IOC Coverup?

I wonder how the International Olympic Committee (IOC) can "look at itself in the mirror" in the morning.

They claim, on the one hand, to be for probity and integrity; yet, when it comes to the media scrutinising their activities, they run for cover.

The IOC executive board are expected to announce today that they plan to ask the same Singapore meeting that decides the 2012 venue to expel Ivan Slavkov, the Bulgarian member at the centre of a BBC Panorama corruption sting.

Slavkov was suspended from the IOC, after the Panorama programme made allegations of "cash-for-votes" deals in the bidding for the 2012 Games.

Panorama's methods have seemingly upset the IOC, who seem somewhat publicity shy; the thought of secret cameras and undercover reporters sends shivers down their spines.

What have they to hide I wonder?

It seems that, according to reports, the dear old "incorruptible" IOC are now wary of having contact with British officials; this of course means that the London bid has even less likelihood of winning.

The IOC are reportedly worried about the media in the UK which, in their view, is far too inquisitive.

I repeat, what have they to hide?

Turin Turmoil

It seems that all is not well in Italy, as Turin continues to prepare to host the 2006 Winter Olympics.

The organisers of the 2006 Turin Olympics have made two key appointments, to the executive board of the organising committee.

Mario Pescante, the new government-appointed supervisor of the Turin Games, and Turin Mayor Sergio Chiamparino have been appointed; in the hope that this will ease the political tensions in the committee.

Additionally, in sign that all is not well with the finances, the budget has been postponed until 21 December.

The Turin Games face a $242M shortfall; the committee expect, and hope, that the Italian taxpayer will cover this. However, support for the Games is very lukewarm in Italy.

No One Wants to Pay

As is typical with the Olympic circus; everyone wants to host it, but no one wants to pay for it.

This hypocritical stance was well demonstrated by the Welsh Assembly, in respect of the possibility of the UK hosting the 2012 Olympic Games.

The Assembly will try to ensure that London picks up the bill for using Cardiff's Millennium Stadium; in the unlikely event that London hosts the 2012 Olympics.

If the London bid is successful, several matches in the football tournament would be held at the stadium.

The Welsh Assembly quote:

"..have obtained an undertaking from the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport that the UK Government will consider any extraordinary costs that might in principle fall to us in relation to hosting the events at the Millennium Stadium...

While this does not specifically state that the UK Government will meet these costs, we will make a strong case for them to do so...."

They conveniently ignore the "alleged" economic benefits of the thousands of fans ect, that will "flock" to Wales to watch these matches.

Lubrication

The Great Wall lubricating oil has been designated as the official lubricant for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, quite an honour!

Sinopec, China's largest oil refining and petrochemical company and owner of the oil, singed a deal with the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympics (BOCOG) last month.

Sinopec will provide funds, and other forms of support, for; the 2008 Olympics and Paralympics, BOCOG, the Chinese Olympic Committee, as well as Chinese sports delegations for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin and 2008 Summer Olympics.

BOCOG has signed 6 partners for the 2008 Games, including; Volkswagen, China Mobile and Bank of China.

Olympics Torch Stolen

A torch used to carry the Olympic Flame, for the 1998 Winter Games in Japan, has been stolen from the Nagano Olympic Museum.

The museum allowed visitors to handle the torch, which was retained by a wire to prevent it from being stolen. However, the wire was cut; and the torch stolen.

This is one of a 1000 Olympic torches, made for the 1998 Winter Games held in Nagano. The museum has one other torch left.

Another Olympics, Another Budget Balls Up!

Seemingly, and why should we be surprised when there are politicians involved, yet another Olympics budget has fallen apart.

This time the honour for lousy financial planning, falls on the forthcoming Turin Winter Olympics 2006. They are expecting a a $242M shortfall, small potatoes compared with the $8BN overspend by the Greeks!

However, to add spice to this little pot boiler, I understand that the police are investigating the possibility that construction contracts were fixed.

Corruption, in the Olympics; surely not?

As usual, when an Olympic's event looks like it will disintegrate into chaos, a politician raises his head; and tells the world that everything will be alright. The politician in question this time is Valentino Castellani, a former Turin mayor who is leading the "organising" committee TOROC.

He said that the games would be ready for the opening ceremony on Feb. 10, 2006. Needless to say, the good people of Italy will be the ones saddled with the bill for the shortfall.

Castellani played the "blame game", noting that state-owned companies, including public broadcaster RAI, have not played their part in sponsoring and promoting the games. National airline Alitalia, which is mired in major financial difficulties, has also not sponsored the games.

So there you go ladies and gentlemen, it's everyone else's fault; but most certainly not the fault of TOROC.

In typical myopic form, Castellani said:

"I don't see any scandal, any particular insoluble solution. I can't believe for a country like Italy that (US$260 million) will be a problem."

How very kind of him!