IOC tell London to finalise their 2012 venues

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Posted: Wednesday 10th December 2008 | 22:58

LONDON 2012 officials have been given a deadline to finalise all their proposed 2012 venues - and it expires in just three months.

International Olympic Committee director Gilbert Felli has claimed ongoing debate about the location for boxing, badminton, rhythmic gymnastics and shooting must stop.

"We have asked that by March, all the venues are finalised, so we know where they will be," said Felli, after an IOC board meeting at their headquarters in Lausanne.

Locog has been under pressure to look at costs after the Games budget spiraled from £2.4 billion to £9.3bn.

Badminton and rhythmic gymnastics were both scheduled to be staged in a 6,000 temporary arena adjacent to the Millennium Dome, now known as the O2.

Shooting was also due to be staged at a temporary venue at the Royal Artillery Barracks on Woolwich Common.

But the lack of a legacy for both sites has led to calls for an immediate and more cost-effective rethink, with British Shooting chairman Phillip Boakes wanting the £25m budget spent building a permanent home for his sport.

"Can we use an existing venue to save the construction of a temporary one? That is a discussion we have with organisers," added Felli.

Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell admitted this week that major projects - such as the Olympic village plus press and broadcast centres - may need to be shored up with government funding.

Planned private sector cash has not materialised and John Armitt, chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority, is ready to raid the £2 billion contingency fund yet again, just months after the government released £95m to keep the construction programme on schedule.

However, Felli insisted he was not concerned by the ongoing problems.

He added: “In construction, you need to use the contingency fund when it’s necessary, and [now is] the time,” he said.