FINES for late delivery or poor workmanship may be imposed on construction companies if London wins the right to host the 2012 Olympic Games. The bid team is understood to be considering hefty penalties as a way of avoiding repeats of the Millennium Stadium and Wembley projects, both of which encountered timing and budget over-runs.
The continuing £757 million Wembley saga has damaged the UK’s reputation for building sports venues and the International Olympic Committee is particularly sensitive after fearing in the run-up to Athens 2004 that the city would not be ready in time.
The IOC votes in Singapore on July 6 on which of the five candidate cities should host the event. Paris is favourite, with London a close second ahead of Madrid, New York and Moscow.
That most of the venues in Paris are already built has been cited as a key plus point. The bid team, with a series of artists’ impressions, tried yesterday to give the IOC the best idea of what the 80,000 Olympic stadium would look like in 2012 and thereafter as a flexible 25,000-seat athletics venue.
A downside of the London bid, identified by the IOC evaluation commission, is that it is largely visionary but Rod Sheard, architect of the Olympic stadium, said: “I think it’s a distinct advantage because the industry moves so quickly and our venues will be state of the art.”
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Singapore is terribly excited about its moment in the spotlight. Its organising committee describing it as “next best thing to hosting the Olympics”.