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IOC President Rogge And London 2012 Sign The Host City Contract
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| Olympic Games London 2012 - IOC President Rogge And London 2012 Sign The Host City Contract |
SINGAPORE-(7-7-2005) The Host City Contract of the Games of the XXX Olympiad was signed on behalf of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) by the IOC President, Jacques Rogge, and the Chairman of the IOC’s Finance Commission, Richard Carrión; on behalf of the British Olympic Association (BOA) by the BOA Chairman, Craig Reedie, and the BOA’s CEO, Simon Clegg; and on behalf of the City of London by the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. Following the signing of the contract, the signatories were joined in a press conference by the President of the BOA and IOC Member HRH The Princess Royal; Sebastian Coe, Chairman of the London Bid and Tessa Jowell, British Olympic Minister.
Spirit Of Competition
President Rogge congratulated the London bid team on winning the vote and said he expected that London 2012 would organise excellent Games. The President thanked the four cities not elected - making particular note of the spirit of the competition - whom he hoped would return in the future for another try at hosting the Games. As the President pointed out, losing is a cruel element of sport and especially so in this case, as there is only a gold medal and no silver or bronze. Appreciating the number of members of the London team that had been around the Olympic Movement for many years, President Rogge related how he had first met Sebastian Coe in the Olympic Village in Moscow, just after Coe had won his gold medal, and how it was now incredible that they were both here today.
Quality Work
Sebastian Coe echoed the sentiments of President Rogge towards the other candidate cities and the quality of their bids. Coe also paid tribute to Nawal El Moutakawal, the IOC Member who led the IOC’s Evaluation Commission, for the quality of her work. Coe spoke of his pride in the team that had surrounded him during the candidature procedure for the quality of their work. Coe was delighted to have been given the opportunity to bring the Games to London and to use these Games as a catalyst to encourage young people to participate in sport.
Support From The Government And City Authorities
Craig Reedie again echoed the sentiments of Rogge and Coe towards the losing cities because of the many friends that he has in those cities’ bid teams. Reedie paid tribute to the work of Sebastian Coe and his team and he paid special tribute to the backing that the London bid had received from the Mayor of London, the British Government and in particular, the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair. Reedie said that this would be the best thing for sport in Great Britain and would improve the country and give young people the encouragement to participate more in sport.
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Source: IOC Newsletter |
