Princess Anne, a member of the International Olympic Committee, announced her support for London’s 2012 Olympic bid during last week’s meeting in Mexico City.
She said, “the sports are unanimous about supporting a bid. As the British Olympic Association president I am happy to go along with that. We have done the homework and we can only do so much”.
The announcement came as a surprise because the proposal will soon be debated in Parliament and the royal family is constitutionally obliged to be apolitical.
She added, “there is a level of expectation of what London has to offer. People can see this is not just the sports people coming and saying ‘isn’t this good’. Now we have to wait until we find out what the government’s response is”.
Meanwhile, reports say that the Millennium Dome could be used as one of the main sports venues if London becomes the 2012 Summer Games host city.
David Luckes, the British Olympic Association’s London bid coordinator, said an announcement regarding the venues new incarnation as a 20,000-seat entertainment venue is imminent. He said, “it’s certainly a venue you would look at as a main indoor arena”.
Simon Clegg, head of the British Olympic Association, said that London’s bid must be seen as a British bid. The plan is to take the Olympic football competition to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland if it has a suitable stadium by then.
He also believes that many parts of Britain could obtain a financial boost from other national teams preparing around the country in the run-up to 2012 if London gets the Games.
