London Olympics 2012: Falling back on its promises to athletes

10/26/2010

In April of 2005, the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) chairman Sebastian Coe made promises to athletes of a glittering travel package, including free flexible round-trip economy airfare to all 10,500 competitors and their team officials.

Such generosity was intended to "ensure that everything possible is done to provide the best conditions for athletes to excel," said Coe, according to BBC Sport.

The pledge was announced during the last major gathering before Olympic Committee members would choose the host city for 2012. The statement was aimed at boosting London's vote as the venue for the 2012 Olympics against Paris, New York, Madrid and Moscow.

Now that London has earned the vote, the winds of change are blowing hard. 

In an article by the Telegraph dated October 21, it was announced that LOCOG officials have decided that the airfare cost "would be capped and based on a formula of distance." An insider told Telegraph Sport that the "London organizers had initially failed to fully cost the airfares and were now 'trying to get out of this promise as cheaply as possible.'"

Those affected most by the relapsed promise are those that need the airfare the greatest. These are the poorer nations, including from Africa and the Pacific. Many of these countries have to route through other major cities to arrive at London and they will be considerably out of the distance formula. Zimbabwe Olympic committee secretary general Robert Mutsauki said that "the African nations would hold the London organizers to their promises," according to the Telegraph.

Perhaps if there were another ballot, LOCOG would have enough incentive to remain true to their word.