongly and wholeheartedly support the candidacy of Paris for the 2012 Olympic Games. "We think our country needs the Olympic Games for its development, for lasting development, to make it attractive. We have presented the assets of France but also the desires of France." On their visit, the evaluation team were kept well away from a day of strike action in the French capital. Instead they visited the Stade de France, prospective Olympic Village sites, the Roland Garros tennis arena and finally the Eiffel Tower. Paris Mayor, Bertrand Delanoe, said: "Nothing got in the way of the committee's work. People were in the streets for different reasons but still found time to encourage us. We have responded to all questions and we have expressed our love of the Games." Several London-based French sportsmen have appeared in a video promoting Paris' bid to host the Olympics. Arsenal's Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires along with Chelsea's Claude Makelele and William Gallas are among those to feature in the video. Asked why the French capital should host the 2012 Games, Henry replied: "Because it's Paris. "They did organise the World Cup in Paris and I think that was quite successful. Also, French people love sport so it would be amazing for us." Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, who plays for the Ivory Coast but was brought up in France from the age of five, also backed Paris. "Paris is one of the best cities in the world," he said. "It's very cosmopolitan and that's why I think it would be better to have the 2012 Games in Paris." From London it was reported that UK Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and Mayor of London Ken Livingstone told an international property conference that London was delivering on key infrastructure projects to support London's bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. Prescott and Livingstone shared a joint platform to launch the London Stand at MIPIM, in the South of France. Delegates were told that close to �100 billion (146 billion euros) worth of planned investment is set to change the face of London over the next two decades. Many infrastructure and development projects are already being delivered and are a key part of London 2012's plans. And a new Olympic Park in the Lower Lea Valley, East London, which already has planning permission, will be a significant driver of community and environmental improvements in a national priority are for regeneration. Prescott said London's Olympic bid "will accelerate the delivery of new homes and jobs already planned for the Lower Lea Valley in East London, and will provide local communities with a legacy of first class sporting, transport and community facilities. This is what creating sustainable communities is all about- providing the full range of jobs, community facilities and services to support the population and leave a valuable inheritance for future generations." We know that London is already delivering on major projects across the capital," Livingstone said. "Bidding for the 2012 Games has already helped us to secure investment for London, giving us a lasting legacy from the bidding process." The development project includes completion of the Channel Tunnel rail link by 2007 and the construction of a new terminal at Heathrow Airport. When fully complete in 2011, Terminal 5 will have the capacity to handle 30 million passengers annually. The East London line extension is a vital north-south London transport link due for completion in 2010. The Stratford City is a major development of homes and office space delivering 4,000 new homes and an estimated 34,000 jobs. New Olympic Games Venues include the Aquatics Centre and VeloPark.
