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´óÏó´«Ã½ BLOGS - Adrian Warner

Archives for March 2010

Ignore the money watchdog at your peril

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Adrian Warner | 12:53 UK time, Wednesday, 31 March 2010

This blog carries a warning. I'm going to use a few words which usually have most people racing away from this page and clicking on something more appetising. But can you just stick with me for a few paragraphs, please?

The parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (I did warn you!) has today published a report which points out that the £9.3 billion budget for the 2012 Olympics is .

Now it's the job of the PAC to play the role of a paranoid accountant, weighed down with gloom and doom. But all successful companies have one of those sitting on the board and I understand one of the reasons the London Development Agency (LDA) got into trouble over its financing of the Olympic Park site was that it didn't have somebody warning about the worst case scenario.

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Boris Johnson's vision for 2012 is short-sighted

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Adrian Warner | 13:20 UK time, Monday, 29 March 2010

Boris Johnson is trying to make a lot of noise today about his plans for the .

Johnson says he wants London to be during the Games.

"People will hugely enjoy it and for those who don't enjoy it, it'll all be over in a flash," predicts Johnson.

"We believe that London in 2012 is going to be the place that people want to come and have fun and see the Olympic Games so we've got to get ready on that basis."

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Tickets for locals could be an Olympian battle

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Adrian Warner | 15:06 UK time, Tuesday, 16 March 2010

I'm a great fan of . I lived and worked as a foreign correspondent on the continent for 10 years, I've learned to speak French and German fluently and I've studied the political and economic systems of our European neighbours.

But I'm wondering if should take on European Union law - and indeed the - over tickets for the 2012 Olympics.

I was talking to people in in east London the other day about ticketing and some people felt strongly that Londoners should get a special deal.

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What will the Olympic Park look like in 2020?

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Adrian Warner | 11:44 UK time, Friday, 12 March 2010

Sometimes our politicians miss the story. And most of them did the other day at the when they were quizzing about the .

Ford is the head of the and is therefore in charge of making sure that the Park works for the local community for decades after 2012.

What she admitted to the Assembly is that nobody has worked out yet where the money is coming from to pay for the key changes which will be needed after the Games.

The bill is expected to be around £450 million.

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Still a lot of questions over 'legacy'

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Adrian Warner | 14:08 UK time, Tuesday, 9 March 2010

, the former Sports Minister, caused huge controversy during London's bid for the 2012 Olympics when she claimed Paris deserved the Games more than Britain.

Today, the Labour MP has given an which is likely to anger 2012 officials even more.

The big Olympic issue at the moment is legacy; what is going to be left for both Londoners and the rest of the UK when the Olympic party is over.

Hoey has attacked the Government for forgetting the promises made about changing the sporting face of Britain when in Singapore in 2005. Remember the emotional film about inspiring children worldwide to take up sport.

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