'Queen backs Paris for 2012'

2005-01-13 10:36

London - Queen Elizabeth II has reportedly said Paris, not London, will win the five-way contest to stage the 2012 Olympic Games, citing a lack of public support as a major weakness of the British capital city's bid.

She apparently voiced her concerns during a reception at Buckingham Palace, her London residence, during a reception for Britons who have made outstanding contributions to the nation.

Amran Hussain, 19, who works with the deaf, was quoted by Thursday's edition of the Daily Mail tabloid as saying: "I told her I was from Newham, a London borough which is backing the bid for 2012.

"I thought she would be really enthusiastic and go into the subject of the economic benefits, but she straight away said she thought that Paris would win. I was quite shocked, because she'd previously been backing the London bid.

"She said that Paris had a lot of backing from the public and we don't have that, unfortunately."

However, a spokesperson for the Queen told the Mail: "The Queen has already shown her support for 2012 by hosting a reception at Buckingham Palace last June for the bid team and athletes."

Meanwhile London 2012 described her reported remarks as "not verifiable". A spokesperson added: "They do not fit with our own experience of the support we have been given by the Queen."

But any damage to the London bid arising out of the Queen's alleged comments was already being overshadowed here on Thursday by the undeniably huge public relations disaster of a photograph on the front page of the Sun, Britain's biggest selling daily newspaper, of her youngest grandson, Prince Harry, wearing Nazi uniform at a fancy dress party.

'White elephants'

There has been plenty of debate within Britain about the desirability of a London Olympic bid.

In November, heptathlete Kelly Sotherton, a bronze medallist at last year's Athens Olympics, broke ranks with most of her fellow British athletes when she voiced fears London would be left with a legacy of "white elephants" - expensive disused sites - were it to stage the Games.

But if London's bid was successful, organisers say the athletes village in the east of the city would be transformed into 3 600 flats after the Olympics. They have also projected a profit of some £100m.

However, critics point out that the Greek government has had to set aside some $115m just to maintain its Olympic stadiums in 2005 alone for what was, at $8bn and rising, the most expensive Games in history.

Montreal, where the bill for staging the 1976 Games will not be finally settled until next year, has also been cited as an example of the long-term financial pitfalls of hosting an event that, for all its impact, still lasts for just a fortnight.

The other cities bidding to stage the 2012 Games are Madrid, Moscow and New York.

- AFP