Olympic chiefs get a warning

London Olympic bid chiefs have been handed an unprecedented strict warning about their conduct as the race for the 2012 Games began in earnest today.

Standard Sport has learned that Olympic anti-corruption chiefs have sent a stern letter to London and the four other bidding cities - Paris, New York, Madrid and Moscow - about the international promotion of their campaigns which will be subject to tough, new guidelines.

From today, London 2012 chiefs are allowed to advertise the bid internationally, having now completed detailed plans for the Games.

Bid leader Seb Coe sent off London's 600-page 'bid book' to the International Olympic Committee headquarters this morning by special delivery.

The letter from the IOC's Ethics Commission includes an unexpected draconian ban on any advertising in Switzerland where the IOC and many international sports federations are based in Lausanne.

Bidding cities have also been told they can't advertise in the magazines of international federations.

Surprisingly, the cities are also going to be barred from promoting their bids in Singapore in the days before the 2012 vote there next July.