Report urges London to promote cycling and walking

The Institute for Public Policy Research and Demos say the organisers need to develop a long term strategy to improve the city after the Games.

The two think-tanks say previous Olympic cities have struggled to maintain prosperity after the event.

But London 2012 says it has already planned long-term community benefits.

The report recommends creating training programmes and an employment taskforce.

It is clear that a significant element of any Olympic legacy has to be delivered before the Games begin Anthony Vigor

It also says walking and cycling should be promoted, especially in boroughs closest to the proposed Olympic site in the Lea Valley area, east London, so that a lasting legacy can be achieved.

The research of past Games show that bold promises of long term employment, social housing and increased sports participation had not always materialised.

The two groups claim that most host cities lacked a Games legacy strategy and became fixated with building iconic stadiums.

As a result, house prices rocketed and only a few new homes were built following the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.

Legacy board

Facilities used in the Sydney 2000 Games are also still struggling to find post-Olympic uses.

However, the London bid team said a legacy board is already planning ways of providing benefits.

Bid chairman Lord Sebastian Coe said: "We have known from the outset of our bid that creating long-term benefits of the Games requires early planning, consultation and commitment."

He said the board was overseeing social, economic, environmental, health and sporting benefits.

Early start

A new aquatic centre with two 50m pools and the approval of the East London Line extension were among benefits already delivered, the London 2012 team said.

Lord Coe added the International Olympic Committee (IOC) requirement of five-year business plans for new venues would be extended to span 25 years.

The report accepts London has made an early start on considering any lasting benefit, but says a lot more work needs to be done.

Anthony Vigor, researcher at the IPPR, said: "It is clear that a significant element of any Olympic legacy has to be delivered before the Games begin.

"But claims about the long-term benefits of Olympic Games made by previous host cities, often do not stand up to scrutiny."

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell also said in a foreword to the report that it is "particularly important that only by embedding legacy planning into every aspect of our preparation for the Games will we make the most of the opportunities available to us."