Following a meeting with Britain’s Culture, Media and Sport Minister Tessa Jowell, which lasted twice the 45 minutes scheduled, Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said that he confirmed to Jowell that the IOC would be pleased to receive a well-prepared London bid. He described London as “an extremely strong contender” to host the 2012 Games.
Jowell said, “it was a very friendly, enormously useful meeting. Jacques Rogge made it clear there would be no obstacles in London bidding, no inalienable weakness.
“I made it clear to Mr. Rogge that we were on course to make a decision whether to back a bid by the end of January and assured him that, if we do bid, we would go hell for leather to win.
“He was absolutely clear that the playing field will be a level one. There is no impediment for London that will put it behind other bids”.
Rogge reassured Jowell that the 2012 Games selection process will be entirely transparent and that London will start as one of the favourites if the government decided to pursue a bid.
According to reports, during Jowell’s discussion with Rogge, the question of costs came up and Rogge emphasized that the Games always make a staging profit. Jowell said, “I will go back and look at the net staging profits and the staging budgets that have been made by each of the Games for the last 25 years”.
