Olympic bid FD gears up for crucial six months
Neil Wood, the finance director of the 2012 London Olympic Bid, is currently considering whether to expand his finance team as work begins on the capital's final bid document.
Link: In profile: Neil Wood
The so-called candidature file, which is likely to run beyond 600 pages, will include detailed financial information and regeneration plans. It must be submitted to the International Olympic Committee by 14 November.
‘The 2012 candidature file questionnaire does require more detail than that of either 2008 or 2010 in the finance section. We are still evaluating the additional requirements to see whether we require more resources either redirected from inside the bid team or from outside,’ Wood told Accountancy Age.
More work for Olympic bid FD as London shortlisted
He said the financial planning team was now ‘working hard at preparing detailed capital and operating budgets for both the 2012 London Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games’.
A major concern has been London’s transport system, and Wood admitted work was needed. The government has already pledged to invest around £17bn on the city’s transport network before 2012.
Plans include a special seven-minute shuttle service that will be put in place between Kings Cross and Stratford (where the proposed Olympic park is to be built) and between Stratford and Ebbsfleet in Kent.
Wood said his team would work closely with new bid chairman Lord Sebastian Coe to ensure that ‘every aspect of our bid dovetails into the other’.
Lord Coe replaced Barbara Cassani, who has taken on the role of vice-chairman to concentrate on the technical aspects of the bid.
Last week, London was shortlisted alongside Paris, New York, Moscow and Madrid as one of the five contenders for the right to host the 2012 Olympics.
The final decision will be made on 6 July 2005.