The chief organiser of the next Summer Olympics is impressed but not overawed by what he’s seen so far at the Beijing Games.
“Overall, very good,” was the verdict yesterday of Sebastian Coe, head of the organising committee of the 2012 London Olympics.
“Nothing surprises me,” he said. “We knew the venues were going to be superb and the planning was in place. I’m now witnessing a city that has dressed for the games. The city is embracing the greatest show on earth.”
Beijing’s spectacular opening ceremony and the overall grand scale of China’s games will be a hard act to follow, but Coe said the British capital will be ready to put on its own memorable event.
“We don’t sit here cowed by anything we’ve seen,” he said, noting that Barcelona and Sydney had also raised the bar for future Olympics.
London has more than 100 observers in Beijing following all facets of the organisation. It’s been an eye-opening experience for many of them who are witnessing their first Olympics.
“It’s like watching your kids wake up, open the curtains and see the back garden covered in snow for the first time,” Coe said.
With China’s unlimited manpower and government financial backing, Beijing faced no problems in building the venues and infrastructure for these Olympics. London has to cope with budget restraints and is following an IOC blueprint for keeping the games to a manageable size and leaving no white elephants.
“Big is not necessarily better,” Coe said. “To remain relevant you have to deliver a games that leaves benefits long after the games have left town.”
Construction has begun on London’s main Olympic stadium, which will hold 85,000 spectators for the games but will be downsized to 25,000 seats afterward and serve as a venue for track and field.
Coe’s main focus for 2012 is ensuring the best possible condition for the athletes.
“When I went to an Olympic Games, I didn’t want to confront anything on the track I hadn’t confronted twenty-fold in training,” said Coe, who won gold medals in the 1,500 metres at the 1980 and 1984 Olympics.
In another difference from Beijing, London will not alter its sports competition schedule to satisfy NBC’s broadcasting schedule in the United States. Swimming and gymnastics finals, normally held in the evening, were moved to the morning in Beijing so they could be seen live in prime time in the US East Coast.
“We are in quite a benign time zone,” Coe said, noting that London is five hours ahead of New York time. “There are a lot fewer challenges. I spoke to the president of NBC right at the beginning of the process and we decided that (changing the schedule) will not be the case.”
With Chinese athletes raking in gold medals in Beijing, the success of British athletes in London will also be key to the success of the 2012 games.
As of yesterday, Britain had won two gold medals and seven in total, but could pick up a bunch more this weekend in rowing, cycling, sailing and athletics. Britain has set the ambitious target of finishing fourth in the medals table in 2012.
“I take a more old-fashioned view,” he said. “I’m less moved by where we finish in the medals table. I focus on big Olympic moments. It’s really important that we have big, big British moments.”