Badminton insist they've not agreed to Wembley Arena switch

LONDON 2012 and International Olympic Committee officials may have been premature in suggesting they had resolved the issue of where to stage badminton and rhythmic gymnastics.

TRAVEL WOES: Badminton officials say staging their sport at Wembley Arena would put them on the fringes of the Olympics as the venue is too far from the athletes' village

During last week's co-ordination visit, the IOC's chief inspector, Denis Oswald, claimed an agreement with the world governing bodies for both sports had been reached ‘in principle'.

But Badminton - whose ruling council gathered in Bali last week - insist they remain opposed to new proposals and want more time to consider them.

They want their events to be staged at the original venue, a £40m temporary facility in North Greenwich that was within easy traveling distance of the Olympic Village.

But the Olympic Board, thanks to heavy lobbying from the Mayor's Office, want to stage both sports 20 miles across congested Central London at West London's Wembley Arena.

"The Olympic Games is the pinnacle of sporting achievement and the BWF owes our athletes and its members the responsibility to showcase badminton to the media and the world in the best possible way," said Dr Kang Young Joong, president of the Badminton World Federation.

The final say for the venues rests with the IOC, who originally set a deadline of this March for the destination of all sports to be confirmed.

However, this looks set to slip into next year as wrangling continues.

Both international federations have cited transport concerns as their chief worry.  However, London 2012 have vowed to put competitors up in local hotels during their competitions.

Olympic Delivery Authority chairman David Higgins referred questions on the problem to organising committee Locog when asked his views earlier today, during a briefing about sustainability plans.

However, should neither sport agree to the Wembley Arena switch, the ODA could yet be responsible for building the 6,000 temporary venue near the 02 Arena - and the clock is ticking.