Three Olympic venues could be scrapped

Three controversial Olympic venues could be scrapped from the London Games due to increasing concern about their cost, local impact and minimal post-Olympic legacy.

The Evening Standard has reported that London 2012 chiefs have hired accountancy firm KPMG to carry out a top-level review of the venues. These include the site of the equestrian competition, Greenwich Park, the proposed shooting venue at the Royal Artillery Barracks at Woolwich, and the basketball venue situated on the Olympic site itself.

Olympics minister Tessa Jowell told the newspaper: “We have commissioned KPMG to do a report on the equestrian, shooting and basketball venues, looking at whether the Olympic experience and the legacy they will provide represents value for money.

“When you take the costs for these venues, it seems like a lot of money to a lot of people. It is a sort of testing-to-destruction to see whether that spending can be justified.”

It is a sort of testing-to-destruction to see whether that spending can be justified

Tessa Jowell

Jowell said it was “possible but unlikely” that the venues could be discarded as a result. However, sources at City Hall and the London Development Agency informed the Standard that they saw a “higher chance” than Jowell of some or all of the venues being replaced.

The review by KPMG is expected to last several months. “It is not a final verdict but is aimed at giving us a fuller picture to inform our decision-making,” said a City Hall source.

All decisions would have to be ratified by the sport’s international governing bodies before receiving formal approval by the IOC at its congress in Copenhagen next year.