London bid look for sponsorship

London Olympic bid officials today stepped up their drive to attract blue chip companies to back their 2012 campaign.

It is understood that London 2012 will announce sponsorship deals with several household names in the commercial world in the next three weeks, including foreign companies who invest heavily in Britain.

Bid leader Barbara Cassani is looking to attract up to £12million in sponsorship to help pay for the bidding budget of £28m. The rest of the money will come from the public sector.

Officials would not reveal which companies had been involved in talks but it would be a surprise if British Airways, where Cassani began her career in Britain, were not one of the 10 leading backers.

Rover and Heineken, which is already involved in supporting the British Olympic Association, would also be expected to be interested.