Strike warning for 2012 Olympics - Building: "The construction of the 2012 Olympics could be hit by strikes and industrial disputes if the ODA does not implement a uniform pay structure, the UCATT has warned."
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Tessa Jowell: 'Olympic budget is immovable' - Telegraph: "The budget for the London Olympics is now 'immovable', claims Tessa Jowell, the minister in charge of the project - but she admits that she would be a 'fool' to offer any cast-iron guarantee.
The cost of the 2012 London Games has risen to almost four times the original £2.4 billion estimate since the bid succeeded less than two years ago."
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The Press Association: Tourism warning over 2012 Olympics: "Britain must beware the fate of Greece in 2004 when assuming the 2012 London Olympics will bring a big influx of visitors, a tourism chief has warned.
Tourism Alliance head Kurt Janson said regular tourists stayed away from Greece through fear of overcrowding.
Important aims in London must be to encourage additional tourists without discouraging regular visitors, he said."
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Evening News 24 - New plan to make 2012 Olympics a winner: "With the countdown ticking to the 2012 Olympics, Norfolk is getting ready to cash in on the greatest games on earth.
Action plans are in place to ensure sporting talent is developed and the county is pushed as a prime tourist spot for those heading to London for the games.
Steering groups at councils across the county are already being set up and, although the University of East Anglia has been ruled out as an official training base for Olympians, the county still hopes to attract athletes to the area for training.
Steve Morphew, leader of Norwich City Council, has high hopes for 2012. He said: “The Olympics provides a lot of opportunities for us here in Norwich - we are the gateway to a tourism boost.
“We want people to discover Norwich before the rest of the world does - and with only a one hour 45 minute train journey ending directly where you need to be for the games we are on the doorstep.”
Targets have even been set on the amount of increased trade and council chiefs across the county are hoping to increase tourism footfall by 3pc during the 2012 Olympic period.
Council bosses also hope that Norfolk firms will benefit from the construction work which will be needed to improve London"
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BBC NEWS | UK | London 2012 'facing strike risk': "Building projects for the London 2012 Olympics could be hit by strikes and delays unless a uniform rate of pay for workers is agreed, a union has warned.
Building union Ucatt said not doing so was 'recipe for industrial disharmony'.
It claims varying rates among 10,000 staff working on projects including the main stadium will cause delays as they switch jobs to get the best pay.
The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) said pay was set at 'a national rather than a workplace level'.
Work on the 80,000-seater Olympic Stadium is due to begin in April in Stratford, East London.
Up to 45 contracting firms, including carpenters, bricklayers, roofers, plumbers, electricians and drivers, are expected to be involved."
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TODAY'S ZAMAN: "Yerlikaya notes that as a deputy, he represents all sportsmen, not only wrestlers. 'I am their representative in Parliament. Sportsmen from all branches come to visit me and make requests. And this is what I expect,' he says. Yerlikaya says they will launch a campaign titled “1,000 golden children” in order to ensure Turkey’s preparations for the 2012 Olympics are improved, adding that he has high hopes for this campaign.
'Turkey must be well prepared for the 2012 Olympics. However, many fellow sportsmen cannot attend their practices because they do not have sufficient financial resources. To counter this problem, talented sportsmen will be paid a monthly salary close to the minimum wage. In this way, they will not have to worry about finding money for their basic needs. If this campaign is managed well, Turkey may be very successful at the 2012 Olympics. We have already submitted a bill to Parliament to do this,' he said."
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After SEAG, cycling eyes 2012 London Olympics - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos: "BIGGER, brighter things are coming Philippine cycling's way after its impressive performance in the recent 24th Southeast Asian Games in Thailand where it bagged four gold medals.
The Philippine Sports Commission, through chairman William Ramirez, has expressed willingness to fund the cyclists' training which may lead to a stint in the 2012 London Olympics.
An Olympic slot would require a rider to compete in as many UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) races as possible. Such races are particularly staged in Europe and a few in Australia. UCI points are earned in every race regardless of the cyclist's finish.
But before a rider can qualify for UCI races, he must first join UCI training centers in Europe--specifically at the UCI World Cycling Center in Aigle, Switzerland--Melbourne and Sydney and Japan.
Malaysia and Indonesia, which won four gold medals out of the 11 offered in track, sent their riders to Australia and Switzerland."
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Law student hopes she will compete in 2012 Olympics - Chester standard: "AN INTERNATIONAL trampolinist who studies law at the University of Chester has her sights firmly set on the London Olympics in 2012 after representing Great Britain at the under-19 World Championships in Canada.
Fresh from finishing 12th at the Championships in Quebec, Amy Sims, 18, is hoping to rise to the top of the sporting and legal worlds by combining her University studies with training and competing alongside trampolining's biggest stars.
Amy, from Hale Village in Liverpool, is ranked the fourth-best British trampoliner at under-19 level. As well as representing City of Salford Trampoline Club, she is studying at the University with the help of a Sports Scholarship and trains five times a week for up to six hours a day.
Amy, who finished third in a warm-up tournament for the BUSA national finals, said: 'Trampolining is an Olympic sport and I'll probably be at the right age when 2012 comes around. I'm improving all the time, and it would be absolutely brilliant to be able to take part in such a big event."
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Sail World - Powerboat-World: Sail and sailing, cruising, boating news: "The Board of Yachting New Zealand has resolved to make a submission to the ISAF mid year meeting requesting that the Events slate for the 2012 Olympic Games be revisited.
'The Board consulted with the Olympic Committee and the High Performance Committee on the matter and made the decision to make such a submission based on the longer term view of the future of sailing at the Olympics rather than the specific medal opportunities at the 2012 Games."
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Digger | Columnists | Guardian Unlimited Football: "The 2012 Olympics budget is at risk of being burdened with another £65m for a 12-month period from April 2008 alone, if the Metropolitan Police Authority gets its way. And even that figure will be dwarfed by the MPA's demands over the following three years.
In April this year the Met conducted a comprehensive spending review for the three-year period to March 2011, with a section specifically focusing on its Olympic-related costs. But that has now been overtaken because the MPA has submitted a massively revised funding demand to the Home Office and expects a response in the new year."
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Mollie, three, will be Olympic star - Halifax Today: "LITTLE Mollie Butterworth blows out the candles on an extra-special birthday cake.
She celebrated her third birthday yesterday with 10 other children from across Yorkshire and Humber.
They are some of the hundreds of 2012 Olympic babies chosen to participate in the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Mollie, of Oliver Meadows, Elland, was born on December 20, 2004, a day that was designated '2012 day' during the run-up up to London's bid for the Olympics.
The parents of babies born on that day were invited to register with the Olympic committee as part of the country's Olympic bid.
Mollie's mum and dad, Sam and Steve, signed her up and now she will have a role in the official celebrations of the Games in 2012, when she is seven.
She will take part either in the opening, closing or team welcome ceremonies or one of the other events across the capital.
At a special party at Eureka Children's Museum in Halifax, the 11 toddlers blew out the candles on two specially commissioned cakes decorated with the logos of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
They we
re all given a balloon and a big piece of cake to take home to share with family and friends.
Sam said: 'It is a big thing for Mollie. When she grows up, whatever she decides to do,"
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CCTV International: "ll 4 years after Beijing hosts the Olympics, the city of London will take centre stage. London Olympics Chairman Sebastian Coe says that so far, preparations for the 2012 Games are right on schedule and within budget.
But Olympics minister Tessa Jowell admitted the figure for staging the 2012 games had tripled to 19 billion US dollars. In addition, the modern-looking, jagged logo is getting a mixed reception. And the design for the main stadium has been described as a 'fruit bowl' by some critics. But the demolition of buildings on the site of the Olympic Park in East London - has been completed on time, and construction work is set to start in the New Year. London Olympic Games Organizing Committee chairman Lord Sebastian Coe, says that he's satisfied with the progress.
Lord Sebastian Coe, London 2012 Organizing Committee Chairman, said, 'Everything that we claimed we said we wanted to do a year ago, both in terms of the local Organizing Committee and the Olympic Delivery Authority, we've met. That means construction, that also means for our side some of the preparation, some of the planning, and certainly bringing the business partners to the table, which in essence means actually having the financial wherewithal to stage the Games.'"
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has told the governmental bodies involved in preparations for the 2014 Olympic Games that there is very little time left for building relevant infrastructure.
"I would like to warn you from any illusions that we have plenty of time. Considering those large-scale tasks which are to be resolved, we are short of time," Putin said at a first session of the presidential Council for Physical Education, Sports and Preparations for the Olympics, in Moscow on Tuesday.
"By 2013 or better yet by 2012, all facilities must be not just ready but also be tested by athletes at large international competitions," Putin said.
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BA tipped to be official 2012 Olympics airline | Evening Standard: "British Airways is tipped to become the official airline of the London Olympics in a multi-million pound deal. While no agreement has yet been reached, the national carrier is thought to be on the verge of becoming a 'tier one' sponsor with an announcement due as early as next month. The Standard understands that two other contenders for the airline category, Virgin and Emirates, are no longer in the running , although yet another airline could still trump BA. Budget airlines are thought unlikely to become official backers of the Games as they do not have sufficient marketing money. The London Games organising committee, Locog, are eager to sign up an airline before the end of the year as they need to arrange more than 1,000 flights for Team GB athletes and officials to next summer's Beijing Olympics. These would be provided free as part of the deal. Planes from the official 2012 airline will also be used to fly inspectors from the International Olympic Committee into London for their regular visits over the next five years. The target cash value of any airline deal is not known, although the three existing 2012 partners - Lloyds TSB, EDF Energy and Adidas - have paid between £50m and £80m for the association. In return, the official airl"
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Lord Sebastian Coe, the London 2012 Olympics chief, said hammering drugs cheats was crucial to the Games' success.
The 1980 and 1984 Olympic 1,500 metres champion insisted the London Games would have the toughest possible testing measures to catch out dope cheats.
The issue is "absolutely essential" to the success or failure of the world's biggest sporting event, Coe told AFP at the party conference of Britain's main opposition Conservatives in Blackpool, north-west England.
"We have to be a zero tolerance Games," said the 51-year-old chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games.
"It's everything I've stood for for the last 30 years. I was the first person to speak at an International Olympics Committee (IOC) congress as an athlete about the problems of drugs in sport.
"We take it very, very seriously. It is absolutely at the centre of everything we believe.
"Sport is about free, open and fair competition. We want these Games to be for everyone and they cannot be for everyone, particularly as competitors, if you have a small group that decide to cheat."
The Conservative member of parliament's upper House of Lords said the testing procedures were likely to be the toughest ever faced by athletes.
"Every Games is tough, but of course we want to make sure that we are absolutely abreast with every detective mechanism that we've got available to us," he said.
"We've got all the testing procedures that the IOC will bring, all our international federations and of course we're now building our medical team at the local organising committee.
"That will be the full panoply of everything that is at an Olympic Games, with the advantage of being able to use even greater and more modern technology over the next five years."
Coe will also have the benefit of hindsight after next year's Olympics in Beijing. He is confident the measures in place for the 2008 Games are up to scratch for catching out those attempting to cheat on the world's biggest stage.
"In every assessment, Beijing is turning out to be a spectacular Games," he said.
"The IOC of course is responsible for the testing at a Games and the IOC takes every Games very, very seriously, winter and summer."
Jonathan Edwards, Britain's triple jump world record holder, said he expected dope cheat athletes would be caught out in Beijing due to the rigorous testing system now in place.
"I think it will crop up because we take it seriously," he told AFP.
"Due to the amount of out-of-competition testing that goes on, and in-competition testing as well through the Games -- I imagine the top three will be tested, probably one other randomly out of the top eight -- it is very, very difficult to cheat.
"There will be those who will by definition be one step ahead of the system but I think they will be by far the minority, simply because the level of subterfuge and financial clout needed makes it possible for only very few athletes."
The former Olympic, world and European champion, widely regarded as the finest triple jumper ever, said he never came across drugs in athletics and reckoned it was far from widespread.
However, he added that athletes were often exposed to being doped by their coaches due to their reliance on them off the track.
"I do think athletes are very vulnerable," said the retired 41-year-old, now the athletes' representative on the London 2012 organising board.
"They're desperate to achieve their dreams. We trust other people to do all the other little bits and pieces for us, so we can focus solely on getting ourselves in the best shape.
"I can envisage a scenario whereby an athlete is given a supplement by their coach, the coach says, 'take that, it's OK, don't worry.'
"The athlete trusts that person's judgement and the advice they are giving to them, the athlete takes the supplement -- and it's actually illegal.
"That is not impossible. In the end, the athlete does have to take responsibility, but you do need to look beyond that to the coaches and potentially systems that try to cheat."
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Sportswear manufacturer Adidas became the third sponsor of the London Olympics on Thursday in a deal worth more than 100 million pounds (C$203 million).
Adidas becomes the official sportswear partner for the 2012 Games and will also provide clothing for the 70,000 volunteers, as well officials and those running the torch relay.
The deal also covers sponsorship for clothing and equipment used by British athletes for the 2008 Beijing Games, the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games and London.
"No other host city has made such progress in its domestic sponsorship five years out from the games," London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe said.
Adidas flew in world champions Tyson Gay and Allyson Felix for Thursday's launch, and the pair ran on a mock racing track on the Millennium Bridge over the River Thames to highlight the deal.
The sponsorship announcement also featured five - time Olympic goal medallist Nadia Comaneci. England soccer star David Beckham also made an appearance via a hologram - speaking about his joy at competing in front of crowds in his native London.
Adidas joins British bank Lloyds TSB, which has signed up as a banking and insurance partner, and EDF Energy, which has the utilities sponsorship. London hopes to name a fourth sponsor by Christmas.
"Our objective, and I think we'll probably get there, is to have all our tier one sponsors in place by Beijing, which would be the first time a host city has done that," Coe said.
The other categories are telecoms, automotive, airline, oil and gas and a clothing and homeware manufacturer.
The top - tier sponsors will help raise two billion pounds (C$4 billion) for the London Olympic organizing committee.
"It's a really important commercial message as well," Coe said. "It's not just the importance of coming to the table with serious help, in terms of helping us deliver our financial commitments. These are partners coming to the table that can bring other levels of expertise.
A separate budget for venues, infrastructure and regeneration projects totals 9.3 billion pounds (C$18.8 billion).
Adidas chief executive officer Herbert Hainer said the sponsorship was the biggest single investment that the German company had made in the British market. He said he wanted Adidas to be the leading ports brand in Britain and the largest sportswear maker in Europe.
Adidas would also deliver the highest merchandizing revenues to LOCOG from any single sponsor, Adidas Europe managing director Gil Steyeart said.
Adidas also has a sportswear partnership for the Beijing Olympics.
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