Paris has long been considered by many to be the frontrunner in the race for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. But now even the mayor of London, Paris’ rival, realizes it.
Ken Livingstone told LBC radio, “we’ve closed the gap on Paris, but the truth is Paris is still ahead. No city is close to a majority on the first ballot”.
But the mayor insisted the decision on which city will host the Games was “still up for grabs”.
Livingstone said, looking at the balance of International Olympic Committee (IOC) delegates’ preferences, “at most Paris has got about 30 votes. We have 25 votes and none of the other cities has more than 20, and we’ve got about 30 to 40 delegates yet to express an opinion.
“If in the end it is Paris and London, the people who voted for Moscow, New York and Madrid will say what is my second vote”.
He added, “the thing is these people are so skilled at not indicating which they favour and so when they are in any city, everyone thinks this is going really well because they are really good at avoiding bad press coverage. They should give us all a lesson”.
