IOC president Jacques Rogge predicted that the Commonwealth Games in India will be a success, despite preparations being overshadowed by corruption allegations and delays in venues being completed.
Things have become so bad in India that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appointed a new group of ministers to oversee preparations, visit venues each week to monitor progress and ensure contractors meet fresh deadlines. The ministers were meeting in New Delhi on Sunday to plan how to hasten lagging preparations for the events beginning on 3 October in the Indian capital.
Rogge, however, blamed much of the problems on “pessimistic media” and said the Commonwealth Games will showcase India’s ability to host big sporting events.
“I’m optimistic in spite of everything written by pessimist media for the Commonwealth Games,” Rogge told The Associated Press. “They will show the capacity of India to organise great games.”
Earlier this month, two top Indian officials were fired amid corruption allegations involving the Queen’s Baton Relay in London. Organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi, however, resisted calls for his resignation and the government also appeared unwilling to create more confusion by demanding he quit at this late stage.
Singh also ordered “thorough investigations” into all complaints that have been received about irregularities in building standards, loss of revenue, or overpayments in handing out contracts.
“All those found guilty should face severe and exemplary punishment,” Singh said.
However, punitive action against those responsible for the delays and charges of clearing substandard construction or other corrupt practices would only be taken after the games finish on 14 October.
“The public has a right to know the facts, and the ministers will ensure that timely and authentic information on the state of preparations and the remaining tasks is released to the public,” the statement said.
Faced with the embarrassing possibility of the venues not being ready on time, Singh asked for a weekly report from the ministers and ordered a top Cabinet official to coordinate daily monitoring of preparations. He will visit the stadiums at the end of August.
Singh was forced to step in following mounting pressure from the national media and opposition parties in India demanding that the government take action against Kalmadi, who they hold primarily responsible for the delays and irregularities.
Last week, India’s Central Vigilance Commission issued a report highlighting shoddy building practices and potential problems surrounding the certification of work on games sites. Construction delays have meant that none of the games venues would be finished before deadline.
With infrastructure projects around the city also well behind schedule, the Indian capital is in a race against time to be ready to host the 3-14 October Commonwealth Games – the biggest sporting event in the country since the 1982 Asian Games.
Bidding begins for London Olympic Stadium tenants
The formal process to find a tenant for London’s Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Games began last week with the future of the £537 million-pound venue to be determined by the end of the year.
The two main potential investors to emerge so far are Premier League club West Ham, which wants to leave Upton Park, and American sports and entertainment giant AEG, which revived the former Millennium Dome site near the Olympic Park.
The company in charge of ensuring the post-games success of the Olympic venues has given interested parties until 30 September to lodge proposals and it wants to establish key terms for a long-term lease by 31 December.
The 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium, which will host the opening and closing ceremonies and athletics events, was due to be downscaled after the games to a 25,000-capacity venue mainly for track and field.
But as interest grew in more widespread uses for the east London venue, the Olympic Park Legacy Company began a feasibility study which attracted more than 100 expressions of interest in three months.
The legacy company wants the winning bidder to sign a long-term lease by 31 March, 2011 and start revamping the stadium in November 2012. The aim is for events to resume on the site during 2014.
Bidders have been told they must have “the financial capability to meet the costs of (the) transformation of the stadium... and be able to demonstrate ongoing financial strength.”
Research conducted by the legacy company showed that a capacity ranging from 25,000 to 60,000 seats would be the most feasible.
A warmup track must also be built, with UK Athletics wanting to stage top-level international meets at the stadium, including the world championships in 2015.
World Cup football matches could also be staged there if England’s bid to host the tournament in 2018 or 2022 is successful.
West Ham is bidding jointly with Newham – one of the four local boroughs encompassing the Olympic Park – to maintain a 60,000-seat venue with a running track. Discussions have also begun with cricket officials and UK Athletics.
“The last thing anyone wants is for the Olympic Stadium to become a ghost of Olympics past,” Newham Mayor Robin Wales said on Wednesday. “The only realistic solution is to make the stadium work for a Premier League football team and that should be West Ham.”
AEG operates past Olympic venues in Beijing and Sydney and owns the Dome, now known as the 02 Arena, which will be used for basketball and artistic gymnastics in 2012.
The company is considering making a formal bid for the Olympic stadium, having registered an initial expression of interest.
“We would look to replicate all that the O2 Arena has achieved, especially with the local community job creation, volunteer schemes and education programmes and help to create... a successful legacy for the 2012 Olympic Games,” an AEG statement said.
The Olympic Stadium is being built on a 560-acre site in a once rundown industrial swath of east London, which is witnessing one of Britain’s biggest regeneration projects in decades.
“The stadium is at the heart of the Olympic Park and securing the most appropriate solution is crucial to our long-term aspirations for the area,” said Margaret Ford, who is chair of the Olympic Park Legacy Company.
The capital budget for the Olympics stands at £9.3 billion, nearly three times the original figure, and the additional cost of converting the park to its post-games look is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of pounds (dollars).
The legacy company is taking possession of the site without any debt burden.
Parents lend support at Youth Olympics
MICHAEL CASEY
AP sports writer
One mother provides her son with his favourite chocolate pies, while another prays with her daughter and offers a boisterous wave as she takes to the pool at the Youth Olympics.
Parents are everywhere at the inaugural games, more so than other international events because the athletes, aged 14 through 18, are at an age where they depend on family support.
While they aren’t organising car pools, booking hotels or cooking meals as they do back home, parents still play an integral role – part cheerleader, part confidante, part gopher.
“My role is to encourage them. They already have a lot of pressure from the coach,” said Susan Paler Alkhaldi of the Philippines, who was watching her daughter Jasmine compete in the swimming. “From my side, it’s always praises here. I’m always saying you can do it. Just fight and do the best you can.”
Most of the time the role of parents as developers of sporting talent is overlooked, with coaches and sports federations getting much of the credit. And when they do get attention, it is often for all the wrong reasons.
They can be portrayed as controlling and manipulative or even as bullies – with several high-profile examples in the world of tennis alone.
Aiming to enhance their positive role, US company Procter & Gamble launched the ‘Thank You Mom’ campaign at the 2010 winter Olympics in Vancouver. It’s continued the programme at these Youth Olympics, paying the travel and lodging for 25 mothers from around the world including those from the United States, Australia, the Philippines and Turkey.
“P&G recognises the sacrifice that families, and often moms, make to help children achieve their Olympic dreams,” P&G Global Marketing and Brand Building Officer Marc Pritchard said in a statement. “We also celebrate the families of the athletes because we know they didn’t make it here alone.”
Most of the mothers in the programme saw the potential of their sons or daughters at an early age and all have made significant sacrifices along the way. One single mother from the United States took out a line of credit on her house to help offset the travel costs, while others have sent their children far away from home to training facilities.
“We don’t have a very nice house. My new car has 180,000 miles on it. I don’t have fancy clothes. We don’t go out to eat,” said Karen Kimball of Troy, New York, whose son Will Spear is in the fencing competition. “Everything is for fencing. Will is here so I don’t consider it a sacrifice.”
The athletes are housed in the Youth Olympic villages, but the parents still play a critical role. Alkhaldi and Maria Corazon Deguzman Lacuna, whose son Jessie Khing is the other Filipino swimmer competing, form a two-person cheering squad on most days at the pool, chanting “Go Jessie” or “Go Jaz” as their children line up on the starting blocks.
They also pray with their children and hug them when they lose – which was the case since both children failed to qualify in their respective events.
“I’m just happy to see my son do his best,” Lacuna said, as she waited for him to leave the pool. “We call his name to let him know we are here for him, that he did a good job.”
Alkhadi said they aren’t as rowdy as they are back home, but do their best to remind their children they are watching.
“Maybe we don’t shout as loud as we do back home because we are only two,” she said. “It just feels good to see your daughter competing against these great swimmers. And we understand they aren’t so bad. The difference in times is just a few seconds.”
Kimball, whose older son is also a fencer, has been more of a calming presence for her son. He often comes back to her hotel during breaks in competition to sit on the balcony and eat his favourite Choco Pies. After losses, he comes over and sits silently beside Kimball for hours at a time.
“I’m there to be an oasis from the Olympics, from the fencing, from the hoopla,” said Kimball, who also sends a standard text to her son ahead of a match telling him to breathe, plan his strategy, move and smile.
“He would just sit outside in warm air and relax,” she said of his returns to the hotel. “He has never done that before. That helped him. He had those days to just come and not be anything but a little kid.”