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2012 Olympic Venues Homeless

Organisers of the London 2012 Olympics are struggling with demands from sporting bodies after it emerged that four events are still homeless.

With just over 1000 days until the start of the Games; Boxing, shooting, badminton and rhythmic gymnastics have no indication as to where they might end up. Other sports that have already had to be moved.

“They had not really planned a bid on the basis that it could win, which means they developed a blue-sky project without really thinking what it would cost and when the harsh realities set in they’ve had to chop and change quite severely.”

Canoeing and kayak slalom events were switched to Hertfordshire after fears over contamination of the waterways around the Olympic Park, a former industrial site, in Stratford.

The cause of some of the changes stem back to when London unexpectedly won the 2012 bid in 2005.

Stefan Szymanski, professor of economics at Cass Business School, City University London, said:

“They had not really planned a bid on the basis that it could win, which means they developed a blue-sky project without really thinking what it would cost and when the harsh realities set in they’ve had to chop and change quite severely.”

This mirrors more financial problems that arose a few months ago when it emerged that the London 2012 Olympic Village is now publicly owned. The Government confirmed that a further £324million of public money had to be pumped into the project which also boasts 260 Zero Carbon homes as part of the London Energy Plan.

Today Sebastian Coe was set to tell the International Olympic Committee that London’s preparations for the 2012 Games remain on time and on budget. However, Mr Coe, chairman of London 2012, was faced with admitting that the issue of a £40m temporary arena in north Greenwich, for badminton and rhythmic gymnastics, remains a problem with mayor Boris Johnson battling for the sports to be moved to an existing venue.

Chief Executive Paul Deighton said: “We still have yet to get lockdown on the two sports.”

Last month London 2012 chiefs were battling over the legacy of two key Olympic venues. Crisis talks were held after a revelation that the £525million Olympic stadium may be demolished to make way for the development of a new venue for a Premier League football club.

This could benefit West Ham who are reluctant to relocate to an old Parcelforce depot as suggested by the London Development Agency. The football club previously held talks with 2012 chiefs but they soon broke down over the cost of converting the stadium after the games.

Tags: 2012, Boris Johnson, homeless, olympics, venues