Seb Coe Delivers Thank-You Message From British Prime Minister to IOC For London Games

Turin:- London 2012 Chairman, Sebastian Coe, today delivered a special message to the IOC from British Prime Minister Tony Blair, thanking members for choosing London to host the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

The message expressed the Prime Minister's gratitude to IOC members for supporting London's vision to stage the best possible Games for athletes and the Olympic Movement and to inspire more young people into sport.

"It was therefore a great honour for us that you placed your trust and belief in London to be a guardian of the Olympic spirit," the Prime Minister said in the note read by Coe to the IOC's 118 Session in Turin, on the eve of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games.

The Prime Minister travelled to Singapore to demonstrate the British Government's commitment to the London Games in meetings with IOC members prior to the vote for the 2012 Olympic Games host city.

Coe delivered the Prime Minister's message while outlining early progress on the London Games for the first time to the IOC membership since London's selection as Olympic host city last July.

The presentation highlighted London 2012's promise to start work immediately on the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games if selected as host city.

"We made a commitment to you in Singapore," Coe said, "that with funding, planning permission and much of the land in place to stage the Games, we would start work the very next day if London was selected as the Olympic host city and that's exactly what we did."

Coe's presentation team for the IOC Session included new CEO Paul Deighton, Jackie Brock-Doyle, Director of Communications & Public Affairs and Debbie Jevans, Director of Sport for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG).

The presentation highlighted the wide range of appointments and activities undertaken by London Olympic Games organisers since winning the Bid, including establishment and recruitment of senior staff and executives for LOCOG and the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), which will build venues and infrastructure for the Games.

"This means that the key structures and senior leadership team to deliver the London Games are already in place, just seven months after the bid," Coe told the IOC.

The London 2012 update report to the IOC also included changes to enhance the layout, operation, construction times and community legacy of the Olympic Park site, centre piece of the London Games where several key venues including the Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre and Olympic Village will be co-located.

Key short-term LOCOG and the ODA priorities were also outlined, including:

• Signing the joint marketing plan and developing the overall marketing and sponsorship Programme
• Creating the brand identity
• Working closely with International Federations in developing venue and infrastructure specifications
• Preliminary planning of the key components of our Environmental, Transport, Technology and Paralympic plans
• Putting in place the ODA Board and its senior management team
• Testing and validating plans for Olympic Park
• Completing the acquisition of land for the Olympic Park
• And finally to put in place the procurement strategy for the construction of venues and infrastructure.

Coe also told IOC members that the Games in London would change lives, on and off the sporting field.

"Sport remains at the heart of the London 2012 Games. Our vision is to inspire young people and change lives," Coe said.

Coe said he and a core team of London 2012 Games staff would study the operation of the Turin Olympic Games in order to better integrate world best practice into London's Olympic plans.

- Ends -

Click here to read Lord Coe's full speech to the IOC

Notes to Editors:

For further information, please contact the London 2012 Press Office on + 44 (0)203 2012 100 or in Turin contact Michael Pirrie on + 44 (0)7867 504 856 / Jackie Brock-Doyle + 44 (0)7876 785 756.