Inspectors from the International Olympic Committee Evaluation Commission have begun to land in London today to take a closer look at the capital's plans to host the 2012 Olympic Games. The four-day inspection marks a critical phase in the London bid, which faces stiff competition from Paris, Moscow, Madrid and New York.
The Commission's report will play a key role in influencing IOC members, who vote on their preferred bid at a meeting in Singapore on July 6.
The 13-strong team of IOC members, athletes and experts were arriving separately from all over the world throughout the day. For most, their first impression will be formed in the arrivals hall of Heathrow Airport, although a few are landing at City and Stansted airports.
First to arrive was Sam Ramsamy, the South African delegate, who was greeted at the airport by Lord Coe, chairman of the 2012 bid, and Richard Caborn, the Sports Minister.
The delegates are spending today settling into hotels and preparing for a series of presentations on the London bid at Canary Wharf tomorrow, a London 2012 spokeswoman said.
The inspection visit culminates in a meeting with Tony Blair and Ken Livingstone, the London Mayor, in Downing Street on Friday.
The inspectors will be given the chance to see first-hand where the Games would be staged around the capital.
A new Olympic Park on a 500-acre plot in Stratford, east London, lies at the heart of the London 2012 bid.
The World Heritage Site of Greenwich would host equestrian events and the modern pentathlon while Regent's Park would stage the softball and baseball tournaments. Existing venues, including Wimbledon and Lord's Cricket Ground, would also be used.
A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said today: "Both ministers (Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary, and Caborn) are very keen to show full Government support for the bid.
"Tessa and Richard will both be pointing out how much we have swung behind this bid and how convinced we are we can make it work."
Schedule
The IOC evaluation commission will be in London for four days, with the following schedule:
Wednesday: opening presentations. These will take place in the commission's hotel and involve Coe, Sir Steven Redgrave and Kelly Holmes. In the afternoon the presentation will focus on the key area of transport, with the capital's system criticised as "often obsolete" in an IOC report early last year. The presentations will attempt to show that transport problems have been dealt with by a £10 billion five-year investment scheme including extending and upgrading the underground and Docklands Light Railway and, in pride of place, the Channel Tunnel link - a seven-minute St Pancras-Stratford rail shuttle capable of carrying 25,000 passengers per hour direct to Games.
Thursday: venue visits. The commission will split into three parties to be taken around the proposed venues, focusing on the main site in Stratford where the Olympic stadium, village and aquatics centre will be based. There will also be trips to Wembley Stadium, Lord's, Wimbledon, Hyde Park, Horse Guards Parade, the Dome and Excel. There will also be presentations on environment from Jonathan Porritt, the bid's environmental adviser, and on accommodation.
Friday: political support. The commission will meet Tony Blair and Michael Howard, the Leader of the Opposition, at 10 Downing Street, plus other Cabinet figures and Livingstone. There will be a presentation on security by Sir Ian Blair, commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.
Saturday: closing presentation on culture, and specifically multi-culturalism, emphasising the 300 languages spoken in London and diverse mix of races existing together in harmony. Keith Mills, chief executive of the bid, will make his presentation before Coe makes a farewell speech. The commission will then hold their only press conference of the tour before they depart.
Personnel
The following personnel make up the 13-strong commission:
NAWAL EL MOUTAWAKEL: the leader of the commission, she became the first woman from an Islamic nation to win an Olympic medal when she took gold in the 400 metres hurdles, and became a national heroine in Morocco in the process. She was also the first Muslim woman to become an IOC member when she joined the organisation in 1988. She is also on the council of the the IAAF, as is Lord Coe.
SIMON BALDERSTONE: an Australian who is the IOC's environmental adviser and performed the same role evaluating the bid cities for the 2008 Games. He was one of the top people in the Sydney Olympics organising committee and has been a senior adviser to Australian Prime Ministers.
PHILIPPE BOVY: as the IOC's transport adviser, he is one of the key people for London 2012 to impress. The Swiss academic has worked on evaluating the bids for the 2006, 2008 and 2010 Olympics and is a professor of transport at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne.
ELS VAN BREDA VRIESMAN: an IOC member who is also the president of the International Hockey Federation (FIH). From Holland, he was also a member of the 2004 and 2008 evaluation commissions.
BOB ELPHINSTON: another Australian, this former PE teacher is an IOC consultant who was general manager of the Sydney Games' organising committee. He is vice-president of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), founded the Australian national basketball league and managed the country's men's basketball team at the 1984 Games.
GILBERT FELLI: as Olympic Games executive director, he is one of the top executives in the movement. From Switzerland, he has had the top roles in organising World and European Championships in ice skating, curling, gymnastics and archery. A former professional skier, he is also a qualified ice hockey coach and architect.
FRANK FREDERICKS: known as Frankie, he is a household name after winning silver medals in the 100 metres and 200 metres in 1996. From Namibia, he has recently become an IOC member after serving on various international athletes' commissions.
PAUL HENDERSON: from Canada, he has been an IOC member since 2000 and is president of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF). He was a member of Canada's Olympic sailing team in the 1964, 1968, 1972 and 1980 Olympics and is a professional engineer.
PATRICK JARVIS: a leading Paralympian, also from Canada, who moved into sports administration after taking part in the 1992 Paralympics. He was a leading light in Vancouver's successful bid for the 2010 Winter Games and Canada's chef de mission at the 1998 Nagano Paralympic Winter Games.
MUSTAPHA LARFAOUI: an IOC member from Algeria, he is president of the International Swimming Federation (FINA) and one of the founding members of the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada). A former hospital and public health director, he has been president of the African Swimming Confederation for more than 30 years.
JOSI LUIS MARCO: an Argentinian lawyer who sits on the International Ski Federation (FIS), he has worked on evaluation commissions for the IOC for the 2002 and 2010 Games.
SER MIANG NG: an IOC member, he is Singapore's ambassador to Norway. A director of numerous companies, he is a a former vice-president of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) and heads the committee organising the IOC session in Singapore in July when the vote for 2012 will take place.
SAM RAMSAMY: South African lecturer and teacher who was his country's first chef de mission after their re-admittance to the Olympic Games following the apartheid era. He was chairman of South Africa's non-racial Olympic committee during the apartheid years from 1976 to 1990, and has served with the International Swimming Federation (Fina) bureau since 1996.
