POSTED: November 13th 2008
NewsUpdate
Jowell spins back on 2012 bid
KEIR RADNEDGE / Sports Features Communications
LONDON: Tessa Jowell has clarified comments she made about London's Olympic 2012 bid after telling leisure industry directors earlier this week that "had we known what we know now" about the economy "we would almost certainly not" have bid.
The Olympics Minister explained that her comments had been spun out of context and that she was not in any way denigrating the bid, the work which had been undertaken and the work which was under way.
Indeed, she was thrilled by the progress being made and had been viewing a hypothetical bidding process in the present climate. Her comments may even be seen as a cautionary note about domestic reaction to the four cities - Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo - bidding for 2016.
Context is everything
She said: The important thing is to understand the whole of what I've said, not a little bit of it which has been taken out. What I was reflecting was that had we known the economy was going to turn down, the perception of some people might have been that the Olympics would be a distraction or not a solution to this central problem."
Jowell added: "The fact is that the thousands of jobs being generated in the UK through the Games could be economic gold at a time of economic need."
The economic regeneration in Stratford had created 3,000 jobs on the site with an overall £6bn injection into the economy which was "exactly what it needs now and what wouldn't have happened without the Olympic Games."
Keywords · Tessa Jowell · London 2012 · Olympics Minister
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