The prize is in our grasp

Londoners can all be proud of yesterday's glowing report by International Olympic Committee inspectors on our bid to host the 2012 Games.

Three years ago when I agreed with the British Olympic Association that London should bid, there were many people only too willing to write us off. It's a measure of the bid's high quality and the progress London has made that we now have one of the greatest prizes for any city within our grasp.

This is not a contest to be taken lightly. Our competitors are some of the greatest cities in the world. You don't take on Paris, New York, Madrid, and Moscow without a lot of confidence in your own strengths.

I believe London and our bid have unique strengths that mean we can hold out the promise of the best ever Games.

Our biggest asset is our people. We are the most diverse, welcoming and open of the world's great cities. All 200 national teams competing in 2012 would find a community here to cheer them on. In that way, London already represents the Olympic ideal. Don't take my word for it - Nelson Mandela, backing our bid, said: "There is no city like London. It is a wonderfully diverse and open city providing a home to hundreds of nationalities. I can't think of a better place to hold an event that unites the world."

We can offer an unsurpassed passion for sport. At last year's Athens Olympics, 20,000 British fans urged on Team GB - more than any other nation outside Greece. It means we can guarantee a London Games would have full venues for every sport.

Our bid has other distinctive strengths. The Olympic Village would be in the heart of east London's new Olympic Park, so 70 per cent of competition venues would be less than 15 minutes from athletes' accommodation. This will mean less travel and a much better experience for competitors. As Olympic gold medallist Jonathan Edwards said yesterday, no bid has ever paid so much attention to the needs of athletes.

Crucially - and as IOC inspectors recognised - a London Games would leave a fantastic legacy. This gives our bid a real edge. The Games will bring thousands of new homes and jobs and environmental improvements.

Ahuge legacy for sport is guaranteed whatever the bid's outcome, with commitments to a new aquatic centre, velopark and hockey centre. I am determined to promote participation in sport, especially among young people.

Already we are seeing transport schemes being delivered. We have chosen the contractor for the East London line extension. We are starting work on the Docklands Light Railway extension to Woolwich.

This Christmas every Jubilee line train will get an extra carriage, with a new signal system to come. Some ?400 million of investment is going into a huge ticket hall at King's Cross.

IOC inspectors saw the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, one of the greatest engineering projects ever, completed on time, to budget. Bullet trains spectators will ride are on order. Transport funding is guaranteed through an agreement negotiated between my office and government.

The momentum is with London. Public support is growing: now up to 79 per cent in the capital. Internationally, I believe we are moving ahead.

Seb Coe and his team have led a brilliant bid: London offers the best ever Games for athletes; an unrivalled sporting, social and economic legacy; and the chance to showcase the greatest city in the world, and our unrivalled passion for sport, in front of an audience of four billion.

We are within striking distance of the largest prize in sport. We must take every opportunity to promote London and what a brilliant Games we would host.