Buying the Games

Panorama: Buying the Games BBC One, Wednesday, 4 August 2004 at 21:00 BST

For copyright reasons, Panorama: Buying the Games is not available to watch online.

After previous scandals, the Athens Olympics are being presented as a return to the Olympian ideals; integrity and fair play.

Panorama, however, reveals evidence that the votes of a member of the International Olympic Committee - the private club that controls the Games - is still being offered for sale.

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During a year long investigation, Panorama went undercover to find out what it takes to get the Games, and it would appear that the answer is simple - cash.

Representatives from the programme posed as consultants acting for clients with business interests in east London who wanted the games to come to London.

The men who say they can help secure these votes are veteran Olympic insiders: professional agents who, in the past, have been paid hundreds of thousands of pounds by previous bid cities to help get IOC votes.

These men have connections to influential figures within the IOC. All claim they have already been approached for their services by cities bidding for the 2012 Games.

Production team:
Producer: Howard Bradburn
Associate Producer: Matthew Mervyn Jones
Reporter: Justin Rowlatt
Deputy Editor: Andrew Bell
Editor: Mike Robinson