Weather worries in London
Soggy summer could lead to rescheduling of some Olympic events, top organizer says
LONDON – The wet British summer is proving a challenge for London Olympic organizers with contingency plans that could lead to the rescheduling of the rowing and equestrian events as a last resort, Games chairman Sebastian Coe said Tuesday.
The Eton Dorney rowing lake in parkland to the west of London and Greenwich Park, where the equestrian competition will be held, are the two major outdoor venues on sites of environmental significance.
Coe told reporters at the first of a series of daily brief- ings at the Olympic media centre that months of rain, which may be about to lift according to some forecasts, had posed a problem.
“I spent most of Sunday in the Olympic Stadium watching a goodly chunk of our 15,000 volunteer cast heroically rehearsing in the rain,” he said.
“I’ve joked in the past about the challenge of putting a roof across the whole country, but this is actually proving quite a challenge to us.
“We’ve got waterlogged sites, we’ve got resurfacing that’s taking place in some of our areas, particularly some of our more sensitive rural sites,” the double Olympic gold medallist added.
Workers are having to lay down a trackway and surfaces for spectators and vehicles to use, now and during the Games, at the Greenwich venue, while extra shelters are being put in place for venue staff.
Coe said there were longstanding plans, factored into budgets, that could lead to a slippage of the schedule if worst comes to worst.
“We’ve got the contingency of extra days available to us in rowing and in equestrian sports, as a last resort of course,” he declared. “We’ve got an alternate sailing course available to us at Weymouth and, of course, we’ve got the famous roof at Wimbledon.”
Coe said there was no risk of venues not being ready in time, and while there was still work to be done, it was not substantive.
With 10 days to go until the opening ceremony, Coe said preparations are on track.
About 96 of the 204 countries competing at the Games checked into the Village on its opening on Monday, with 733 of an expected 17,000 athletes and officials in residence by the end of the first day.
Coe addressed concerns about security, saying it had not and would not be compromised by the failure of G4S to mobilize staff. He also played down reports of first day traffic problems and bus drivers getting lost on the journey from the airport to the Village in east London.
“But for a missed turning and a couple of Tweets, we’re in pretty good shape,” he said with a smile.
“I don’t think we should get out of proportion some of these issues. We had a Tweet yesterday talking about a four-hour delay, it was actually two and a half. We had a driver that missed a turnoff.
“Out of 100 coach journeys, that’s likely to happen. The majority of athletes got in in good shape and on time. Getting in from the airport and to the village is important, and 98 per cent of those journeys went without any hitch at all yesterday.”