 Livingstone, Coe and Jowell on the 2012 Olympic Roadshow bus |
The start of the London Olympics is exactly six years away, but what do the Games mean to you? Last week, we gave you the chance to send in your questions to those right at the heart of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.
They were answered by the likes of Sebastian Coe (chairman of the London Organising Committee), Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell, London Mayor Ken Livingstone and Olympic Delivery Authority chief executive David Higgins.
Here's a selection of the best from the thousands you sent in.
What guarantees can you give that the London Olympics won't go over budget? If they do, who will pay for the extra costs - London ratepayers or UK tax payers?
Vernon Marriot, UK
Tessa Jowell: No-one could give you the absolute cast-iron guarantees that you are seeking. I could not responsibly make definitive commitments like this six years in advance when so much is subject to change, such as security costs. What I can promise is that I will keep the tightest of reins on spending to make sure that every pound is used wisely and costs are kept to an absolute minimum. My agreement with the Mayor of London in 2003 provides for any cost overruns to be met by a sharing arrangement between the Greater London Authority and the National Lottery.
Seb and Ken - How much will you personally make out of this event?
Chris Lyon, UKSebastian Coe: It will be the culmination of an Olympic odyssey for me personally. However, the Games success will be based around creating a legacy for sport and for London, by transforming a deprived area of the city and bringing a vast range of sustainable benefits to the whole of the UK.
Ken Livingstone: Nothing!
It has been said that the Olympics will benefit the whole country. If this is the case why is some of the cost not being offset by the rest of the country and not just London?
Tony O'Donovan, LondonTessa Jowell: Actually, the whole of the country is contributing to the cost of building the venues and infrastructure for 2012. The National Lottery, with tickets bought in every corner of the UK is putting up �1.5bn, much the largest source of funds. I am totally committed to the benefits from 2012 being shared out, like the costs, and we have been taking that message across the UK during our Roadshow and getting a tremendously positive response in every part of the country.
A friend who works for one of the firms that have been contracted to oversee the construction of the Olympic stadia and Village has advised me to bet a large sum of money that all the work will not be completed in time for the beginning of the Olympics in 2012. Can you guarantee the construction work will be completed in time and that the nation's dignity will still be intact after the Olympics?
Ian Theasby, UK
David Higgins: We are close to doing so, but we haven't appointed anyone to oversee the construction of the Stadia and Village yet, so I am not sure what your friend's involvement is. I am confident that we will complete works in time. The Olympic Delivery Authority has just published its programme which has the main venues completing in 2011, in plenty of time for the Games. There are always concerns in the run up to a Games about venues being ready on time - and they always are.
With the huge emphasis on providing excellent transport, do you have any plans to provide suitable facilities for people who wish to attend the Games by bicycle? With your intention of creating a 'green' Games, shouldn't this be one of your priorities?
Mark Perrett, UKSebastian Coe: It is very much one of our priorities. A key element of our Transport Strategy is that 100% of spectators should travel to the Games via public transport, walking or cycling (the only car parking provision with be for blue badge holders at certain venues). We are currently working with the London Borough of Hackney and TfL on a network of cycling and walking routes from Hackney and other London boroughs to the Olympic Park.
Considering that just about every building project from the Millennium Dome through to the Scottish Parliament and the new Wembley Stadium have been both vastly over-budget and behind schedule, can we realistically hope to have entire swathes of London transformed in a mere six years, at the presently estimated cost?
Andrej Ninkovic, England
David Higgins: I have every confidence that we will complete works in time. The Olympic Delivery Authority has just published its programme which has the main venues completing in 2011, in plenty of time for the Games with at least a year for testing.
Alongside the examples you cite, there are plenty of other projects that have been completed on time and to the agreed budget, such as the new Arsenal Stadium and Ascot Racecourse in the past month. There is currently a review of costs. We are getting the planning right now, with the final layout of the facilities agreed six years out. This will help reduce risk further down the track
I would be keen to work as a volunteer during the Olympics. Could you advise me how I would go about this?
Julie Fowles, UKSebastian Coe: We are delighted that you are interested in volunteering at the Games. The London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games will offer a unique and vibrant experience for athletes and spectators; an experience in large part created by up to 70,000 volunteers from around the UK and across the world. The volunteers will come together to learn new skills, gain new experiences and share the enjoyment of volunteering in a spectacular global event and you could be one of them.
Recruitment for Games-time volunteers won't start until 2010 and volunteers will be selected for a number of reasons including their individual skills
Are you planning to involve Linford Christie in the Games? I really think you guys should - he is a hero of this nation and deserves to contribute to the athletes of our future.
Rena Fletcher, EnglandSebastian Coe: Everyone working towards 2012 is an ambassador. Linford is already involved in many ways. He is currently training athletes, including Christian Malcom, he was involved in the first programme launched after the win with Atos Origin, and he is also part of the UK athletics mentoring programme.
What steps will you put in place to ensure that ordinary people in the UK can afford to attend the Games? I would love to attend as many times as possible, but unless you do something to stop them, touts and champagne-sippers who aren't interested in sport will price me out.
Lorraine PullenSebastian Coe: 7.9m tickets will be sold for the London 2012 Olympic Games and 1.5m for the Paralympic Games. These are ticket numbers that will be sold after allocations have been given to the media, Olympic officials and athletes, camera positions, poor sightlines and tickets that are allocated free to sponsors as part of their sponsorship package. We will make sure that we set realistic tickets prices that will be affordable. Our aim is full stadia with passionate supporters. Demand for tickets will be huge and our tickets will go on sale in 2011. Many events will be free such as the marathons, cycling road races and triathlons as well as free cultural events.
Given that Londoners are paying for a substantial portion of the Games through an additional council tax levy, will we be given priority for purchasing tickets?
Jon KingSeb Coe: The largest proportion of funds is coming from the Lottery which is being played across the country. Our detailed ticketing strategy is still being drawn up as tickets do not go on sale until 2011. However, our aim is to ensure that as many people as possible, right across the UK, attend the Games and are part of the London 2012 experience.
In past Olympics, Great Britain have only been in the top five of the medal table six times and only come top once. And the last time we were in the top five was in 1924. How do you hope to reach to number four in the medal table by 2012?
Russell Perrett, Great BritainTessa Jowell: We are determined that 2012 will represent a watershed for British sport. You can't build world-class athletes or support systems overnight. But we have six years to go to 2012, and with unprecedented investment in high performance sport, we are beginning to build a world-class system for our very best athletes. We recognise that our ultimate goal of fourth in the medal table, and 1st in the Paralympic table, is challenging. But with targeted investment in talent, coaching, sports science and medicine, we believe we can do it.
Recently, London Organising Committee chief executive Paul Deighton said on Radio 4: "The athletes who are likely to be serious contenders for medals in 2012 are, by and large already identified." Why not, at least, pour some of our Olympic millions into the dozens of excellent community sports programmes that are working at grass roots now with those who might never venture past the door of a local athletics club? We might find, as the Americans have, that our future champions are not where we have been currently looking.
Joff Day, UK
 Youngsters at Stoke Mandeville Hospital |
Tessa Jowell: All the research indicates that it takes about eight years from being spotted to competing at the highest level. So a talented athlete who aspires to compete in 2012 should already be known to a sport's governing body. But that is not to say that new talent won't come through the ranks more quickly than that. This is especially true in Paralympic sports. It is the job of the governing bodies to work with the clubs to make sure new talent is identified and supported. Public investment helps them to do precisely that.
And you shouldn't lose sight of the fact that an unprecedented amount of money is being invested in new sports facilities and programmes- running into billions of pounds.
As a former president of the National Pistol Association, Seb Coe was well aware before the 2012 bid that Britain was in breach of the Olympic Charter because members of our Olympic Target shooting team are prohibited from owning or training with target pistols in this country. What steps is he taking to reverse the ban and encourage target pistol shooting in clubs across the UK?
Neil MacPherson, UK Seb Coe visits the Broxbourne canoe slalom venue |
Seb Coe: Special arrangements and conditions will be put in place for these disciplines. They would be issued with the authority of the Secretary of State to possess prohibited weapons for the duration of the Games. The pistols will enter the country through a named port (probably Heathrow) and held there in secure storage. They would then be taken by section 5 authorised carrier to the venue and placed in a secure armoury.
They would be allowed out of the armoury for the necessary practice and for the competition itself. After the Games, they would leave the country in the same way they entered it.
Of the three shooting disciplines in the Olympic Games Programme, (Rifle, Pistol, Shotgun) there are five pistol events, of which three are affected by the 1997 legislation:
- 25m pistol (30+30 shots) women
- 25m rapid fire pistol (60 shots) men
- 50m pistol (60 shots) men
How come East Anglia appears to have been the only area of the region not to have any sporting involvement in the games? Why are we missing out?
Neal Widdows A mountain bike rider at Weald Country Park |
Sebastian Coe: The East of England has two venues - one hosting the Mountain Biking at the Weald Country Park and the other for canoe/flat water slalom at Broxbourne. London 2012 is working with the East of England Development Agency and Sport England East through the Nations and Regions Group (NRG) to ensure that the whole of the East of England - including East Anglia - are aware of the potential benefits of the Games coming to London and can get involved. Please see the nations and regions website for further information - www.london2012.com/nrg
Why, as a nation, should Scotland get behind the 2012 London Games? You have visited Aberdeen and Perth showcasing the event, but I can see little or no benefit for us. Will sporting facilities north of the border be improved as part of the process of readying for 2012?
Martin Stone, ScotlandTessa Jowell: We've been out on the road for the last three weeks to show people first-hand why the 2012 Games are something everyone in the UK - including people in Scotland - should get behind and to let them know about opportunities to benefit from the Games. There will be opportunities for businesses to gain contracts - such as Edinburgh's Navyblue Group that designed London 2012's bid document.
There will be opportunities for individuals - whether as a competitor, a spectator or a volunteer; and for young people to be inspired by the Games to greater involvement in sport and physical activity. And after the Games facilities and equipment will be redistributed right around the country.
I live in Birmingham and have seen everything head towards London over the years and it isn't always a success - eg, Wembley. Firstly, how will any of the money that all the taxpayers will input into the games be used in Birmingham and, secondly, is the roadshow that you have created just a method of getting the other 50 million UK residents to support a Games that will only really benefit London?
P Parmar, UK Dancers perform in front of the 2012 Roadshow bus |
Tessa Jowell: We cannot avoid the fact that the games are in London and that the investment needed to make 2012 a success will benefit the capital. Sadly, the IOC on three previous occasions in the last 20 years decided that bids by Birmingham and Manchester should not be successful. But I can promise you that the West Midlands will share in the benefits - from hosting football at Villa Park to winning Olympic-related business contracts.
We did not need to do the Roadshow to drum up public support. Just a few weeks ago 81% of people interviewed believed that the London 2012 Games would have an impact across the whole UK.
Many London roads have severe traffic jams every day. The Tube system in London is subject to regular delays due to congestion and signalling failures, and is unbearably hot during the summer. How well do you expect the London transport system to cope with hundreds of thousands more people? Will residents be asked to leave London during the Olympics, as happened in Madrid?
Andrew Lewis, England Ken Livingstone (right) with PM Tony Blair in Trafalgar Square |
Ken Livingstone: Londoners will not be asked to leave their city during the Olympics and Paralympics as we know that our network can manage the expected passenger numbers during the summer of 2012. It is important to remember that as the Games take place during the summer, there are usually around 15% less people travelling on our network as they take time off for their holidays.
Also, most spectators will be using the Tube, bus DLR and mainline rail to head out east to the Olympic Park and Excel, as opposed to usual commuter flow which is predominantly from the outside in.
As part of an already-committed, long-term spending plan, more than �17bn will be spent on London's transport in the run-up to 2012. With six years to go we are already making good progress in delivering major projects including the extensions of the DLR and the East London Line and are confident that we will deliver all the of the transport improvements needed to host the Games.
Last week there was no air conditioning on most London trains, and journeys were delayed due to the rails overheating. With this type of infrastructure will visitors from Europe not feel as if they are in a third world country?
M Hook, UKKen Livingstone: No. A whole range of improvements are well underway across the transport system. The new trains to be rolled out on the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines will come with air-cooling, the first new trains are due to arrive in 2009. A major Victoria Line upgrade is now underway.
On top of this work, London Underground has a dedicated project team looking at other ways of cooling the Tube. A trial is already underway at Victoria station using an environmentally friendly cooling system based around the use of groundwater. If successful this could be rolled out across the network.
Also, let's not forget that London has Europe's most modern bus fleet and electronic 'smartcard' technology in Oyster.
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