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LONDON (Reuters) - London's 2012 Olympic preparations are looking good even if there remains a mountain of work ahead as the final year-long countdown begins, chairman Sebastian Coe said on Tuesday.
"We are in good shape," the head of the organising committee LOCOG told reporters on the eve of a day of events marking one year to go to the 'Greatest Show on Earth'
"It's a pretty big moment for us. I think we probably recognise, as most host cities do, that the moment when you actually hit that one mile to go -- one mile, I wish it were -- one year to go is a pretty defining moment," added the only man to win 1,500 metres gold at successive Olympics.
Wednesday marks a year to the lighting of the flame at the showcase opening ceremony in the 80,000 seat Olympic Stadium in what was once a rundown part of east London on July 27, 2012.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge will formally invite the world's athletes to London at a Trafalgar Square ceremony on Wednesday evening that will also offer a first glimpse of the design of the medals.
That, as Coe rightly observed, will be a 'pretty big moment' for all those who have devoted years of their lives chasing a dream and who will finally get to see what it looks like in physical form.
Also on Wednesday, London's colourful mayor Boris Johnson will invite the world to come to the capital, with landmarks like Buckingham Palace and Big Ben serving as iconic backdrops, and join the party.
Tom Daley, one of Britain's leading medal hopes, will make the first dive into the pool at the newly-completed Aquatics Centre in a performance to be broadcast live by the BBC.
FINAL PHASE
"I hope it is just a taster for the year to come and the sort of excitement that London will expect," said Coe, even if he joked that he probably will not be able to relax and enjoy the Games until 2013.
"We are pretty much where we would want to be at this point in the project," he added.
"The Olympic Park venues are in large part built, but there's a mountain of work still to do to turn them into sporting theatres, and the money raised to stage the games."
The next phase, one of testing venues and the infrastructure for the 26 sports, promises to be one of the most testing but London has been given rave reviews by IOC inspectors monitoring progress on regular visits.
There will be major challenges ahead in transport and security, with Britain facing its biggest peacetime operation, while there are still more than a million tickets to be sold for the men's and women's soccer tournaments.
Asked about the mood of the nation, with some commentators concerned that many Londoners who failed to get any tickets in a hugely oversubscribed ballot might be feeling disconnected, Coe pointed to the record demand also for volunteer programmes.
"There is tangible support out there," he said. "I am incredibly pleased with where we are."
"If you had said to me six years ago that, on the eve of one year to go, you would be this far down the road with the project -- in construction, venue management, the funds that we've raised and the stakeholder relationships that we've got out there and the cross-party political support that has held firm come what may -- I would have taken that," added Coe.
For all those who might be jostling to take the credit for bringing the Games to Britain, with London the first city to host the Olympics on three separate occasions, Coe also had a simple message.
"The sportsman in me just permanently takes pride in the fact that 'It's sport what's done it' really," he declared.
"The extraordinary regeneration in East London, all the opportunities, the nation's and region's engagement, the fact that kids are doing things they weren't even three years ago. I can't look at that Olympic Park without taking great pride.
"It's sport that did this. It's sport."
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by...; For Reuters sports blog Left Field go to: http://blogs.reuters.com/sport)
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"We are in good shape," the head of the organising committee LOCOG told reporters on the eve of a day of events marking one year to go to the 'Greatest Show on Earth'
"It's a pretty big moment for us. I think we probably recognise, as most host cities do, that the moment when you actually hit that one mile to go -- one mile, I wish it were -- one year to go is a pretty defining moment," added the only man to win 1,500 metres gold at successive Olympics.
Wednesday marks a year to the lighting of the flame at the showcase opening ceremony in the 80,000 seat Olympic Stadium in what was once a rundown part of east London on July 27, 2012.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge will formally invite the world's athletes to London at a Trafalgar Square ceremony on Wednesday evening that will also offer a first glimpse of the design of the medals.
That, as Coe rightly observed, will be a 'pretty big moment' for all those who have devoted years of their lives chasing a dream and who will finally get to see what it looks like in physical form.
Also on Wednesday, London's colourful mayor Boris Johnson will invite the world to come to the capital, with landmarks like Buckingham Palace and Big Ben serving as iconic backdrops, and join the party.
Tom Daley, one of Britain's leading medal hopes, will make the first dive into the pool at the newly-completed Aquatics Centre in a performance to be broadcast live by the BBC.
FINAL PHASE
"I hope it is just a taster for the year to come and the sort of excitement that London will expect," said Coe, even if he joked that he probably will not be able to relax and enjoy the Games until 2013.
"We are pretty much where we would want to be at this point in the project," he added.
"The Olympic Park venues are in large part built, but there's a mountain of work still to do to turn them into sporting theatres, and the money raised to stage the games."
The next phase, one of testing venues and the infrastructure for the 26 sports, promises to be one of the most testing but London has been given rave reviews by IOC inspectors monitoring progress on regular visits.
There will be major challenges ahead in transport and security, with Britain facing its biggest peacetime operation, while there are still more than a million tickets to be sold for the men's and women's soccer tournaments.
Asked about the mood of the nation, with some commentators concerned that many Londoners who failed to get any tickets in a hugely oversubscribed ballot might be feeling disconnected, Coe pointed to the record demand also for volunteer programmes.
"There is tangible support out there," he said. "I am incredibly pleased with where we are."
"If you had said to me six years ago that, on the eve of one year to go, you would be this far down the road with the project -- in construction, venue management, the funds that we've raised and the stakeholder relationships that we've got out there and the cross-party political support that has held firm come what may -- I would have taken that," added Coe.
For all those who might be jostling to take the credit for bringing the Games to Britain, with London the first city to host the Olympics on three separate occasions, Coe also had a simple message.
"The sportsman in me just permanently takes pride in the fact that 'It's sport what's done it' really," he declared.
"The extraordinary regeneration in East London, all the opportunities, the nation's and region's engagement, the fact that kids are doing things they weren't even three years ago. I can't look at that Olympic Park without taking great pride.
"It's sport that did this. It's sport."
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by...; For Reuters sports blog Left Field go to: http://blogs.reuters.com/sport)
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