Should Leipzig be elected host city for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, more than 90 per cent of the events would be held within a 10-kilometre radius of the city centre, with the exception of the sailing competitions which will be held in Rostock, and the equestrian events in Dresden.
As for security, there will be 20,000 police officers and 50,000 other security people at the 2012 Games.
Organizers submitted a budget of $2.35 billion to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for temporary facilities and for running the Games.
Peter Zuehlsdorff, head of Leipzig’s bid, said the big group expected a profit of more than 10 million euros from television rights and from money provided by the IOC.
Leipzig, a city of 500,000 inhabitants, is counting on its manageable size as an asset against its larger rivals.
Zuehlsdorff rejected media reports which had put building and infrastructure costs as high as 14 billion euros and said they would be much closer to earlier estimates of around 2.6 billion euros.
He said it was too early to provide firm estimates of how much would have to be spent on new stadiums and an Olympic village for athletes and how much finding could be raised from private investors. “Just to name a figure, I think five billion in eight years would be a sensible investment for the country”.
According to a recent poll nearly 90-per-cent of Germans approve of Leipzig’s bid.
In December German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and the Prime Ministers of Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania signed guarantees to fund Leipzig’s bid.
Leipzig also has the required accommodation according to IOC demands. There are already 44,000 beds available in Leipzig’s city centre, and in Dresden and Rostock, where the sailing and equestrian competitions are being held. By 2012 there will be 64,950 spaces in an area of 50 kilometres around Leipzig.
Transportation won’t be a problem. Leipzig has sufficient parking spaces for the Games. There are six parking lots that will accommodate 40,000 cars; also metropolitan railways and 84 kilometres are planned exclusively as “Olympic Roads” so that it will not take more than 25 minutes for athletes to go from one sports venue to another.
