London produced very good Games: IOC’s Rogge

Friday, 10 August 2012 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: London has delivered a “very good Games”, with athletes, teams and federations delighted with the facilities, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said on Wednesday.

With just over four days remaining, Rogge said he had no complaints with what he had seen so far.

“All in all I would say these are very good Games and I am a very happy man,” he told reporters after being asked whether London had delivered on its promises.

“I think everybody is very happy. I will have attended all sports until (by) the end of the Games, the federations are very happy about the venues. Everybody is really ecstatic about the Olympic village.”

Belgian Rogge, a former Olympic yachtsman, said broadcasters had reported increased ratings while the success of the home team, with Britain enjoying their best medal haul since 1908, was also a very important factor.

Team GB had won a record 22 gold medals and 48 medals in total by the end of Day 11 on Tuesday, ranking third in the overall table behind China and the United States and triggering an outpouring of enthusiasm across the sports-mad nation.

The opening ceremony of the Olympics attracted an estimated global TV audience of 900 million people, with U.S. broadcaster NBC notching up record viewing figures across the Atlantic.

Rogge has so far visited 22 of the 26 sports with the remainder on his schedule for the final four days.

“There is also the success of the home team and that is very important,” he said from the 28th floor of a central London hotel with a panoramic view of the capital.

London won the right to host the Olympics in 2005 with the promise of delivering Olympic Games that would revamp part of the city’s once run-down East End.

A day after winning the Olympics, however, the capital was hit by deadly bombing attacks that instantly raised security concerns.

The sharp economic downturn from 2008 onwards further squeezed the budget with costs soaring to over 9.3 billion pounds, more than three times the initial estimate.

Organisers opted to use several existing venues while also constructing some temporary ones in an effort to rein in costs.

Legacy remained a constant slogan in their preparations but they have still to finalise the future use and ownership of the Olympic stadium after the 16-day sports extravaganza.