Organizers of the 2012 London Olympics said on Friday the success of the Beijing Olympic Games did not put pressure on the British capital, but rather great inspiration and responsibility.
Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012, told a press conference here that Sunday's official handover ceremony would mark the start of Britain's four-year "cultural Olympiad". It would also provide the opportunity to present Britain's appeal to a global audience.
Coe believed the Beijing Games were very successful and had a detailed plan leading to the success from the very beginning, something which his team had learned much from.
He cited the track and field events at the Games as an example, saying it was "handled extremely well" as the system for transporting participants from the Olympic Village to the stadium was very efficient.
Coe was quite satisfied with the performance of British athletes in Beijing as they inspired London organizers to stage a successful Games.
Christopher Rodrigues, the Visit Britain chairman, said it would remind the world the United Kingdom was the birthplace of the modern Olympic and Paralympic Games as well as sports such as rugby, cricket and tennis. The city held the 1948 Summer Olympics after a 12-year interruption caused by the outbreak of World War II.
London will take over as host city of the Olympics at the end of the Beijing Olympics' closing ceremony on Sunday. Guitarist Jimmy Page, footballer David Beckham and singer Leona Lewis are to appear in the eight minute handover performance of the event.
Paul Deighton, the London committee chief executive, said the volunteers at the Beijing Games had done a brilliant job. He clearly remembered "the smiles of their faces trying to help us with everything we want to do". There are going to be 70,000 volunteers working at the London Games, roughly the same as the Beijing Games.
He said about 9 million tickets would be with the London Games but "how they would be allocated has yet to be decided." "Our objective is to ensure there is the broadest possible participation from many countries as we can."
Similar to the Beijing Games' transportation plan, the London Games would ensure all ticketed spectators arrive at venues by public transport and there would be no private car parking.
Deighton said there were going to be 10 separate train lines coming to the Olympic Park from different parts of London, which involved a significant transport investment.
He said the budget for the infrastructure in the London Games was 9.3 billion pounds (17.26 billion U.S. dollars). The infrastructure construction was "really a regeneration project, stimulated by the Games," he said.
"The government budget is funded mostly by general taxpayers, partly by lottery players and partly by London taxpayers."
(Xinhua News Agency August 22, 2008)