SINGAPORE - London and Paris may be the favorites to
battle it out to host the 2012 Olympics but both campaigns are
falling over themselves not to be regarded as "arrogant."
That accusation was viewed as being the cause of Paris' feeble
showing four years ago, when it came fourth in the first round
of voting for the 2008 Games.
This time around, Paris has had a safety-first policy, shunning
the aggressive campaigning that has seen London become a
realistic contender and hoping its dedication - this is the
third time the French capital has bid - is rewarded.
Sunday, it was London's turn to be asked about being seen as
arrogant, as the question came from a French TV journalist.
Craig Reedie, the British Olympic Association chairman and an
IOC member, insisted that is far from the case.
"I have heard this accusation of arrogance but we are not
arrogant in any way," Reedie said. "We live in a very healthy,
free democracy and are examined constantly by our media. We are
challenged every day to get it right and I think we have proved
that it is."
London bid chairman and track legend Sebastian Coe was slightly
more circumspect in his reaction.
"We are a bid that enjoys what we do and we are a bid that
believes what we say," Coe said. "We are a bid about sport,
driven by a bid team that has the national Olympic committee
behind it and political support across the board.
"We are comfortable with ourselves and what we are saying. It's
for others to say what they want to say."
With three days to go before the IOC vote, tensions are rising
and rumors are rife. Revelations of a possible alliance between
London and Madrid - in terms of garnering support for the other
city should one be knocked out - have caused some concern among
some Paris backers.
Reedie added grist to that mill by revealing he "had a glass of
Rioja with my colleagues from Madrid last night."
Meanwhile, there is a conspiracy theory that some IOC
administrators have blatantly favored Paris, while another view
is that New York will win because all the eliminated Europeans
will switch their votes to the American city in the hope of
being given another chance to run in 2016.
Reedie, Coe and company are working on the concept that 20 to 30
IOC members have not made up minds - at least not in the
second, third and possibly fourth rounds of voting. Hence the
roles of the bid ambassadors arriving in Singapore, and the
final presentation, could be critical.
British prime minister Tony Blair lent heavyweight political
support to the cause when he arrived in sweltering Singapore on
Sunday afternoon.
Blair was briefed by Coe in the black limousine that whisked him
from the airport to the hub of IOC activity opposite the
colonial splendor of the Raffles Hotel before beginning a round
of meetings with IOC members.
Speaking at the airport, Blair said, "I'm here, in a way, to say
that it's a bid that's got the enthusiastic support of the
British people, of all the political parties and the Government.
The country is right behind it.
"I look forward over the next couple of days to talking to as
many people as possible and just stressing the commitment and
our pride, actually, in the bid that Seb and his colleagues have
put together, which I think is recognized now as a very, very
strong bid."
On Singapore television, however, more space was devoted to the
imminent arrival of someone perhaps even better-known: soccer
superstar David Beckham.
A street poll of shoppers on TV showed a small majority were
more interested in the England captain than the destination of
the 2012 Games, even though the IOC session as a whole is huge
news here.
Beckham is due in town Monday, but the circus already has begun.