Jowell: ‘We deserve to win’ Olympic bid
Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Tessa Jowell has said she believes that London deserves to host the Olympic Games in 2012.
Speaking to reporters outside Downing Street Ms Jowell said that the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) visit to the city had gone very well.
Assessors from the IOC have been in the city for the past few days to examine the capital’s bid for the Games. They have visited existing venues and the sites for new buildings as well as travelling on the underground.
This morning they met Tony Blair, Michael Howard and Charles Kennedy at Downing Street in an event designed to show the political backing behind the bid.
Tonight, the Queen will be hosting a gala dinner at Buckingham Palace for the inspectors.
Ms Jowell told reporters that the visit so far had “gone extremely well”
“The response from the inspection team is very enthusiastic and they recognise the passion behind this bid, the excellent job that the bid team have done. But they recognise our legacy – the investment that is going to change sport in this country for ever.”
She added: “We have confidence that we have the wining bid – we deserve to win.”
Ms Jowell said she felt that they had been able to answer all of the “searching questions” from the team.
Bid team leader Seb Coe said that London was “ahead of the game” on the three most important issues: Financial support, planning and site acquisition, with most of the land already under public ownership.
Transport, he said, would not be a problem and everything had run to time and schedule on all the team’s visits to the venues. He added it had been an “extremely well received transport plan.”
Lord Coe said that the bid placed athletes at the centre of its vision and he was confident that the IOC would appreciate this.
He said: “All our thinking is framed around the importance of having athletes in this city that are able to share and have the best experience possible. If you have athletes at the centre you have to get all the other aspects right.
“They have met Sir Steve Redgrave the chairman of out athletes advisory group. all our athletes have signed off every line, every dot, every comma of the candidate pack.”
