Six architectural practices and teams have now been short listed in the competition to design the Olympic Aquatics Centre, a key venue in the planned Olympic Park in East London proposed for London’s bid for the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The competitors are Faulkner Browns/Make, Bennetts/Studio Zoppini, Zaha Hadid, Behnish, Behnish and Partner, Dominque Perrault, and Massimiliano Fuksas.
The flagship swimming facility, to be funded by Sport England, will provide a world class training facility for elite swimmers and will be a legacy for the local communities. The facility will be built whatever the outcome of the bid.
Meanwhile, London 2012 hopes the return of an international cycling race, the Tour of Britain, will boost its chances to become the 2012 host city. Ninety-six world-class cyclists will take part in the race, with the finish line in the shadow of Big Ben.
The race has returned to the UK for the first time in five years. In 1999 it attracted about three million spectators.
Sixteen top professional teams, including cyclists from the Tour de France and the Athens Olympic Games will cover 500 miles in five stages across the country.
On September 5 competitors will ride 45 laps of a circuit.
Coe said London is the “perfect location” for the race. “Over 80,000 people were in the Mall for the recent Olympic Torch Relay concert and an estimated 500,000 people came to watch the Formula 1 parade in Regent Street, showing what a passion exists for watching sport in London.”
