The British Olympic Association (BOA) said it was not dismayed by a decision to delay an announcement on a London 2012 bid.
BOA spokesman Phil Pope said they expected a decision within a matter of weeks not months. Pope said the delay “comes as no surprise to us. We weren’t geared up for a decision this week. We understand there are a few other things on the Prime Minister’s agenda but hope they will get round to discussing it at the earliest possibility. We’ve carried on having detailed discussions with government during the past few weeks”, he added.
One source told The Guardian that the delay could be as long as three months, pointing out that London does not formally have to table its bid with the International Olympic Committee until July 15.
The Guardian reports that the Prime Minister and Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell want full cabinet “buy-in” if Britain decides to go ahead with a bid, and Blair apparently felt the cabinet and Labour MPs were too distracted by the international crisis to make a considered judgement.
A ministerial source said, “the cabinet needs time to think some more about what it would mean for Britain and how it could be done. There are also issues about whether at this time of international crisis the cabinet should be applying its mind to whether or not to stage a big party”.
The government said the period of delay would be used to buff up and update the bid. It would also give them longer to gauge whether a British bid would have a genuine chance of success. The bid itself could cost as much as 20 million pounds.
According to the Guardian, London’s chances received an unexpected boost last weekend when a plebiscite on Vancouver bidding for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games had 64 per cent of its residents approving of Vancouver’s bid.
The newspaper said it reinforced its position as the favourite over Salzburg and Pyeongchang. Should Vancouver succeed in its bid, Toronto would be out of the running for the 2012 Games, although the city has to keep a low profile about a decision to bid until its decided if Vancouver wins the 2010 bid.
It would also put a damper on New York’s chances for 2012, with the momentum passing to Europe, placing London in the front rank, said The Guardian.
