Olympics war of words begins

13 April 2012

Barbara Cassani was preparing to host a private, celebrity party at the Eye tonight to celebrate London's expected place in the final shortlist of candidate cities for the 2012 Olympics. But the former airline executive and her Olympic bid team should not get too carried away.

It would be a huge surprise if at today's meeting in Lausanne the International Olympic Committee did not include London in the list to go forward to next year's vote.

Cassani has put together an impressive bidding team and marketing strategy in just a year.

But Cassani and her team have some serious obstacles to overcome in the next 14 months if they are to emerge victorious from the vote on 5 July 2005.

Some of them are out of their hands, like terrorism and the international political situation. A major terrorist attack in the capital would be a serious blow to the bid.

The Iraq War and its aftermath could also cause London problems if they are still high up on the news agenda 12 months from now.

But it also emerged today that Britain is scoring own-goals in the international sports world with some shaky diplomacy.

One senior IOC member expressed surprise today at the timing of Britain's decision to back a candidate for the position of president of the International Triathlon Union at an election in December.

While the government-backed agency UK Sport has every right to worry about the desperately low number of Brits in senior positions in international federations, it is usually regarded as bad politics to be too active in unseating presidents.

Britain is taking on a seasoned Olympic figure in ITU boss Les McDonald who - with the backing of former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch - helped triathlon become an Olympic sport in the 1990s. The British Triathlon Association are nominating Sarah Springman for his job, hardly a wellknown figure in Olympic circles.

Regardless of her qualities, Britain is taking on a figure who is well known in international sports circles and is a close friend of Canadian Dick Pound, the former IOC vice-president who now runs the World Anti-Doping Agency. Although McDonald is originally from the North-East of England, he has lived in Canada for decades.

By taking him on, Britain risks upsetting Pound, who is believed to be a major London supporter.

By backing the candidature financially, they are also seen to be meddling in the affairs of an international federation.

London's chief executive Keith Mills was seen chatting to Pound in the bar of the IOC's Palace Hotel on Sunday evening. There may be some bridge-building to be done in the coming months if the ITU election campaign hots up.

The battle for the votes of the 126 IOC members is going to be intense. Paris, which has many of its facilities already in place, is widely regarded as the city to beat.

After the construction delays in Athens, the IOC will be looking for a safe bet for 2012. Security is top of the agenda for many IOC members. That is why any terrorist problems in any of the bidding cities will be a major setback.

Mills, who made millions by creating the Air Miles concept, is said to be making real progress in making contacts in the IOC. Together with Cassani and Seb Coe, they have been lobbying hard in Lausanne.

London has a good case to stage the Games for the first time since 1948 and is definitely a front-runner.

But the harsh reality is that all this will count for nothing if Britain fails to get the diplomacy right.

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Olympics war of words begins

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