IOC 'greatly impressed' with progress

Speaking at the end of the visit, IOC Coordination Commission Chairman Denis Oswald said: 'The Commission has been greatly impressed by the quality and speed with which LOCOG and its partners have been able to progress since our last visit.

'The most visible element is obviously venue construction, and the progress made on the Olympic Park in particular is truly astounding. In all the areas of preparation, we have been able to see marked progress by the London 2012 team and this puts LOCOG on track to deliver great Games in 2012 and a great legacy beyond.'

London 2012 Organising Committee Chair Sebastian Coe said: 'We take great encouragement from the Commission's comments and the obvious confidence they have in the job we have done so far - they, after all, are the experts. That is not to say that we have one iota of complacency - we know there is much to do, but we are confident we can meet the challenges ahead.'

The Commission was impressed with the cross-party support they heard from the highest levels of Government, including Prime Minister Gordon Brown and leader of the opposition David Cameron.

The Commission also approved the move of Olympic Fencing, Wheelchair Fencing and Paralympic Judo from a temporary venue to the ExCeL venue in Docklands. The change has been made to make sure the Games make the best use of existing venues, rather than creating temporary ones. The temporary Basketball Arena will move to the former site of the Fencing Hall. The final approval must now be given by the IOC’s Executive Board.

Read the IOC's full media release