(ATR) LOCOG chairman Coe will step up his travel schedule around the U.K. and abroad to wave the flag for the London Olympics. He will be on hand to open Olympic venues as they reach completion through the course of the next seven months - the velodrome is the first Olympic Park unveiling in February.
Coe, a double Olympic gold medalist, is also focused on a busy year of test events and the transition from planning to operations.
Coe, 54, will steer a path through the security debate that is set to dominate the coming months as plans are finalized.
He's taking a keen interest in the future of the 80,000-capacity Olympic Stadium due to be decided in March. English Premier League clubs Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United are shortlisted to take over the venue. But only the Hammers' plans seem to fit with Coe's bid pledge to the IOC in 2005 that the track would be retained to leave an athletics legacy.
Coe and his LOCOG deputy Paul Deighton must also work their way through other projects as the Games nears the one-year-to-go mark in July - ticketing, volunteering and transport plans are among issues requiring attention.
SportAccord London in April is a key milestone. It provides a test for the British capital in hosting members of the Olympic Movement and a chance for Coe and 2012 officials to leave IOC officials, IFs and NOCs with a positive impression of their Games plans.
Olympics minister Hugh Robertson's impact will be felt in 2011 perhaps even more than in the months since he replaced Tessa Jowell, in Britain's coalition government that came to power last May.
Under budget cuts, theanticipated final cost of the Games has since come down $47 million but six Olympic sports have received a funding boost from UK Sport.
Sitting on the Olympic Board, Robertson has crucial input into budgetary and security decisions for the Games and on the shape of legacy plans for the 500-acre Olympic Park and the site of the athletes' village. He is also expected to attend venue openings and test events.
2010 Ranking – Sebastian Coe #8; Hugh Robertson not ranked
Written by Mark Bisson.
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