ODA CEO Quits

David Higgins, CEO of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), has quit in order to join Network Rail.

He will leave in February 2011, and will be replaced by the ODA's current finance director Dennis Hone.

Last year Higgins was awarded a bonus of £200K (a large part of which he deferred), on top of his £384K salary.

Is this really the best time for him to leave?

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Boris's Massive Erection - Cloud Cuckoo Land

Boris Johnson's competition for building an Olympics tower (the £15M cost of which will be funded by Lakshmi Mittal, the steel magnate) have received a number of "interesting" entries, including one from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for a cloud of inflatable plastic bubbles that would float above London's skyline.

The MIT architects are quoted in This is London:

"It proposes an entirely new form of observation deck, high above the Olympics — one from which one can not only see the whole of London, but the whole of the world, immersed in the euphoric gusts of weather and world data.

It offers London's highest park and an immersion within both our great clouded skies and the cosmos of our dataworlds — as well as a live information system transmitting data and imagery from around the city and the world."

'Nuff said!

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Boris's Massive Erection

Full marks to Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, for thinking big.

He has plans for a massive erection, to be erected for the London 2012 Olympics, that will rival the Eiffel Tower.

The 400ft tower (a cross between a Native American totem pole and a pylon) will be built at the Stratford Olympics site, and the £15M cost will be funded by Lakshmi Mittal the steel magnate.

At night "Boris's Erection" will be illuminated using power generated from solar panels.

Well, let's see how this goes then:)

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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The Flat Pack Games

The London 2012 Olympics is rapidly morphing into the "flat-pack Olympics", as 17 sports will end up with zero bricks-and-mortar legacy at the end of the games.

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Boris Battles IOC

I see that Boris Johnson is going into battle against the IOC et al, over plans to build a £40M temporary venue near the 02 in Greenwich.

According to Adrian Warner of the BBC:

"Expect plenty of rows on this for months yet. And also expect Johnson to dig in hard to get his way.

2012 has become very political. This row is so acrimonious that Johnson rushed in front of TV cameras this week without even telling 2012 he planned to do so.

Boris has stepped out of the Olympic tent. The 2012 consensus has been shattered. With the IOC also ready to play a hard game, we are in for some interesting days."

My money's on Boris winning this one!

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Dirty Blog

It seems that the Leabank Square Residents' Association (who reside in the shadow of the London Olympic construction site) have fallen foul of the Olympic Development Authority (ODA), in a dispute over comments made on the residents' blogsite.

The blog had accused senior officials of lying about their efforts to reduce noise and air pollution at the development.

The ODA then threatened court action if "libellous" comments were not removed from the site, they noted that some of the comments were "personal and threatening" to an individual.

The contentious posts have been removed.

However, the residents still want the dust removed as they believe the ODA promised they would do but claim is not happening.

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Cuts

Over £20M per annum, for the next 3 years, will be cut from the London budget to cover irregularities in the 2012 Olympics accounts.

The black hole (estimated at being between £60M-£100M) in the accounts means that the London Development Agency, the Mayor of London's economic and business unit, does not have sufficient reserves to cover compensatory commitments owed to businesses forcibly relocated from the Olympic Park.

KPMG are conducting a forensic investigation into the irregularities, and will issue a report at the end of July.

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Slump Hits Flats

The Guardian reports that the slump in property prices has resulted in the number of post Olympic apartments, in London's Olympic Park, being reduced from 4,200 to about 2,800.

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Mass Grave Found on Olympics Site

Reuters report:

"An ancient burial pit containing 45 severed skulls, that could be a mass war grave dating back to Roman times, has been found under a road being built for the 2012 British Olympics."

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Regeneration?

Figures provided by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) show that of the 4,101 workers employed in constructing the Olympic Park, approximately 20% are from the five local boroughs.

Within the 20%, only 115 were formerly unemployed in Greenwich, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets or Waltham Forest.

The cost of the Olympic Park is currently estimated to be £1.1BN.

Not much of a legacy for the local community!

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Jowell Nationalises Olympic Village

As expected, the private funds for the London Olympic Village have simply dried up, as the hapless Olympics Minister (Tessa Jowell) was forced to announce that the village has been "nationalised".

In other words the taxpayer is paying for construction, using the part of the contingency fund. To date £1.4BN of the £2.7BN fund has been used. Given that the Olympics are still three years away, this rapid draw down of the fund is somewhat alarming; and underscores the fact that the the Olympics budget (currently standing at £12BN including £2BN running costs) is not worth the paper that it is written on.

The "good" news, according to Jowell (quoted in the Telegraph) is that:

"It is clear that investing in the village will now save public money in the long term".

This of course is complete bollocks, as hosting the Olympics was never a compulsory event; ie no Olympics, no cost!

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Another Raid on The Contingency Fund

True to form, the financial black hole that is the London Olympics 2012 continues to suck ever increasingly large amounts of cash out of the hard pressed British taxpayers.

The government are discussing a further raid, estimated to be around £400M, on the Olympic contingency fund in order to make up the shortfall in private sector funding for the Olympic village.

The Government raided the fund to the tune of £326M in January.

The "budget" currently stands at £12M (including £2M running costs).

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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A Nice Little Earner?

Despite the fact that the property market has all but collapsed, there are still possibilities for those with "balls of steel" to make some money.

That at least is the view that some estate agents and property development companies are trying to propagate, in respect of property near to the Olympics 2012 site.

George Wimpey, for example, are offering packages on its Altius apartment homes development which is near the London 2012 Olympic Village.

Deals include £199,995 for a one-bedroom apartment, or fast track completion in two weeks gets you the same property for £179,995.

The theory being that demand for property near to the games will be high as 2012 approaches, ie buyers can rent out the property or "flip" them to another buyer for a premium.

We shall see!

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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The Destruction of East London

Hackney resident and author Iain Sinclair reports for Channel 4 News on how developments for the 2012 Olympic Games are destroying east London.

So much for the Legacy!



Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Gagged?

BBC London claim to have found that some contracts between the London 2012 Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) forbid the contractors from talking to third parties (without ODA permission) about costs, plans and other issues.

The BBC also claim to have seen contracts that allow the ODA to search companies' premises and emails, if they are suspected of breaching the confidentiality clauses.

The ODA deny this, and are quoted in the Telegraph:

"We have not seen the contracts to which the BBC are referring but we have an excellent record on transparency."

I guess the BBC were mistaken then?

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Lawyers To Make a Killing

Every cloud has a silver lining, and it should come as no surprise to learn that even if the Olympics are a colossal waste of money and that we are facing the worst recession for decades, lawyers will still make money out of the games.

That at least is the view of Charles Tomlinson of Mace & Jones'.

He is quoted on Heating and Ventilating News:

"When London was awarded the Olympics the construction sector was booming. It was a welcome bonus for the sector. Now it will be seen as vital for the survival of many companies at time of unprecedented crisis in the sector.

With margins going through the floor and the commercial sector in freefall, all parties will be looking to protect their positions. This is not the ideal environment for a project of the scale and importance of the Olympics.

If, or example, you are waiting payment, does the other party have the means to pay? If so, a well timed adjudication can protect cash flow.

In relation to more complex disputes, parties must consider alternative forms of dispute resolution such as mediation, expert determination or just good old fashioned commercial negotiation to keep the project alive".

The lawyers will at least do very well out of the games!

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Bailout

As predicted, the credit crunch has negatively impacted plans for the 2012 London Olympics.

The contingency fund has been tapped to provide £95M to bail out part of the project.

The Olympic Village project was originally intended to be a public-private partnership. However, the contractors (Lend Lease) have a funding shortfall of £250M. It is likely that further taxpayers' money will be needed to bailout the games.

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Polish Emigration Threat To Games

An exodus of skilled Polish workers, leaving recession hit Britain for their motherland, is threatening the Olympic building programme for the 2012 games.

There are currently not enough skilled British workers to replace them. The government, ever keen to maintain its "employment figures" has neglected the skills base of the UK; as employing people flipping burgers is not necessarily as "value adding" as a skilled trade.

In order to combat the expected skills shortage, a fast-track training scheme is being put in place to teach British workers basic construction skills, including how to use a digger.

The Olympic Delivery Authority, the London Development Agency (LDA) and other partner organisations will spend £20M (23% of their training budget) on this scheme.

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

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Final Cat Rescued

Great news, Celia Hammond has rescued the final cat from the 2012 Olympics site.

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Asbestos Found

Work on the foundations of the London 2012 Olympics Stadium has had to be halted, because of the discovery of asbestos.

Samples of asbestos were found in the construction site at Stratford, the Olympic Delivery Authority said yesterday.

Work has now been stopped in one section of the site "as a precautionary measure," while construction of the rest of the stadium and Olympic Park continued.

This discovery will doubtless add to the costs.

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