London is no good for the 2012 Olympics. It has too many Poms, moans 'rival'
By Aidan Radnedge
First published in The London Metro, November 22, 2004
A RIVAL contender wanting to stage the 2012 Olympics has launched a surprise attack on London's bid.
But chairman Lord Sebastian Coe won't be losing sleep about it - it comes from little-known Australian suburb of Tingalpa.
Whereas London promises the finest hotels, a 200-hectare Olympic Park and £17billion-worth of transport improvements, Tingalpa, near Brisbane, is little more than a caravan park, a creek, and a bar.
But it does have experience of two 'official' bids, even if campaigns for both 2008 and 2012 have failed.
Tom Carroll, president of the suburb's Olympic committee, revealed that Tingalpa was 56 IOC votes behind 2008 host Beijing. That is, Beijing received 56, Tingalpa none.
But despite not making the shortlist for 2012 and writing off the £6 the campaign costs, he was still talking up Tingalpa: "I'm not sure how a city like London was shortlisted ahead of us. It's overcrowded and too many Poms live there.
"Tingalpa, by contrast, has an almost negligible Pom-density, making it ideal for a world-class sporting event. We even have a running track."
But putting the traditional England-Australia rivalry aside, Mr Carroll admitted: "I'd rather see the 2012 Games awarded to London than the other cities. After all, nobody likes foreigners."
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