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Britain postpones Olympic bid decision again

New York, Quebec to study joint bid ALBANY, New York (AP) -- New York state and Quebec officials are ready to form a committee that will eventually study the idea of a joint bid for a Winter Olympics, possibly in 2014. Former New York senator Ron Stafford and Quebec Sports Minister Richard Legendre said Wednesday that the committee will first look at the possibility of the two jurisdictions co-hosting a major sporting event before launching an Olympic bid. Both men admitted they have a lot of planning and work to do, but Stafford said critics remind him of those who shot down the idea of Lake Placid, New York, obtaining the 1980 Winter Games. "The only thing I'll say is that back in the mid-1960s there were people who were rather cool and it's amazing how warm they got by 1980," he said during a news conference in Quebec. FULL STORY

LONDON (Reuters) -- Britain has again postponed a decision on whether to launch a bid for London to host the 2012 Olympic Games and it may not come for another two weeks.

The government was expected to decide whether London should bid at a meeting of Prime Minister Tony Blair's cabinet on Thursday but the issue has been pushed to the bottom of the agenda.

"Because of the pressures of other business we haven't got round to doing the necessary thinking through on this one," Blair's official spokesman told a news briefing. "I think it will take a bit longer."

With Parliament in recess next week, the decision is likely to be postponed until the following week at the earliest.

This is the third time the government has delayed its decision, which had originally been expected at the end of January.

London's Development Agency said the decision was "unfortunate but understandable."

"The government clearly recognizes the need to make a decision on the Olympics soon and we hope that this can be achieved," agency chief executive Michael Ward said.

Britain has to announce its formal intention to bid by July but the decision is politically fraught. Many in the government are split over the need to give the capital a confidence boost while they are fretting over the cost to the taxpayer.

Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Tessa Jowell has said there is a risk that the total cost of hosting the games would spiral to 4.5 billion pounds (US$7.4 billion) with more than half coming from the public purse.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will choose the venue for the 2012 Olympics in 2005. Madrid, New York and Moscow are the only firm candidates for the Games so far. Germany is due to choose from five possible cities in April and Paris and Rio de Janeiro are possible bidders.

Blair has said it would be "great" to host the Olympics, but Britain should only bid if it had a realistic chance of winning.

 

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