Dome race gathers pace

The government says it has had 72 expressions of interest, including one from a consortium involving the Duke of Westminster's Grosvenor company.

The group confirmed on Thursday that it had been in discussions with the BBC, the Tussaud's Group and concert promoter Harvey Goldsmith.

The BBC's involvement could see the Dome become an entertainment complex showing life-size exhibits from productions including EastEnders and Walking With Dinosaurs.

A BBC spokesman said: "We would be interested in a visitor attraction based on BBC output.

"Any development in the idea would not involve spending licence payers' money but would be done through BBC Worldwide."

Tussaud's put forward a proposal for a theme park in Greenwich in the late 1980s - before the Dome was even envisaged.

A rival bid could come from the Experience group, which wants to turn the Dome into a flexible concert venue.

Its architect, Stewart McColl, told the BBC: "It has been an albatross when it could be a golden goose."

But the former chairman of the New Millennium Experience Company, which ran the Dome, has backed former chief executive Pierre-Yves Gerbeau's plans to retake control of the attraction.

Mr Gerbeau put his plans on a formal footing by registering a new company.

But he made it clear that his consortium, to be called the New Dome Partners, was only interested in the Dome itself and not in surrounding land which could be "isolated" by the government.

There was a place in London for a "Dome-like" experience that - with Wembley closed - could be the capital's only events centre, Bob Ayling said.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I am personally delighted that he is now being given the chance to have a run at this."

Mr Gerbeau, 35, believes he can buy the Dome before the general election, as part of a consortium including promoter James Palumbo.

"We are looking to do a very fast, efficient win-win negotiation to go ahead with the deal," Mr Gerbeau told the BBC's Newsnight programme.

But Dome minister Lord Falconer said the decision "would take time to work out".

"The important thing is to ensure that the decision made is one not driven by short-term events but one that provides a long-term future," he said.

It will be two weeks before details of the new bidding process are finalised, and it could be months before a sale is complete.

Asked whether the point had come for him to resign, Lord Falconer conceded: "There might be a point but I do not think the point is now.

"The right course is to stick to this until there is a conclusion."

The Legacy consortium has revealed its surprise and disappointment at losing its preferred bidder status.

The Labour donor and property developer behind the Legacy bid, Robert Bourne, said he was "stunned" by the decision.

Maurice Hart, of Legacy stakeholders Treasury Holdings, said there was no hint at meetings earlier this week that the government would reopen the bidding.

The group had been making "considerable" progress signing up tenants for its proposed high-tech business centre but it would now be "a lot more difficult", he told the BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

A Legacy spokesman said the group would now look at the option of recouping its costs, as reports suggest it is considering pulling out of the bidding altogether.

Other speculation suggests property groups such as Galliard, MEPC and Great Portland are linked to bids, and that the managing director of the Principal Finance Group of Nomura, Guy Hands, is interested in a proposal.