Putin names new Sochi Olympics construction chief

NOVO-OGARYOVO, Russia – Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has appointed Taimuraz Bolloyev as the new construction chief for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Bolloyev replaces Viktor Kolodyazhny, who has stepped down, as chief of the state Olympstroi corporation.

Putin told Bolloyev on Saturday to keep a close watch on the construction costs for the games. The Olympic budget has been estimated at $13 billion.

The global financial crisis has raised concerns about Russia's ability to pay for the games, with most facilities being built from scratch. Putin has assured International Olympic Committee officials that construction and financing plans for the Olympics are on schedule.

FA line up Stuart Pearce as chief Olympics advisor for the 2012 London Games

Stuart Pearce has been chosen by the Football Association to become their chief Olympics advisor ahead of the London Games.

The FA have given Pearce the 2012 brief in addition to his responsibilities as England Under-21 boss and assistant to manager Fabio Capello.

Pearce's first task will be to undertake a fact-finding mission to this summer's Beijing Olympics although the FA stress he is not being lined up for the 2012 manager's job.

Fact-finding mission: Pearce will fly to Beijing for this summer Olympics

He will fly to China as part of an FA delegation including the women's England Under-19 coach Mo Marley and chief executive Brian Barwick.

Even though Britain has not entered a team for the China competition, Pearce will be preparing for the 2012 event by checking out the format and accommodation.

The 2012 squad would have to stay with 16,000 other athletes.

It would be an Under-23 competition in which three over-age players are allowed.

Both the FA and the British Olympic Association are committed to entering a team in 2012, ending Britain's 56-year absence.

The team, which will play in red, white and blue, may consist entirely of English players if there is no solution to the current stand-off with other home nations, who fear their status with FIFA will be compromised.

Date set for London 2012 Olympic stadium building work

Building work on London's Olympic stadium for the 2012 Games will begin in a fortnight.

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Olympic stadium work starts early

The £496m stadium in east London will start to take shape on May 22, according to the BBC.

On the up: construction of the London 2012 Olympic stadium will begin on May 22

In March, the Olympic Delivery Authority said construction of the 80,000-seater venue would begin this month, rather than August as first anticipated.

The stadium will be the focal point of the Olympic Park which is being built on former industrial land and work on clearing the site, requiring the removal of thousands of tons of contaminated soil, began last July.

The 2.5-square-km park will also house the Aquatics Centre, the Velodrome, the hockey, fencing, basketball and handball arenas and the international media centre.

After the Games the stadium will be scaled back to 25,000 seats. It will retain a permanent athletics track, although no long-term tenant has yet been found.

Greenwich is too small for the Olympics

With its spectacular views across central London from the south bank of the Thames, Greenwich Park was hailed as the ideal location for three-day eventing at the 2012 Olympics.

EDDIE MULHOLLAND Greenwich Park, the proposed venue for equestrian events at the 2012 Olympic Games

But it has been claimed that one vital concern was overlooked: it is far too small.

Leading figures in the equestrian world have joined local campaigners in attacking plans to convert the oldest enclosed Royal Park into an Olympic venue.

In particular, they fear that trees dating from the reign of Charles II will have to be removed or cut back to make way for a cross-country course at the 180-acre park, a Unesco World Heritage Site.

The Badminton Horse Trials, which are sited on 1,500 acres, attract crowds of 250,000. It is estimated that 20,000 people would struggle to fit into Greenwich Park.

There are also concerns that the cross-country course will interfere with archaeological and ecological treasures at the historic site, including Roman remains and a herd of deer introduced by Henry VIII. Work to prepare the park in south-east London for the Games is likely to prevent access for 15 months - a period of disruption unknown since it opened to the public in the 1700s.

The London 2012 Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (Locog) was accused yesterday of putting its desire for a prestigious location above practical considerations.

"We shouldn't have to desecrate a jewel of London to put on a two-week horse event," said Dane Rawlins, the rider and Olympic trainer.

"The cross-country will ruin the park. They will have to cut the paths out and the track will have to go through the flower garden. The tree canopy is too low and trees will have to be cut or removed."

The Three-Day Event is always one of the highlights of the Olympics. One of those hoping to qualify for London is Zara Phillips, whose Royal ancestors have enjoyed the park since it was inherited by the Duke of Gloucester, the brother of Henry V, in 1427.

Miss Phillips, who has been selected for the Beijing Olympics, said last night of the Greenwich plans that it "will be interesting to see how they fit it all in".

Consternation is growing among locals in Greenwich and Blackheath, who live beside the park with its Royal Observatory, Royal Naval College, National Maritime Museum and Queen's House.

Alasdair Neil, a retired lawyer and keen horseman from Blackheath, said: "There are a large number of people who have increasing concerns about what's happening. People have been swept along by what others describe as an iconic location."

Mr Neil said it was difficult to see how a typical cross-country course of four miles could be constructed at Greenwich "without severe damage".

Valuable trees in the park include an avenue of chestnut trees planted by Charles II in the 1660s and a semi-circle of chestnuts inside Blackheath Gate.

A spokesman for Locog "disagreed entirely" with campaigners. "We think that Greenwich Park will be one of the most amazing venues for the 2012 games and we believe that concerns about it being too small can be overcome," he said.

"Lots of people think the cross-country course will be fantastic. It hasn't even been designed yet, but we will take into account people's views."

The London Olympics Logo

There has been a huge reaction to the launch of the new logo - much of it negative.

London 2012 Olympic LogoThe logo for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics was unveiled in a star-studded ceremony in London in June 2007. The jagged emblem, based on the date 2012, comes in a series of shades of pink, blue, green and orange and will evolve in the run-up to the Games. The word London and the Olympic rings are included in the first two digits of the new logo.

"This is the vision at the very heart of our brand." Seb Coe.