No white elephants at 2012, says Coe

London 2012 chairman Lord Sebastian Coe has said there will be "no white elephants" built for the Olympic Games.

Delivering a keynote speech at the Think 07 conference, Coe outlined the importance of temporary venues to the Games.

He said: "If we cannot justify long-term useage, we will use the best temporary venues there are. Nothing will be built unless there is a long term benefit for the local people".

Coe was speaking on the same morning the Olympic Delivery Authority put the first temporary venues to tender that will house the basketball and fencing events. He said that historically the Olympics had long been a "catalyst for social change", citing the environmental regeneration of the Games in Barcelona and Sydney, and the public transport legacy of Athens 2004.

The 2012 Games would inspire the "broader methods of sustainability" across the Olympic project, he said, with an emphasis on energy-efficient buildings and better management of green spaces and travel routes.

He said: "No games should ever pass through a city without leaving a lasting and indelible legacy. The Olympic and Paralympic Games will last for six weeks, but the legacy must last for at least sixty."