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London mayor vows spectacular 2012
Boris Johnson, London's mayor, bowled into Beijing promising both a spectacular and a cost-conscious London Olympics and saying he did not feel “intimidated” by the standards set by China.
The mayor, who on Sunday will be handed the Olympic flag as part of the closing ceremony, heaped praise on the Chinese authorities for their organisation, while mildly chiding them for using a child to mime the words sung by a young girl during the opening ceremony.
“We have been dazzled, we have been impressed, we have been blown away by these games but we have not been intimidated,” he said. “I am absolutely convinced that we can do the same without blowing the £9.3bn [$17.4bn, €11.7bn] budget.”
To keep his promise Mr Johnson must oversee the building of Olympic facilities and the running of the 2012 event without the resources at China's disposal.
London 2012 officials stress different qualities the city will offer in four years' time. They say the London games will be environmentally friendly and suggest the UK capital will be able to attract more international visitors than Beijing.
The International Olympic Committee has given London's preparations a clean bill of health, but UK public opinion is dubious about their costs, split among the government, lottery funding and London taxpayers.
The charismatic Mr Johnson, an Old Etonian Conservative politician, was elected in May promising tighter control on city spending than that of his predecessor, Ken Livingstone.
He said London was awarded the games “at a time of economic plenty and we are being asked to deliver them in the background of the credit crunch and a possible recession”.
Construction of the Olympic village is threatened by fundraising problems at Lend Lease, the Australian contractor. But Mr Johnson said 2012 would not be “some kind of mean-spirited, penny-pinching games”.
伦敦市长抵达北京 准备接过奥林匹克会旗
英国《金融时报》罗格•布里茨(Roger Blitz)报道
抵达北京的伦敦市市长鲍里斯•约翰逊(Boris Johnson)承诺,伦敦奥运会将做到既场面盛大又注意成本,并表示,他没有被中国立下的标准“吓倒”。
作为奥运会闭幕式的一部分,这位市长将在周日接过奥林匹克会旗。他对中国官方的组织工作极尽赞美之辞,但也委婉批评了他们在开幕式上让一个小女孩对口型假唱的做法。
“我们为这届奥运会而惊叹,印象深刻,完全给镇住了,但我们并没有被吓倒,”他表示。“我完全相信,我们能在不超出93亿英镑(合174亿美元)预算的前提下做到同样好。”
约翰逊要想实现自己的承诺,必须在不具备中国那么多资源的条件下,统领奥运设施建设和2012年赛事工作。
伦敦2012年奥运会官员强调,4年之后,伦敦将突显不同的特质。他们表示,伦敦奥运会将是环保奥运,并指出,和北京相比,英国的首都能吸引更多的海外游客。
国际奥委会(IOC)认为伦敦的准备工作情况良好,但英国公众对开销持怀疑态度。伦敦奥运会的开销将由英国政府、彩票基金和伦敦纳税人分担。
富于个人魅力的约翰逊,是毕业于伊顿公学的老派保守党政界人物,今年5月份当选伦敦市长。他承诺将比前任肯•利文斯通(Ken Livingstone)更严格地控制伦敦政府开支。
约翰逊表示,伦敦得到奥运会举办权时“处于经济繁荣期,但必须在信贷紧缩并可能出现经济衰退的背景下筹备奥运会”。
澳大利亚承包商联盛集团(Lend Lease)的筹资问题影响了奥运村的建设。但约翰逊表示,2012年奥运会不会成为“小气、寒酸的奥运会”。
译者/管婧 |
中文, 会旗, 伦敦市, 奥林匹克, 中文, 会旗, 伦敦市, 奥林匹克, 中文, 会旗, 伦敦市, 奥林匹克
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