Headlines in the Sunday Observer screamed “London’s Torch Goes Out” and “London’s Olympic Dream In Tatters”. The Observer reported that key members of the bidding team have told the newspaper, “London has in effect abandoned hope of winning the 2012 Olympic Games, because it is so far behind Paris”.
One unnamed board member is quoted as saying Paris had taken an unassailable lead in the bidding process while a second stated that morale among the top brass had plummeted.
Mike Lee, London 2012’s director of communications, described the pessimism from within the bid as “a nonsense”. He said the mood is upbeat and confident. “We have received extremely positive feedback on our proposals, and on the details of our candidate file which we submitted in November”.
Culture secretary Tessa Jowell dismissed the story and declared those involved in the London campaign believe the race for the 2012 Games is still wide open. She said “the newspaper report claims key figures in government have given up hope of winning. I’ve never met these people, nor spoken to them”.
Bid chairman Sebastian Coe said he was astonished by the report. He said that recent discussions with all 22 of the bid’s board members had failed to uncover any disenchantment.
He told BBC Radio Five, “the only reaction this story has brought from the whole of the senior team this morning, and I’ve spoken to many of them, is incredulity. It quotes an unnamed board member. There are 22 of these and I met them all two weeks ago. Unanimously they endorsed the strategy and thinking behind the bid”.
Coe said, “the only issue raised by IOC members is that they feel this is one of the toughest competitions they’ve been in. They think we’re doing rather well”.
A London 2012 spokesman told GamesBids.com that they believe the story was designed to be as sensational as possible but is so poorly researched and reported that it lacks any substance or credibility. He said there were no sources named and every source is anonymous.
The spokesman told GamesBids that “a senior London sports editor has already expressed his doubts publicly about the story, telling BBC Radio Five Live this morning that ‘I don’t think the story is right’”.
He added, the story also demonstrates a clear lack of knowledge or understanding of the Olympic Games itself, citing an example that at one point the report talks about 16 Olympic sports when there are actually 28 sports.
