All Set for London 2012
The next edition of the biggest multiple sport event is now only two years away, as the hosts of the 2012 Olympics, the beautiful city of London, braces for what they claim would be the greatest sporting spectacle ever witnessed.
The Organisers of the coveted event began the two-year countdown to the Games by taking international media on a trip around the site of the Olympic village which will host the 30th edition of the spectacle.
The duo of Sebastian Coe Chairman London 2012, and Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, were joined by some of the most distinguished sportsmen of past games including Michael Johnson, Chris Hoy, and Sally Gunnell at the site of the village.
The winner of four Olympic gold medals Michael Johnson led a group of local children on a stretch of the track being prepared for the games at the Olympic Stadium. Johnson claimed that the run reminded him of the euphoria around the 1996 Olympics that were staged in his home country United States.
"Remembering the two years leading up to Atlanta there was just so much buzz and excitement from that point on, from two years out, and for all of the athletes, this is certainly a motivation for those athletes who are preparing, and just kind of reminding them of what they're out there training for every day," he said.
On the other hand Hoy who himself was a winner of three gold medals at the Beijing Games of 2008, felt that the cycling velodrome at the venue was simply the best he has ever seen.
"I think this will be the best track in the world and I firmly believe that because it's been designed with all the different perspectives taken into consideration, so I was under the team which picked the design, the jury that picked the design team, and from an athlete's point of view I made sure we got across the points" he said.
Before heading to the venue Coe and Mayor Johnson made their way to St Pancras railway station, and opened a London 2012's flagship store. Coe, who achieved the status of a double gold medalist in the 1500 metre race, claimed that the Games had stayed inside its £9.3 billion budget due to the well-rounded efforts of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA). Coe felt that the development programme was similar to the Wembley Stadium project.
The budget of developing the stadium went out of control and FA Cup final matches had to be played at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, before the games started taking place at the Wembley arena.
"We started early, we put the right teams together, we understood what it was we were building and why we were building it and when we needed it," he said. "The great thing about an Olympic Games is you have an immutable deadline”.
Mayor Johnson quipped that his city was ready to host the games two years ahead of schedule claiming that they could host a snap version of the games to test the facilities that impressed most of the media men as well as the athletes who had converged at the site of the village.
"I think we're in an incredible state if you look at the venues in the park, the aquatic centre, the stadium, the velodrome, it's all been sprouting up at an amazing rate, a real tribute to the work of British contractors and the Olympic Delivery Authority. The smart thing to do would be to call a snap Olympics and get it done early," he said.
The Games are set to take place from July 27 to August 12, 2012.
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