London to offer financial rewards

London 2012 chairman Lord Coe has confirmed there will be a £25,000 award on offer to any country using the UK to prepare for the Games.

Organisers have unveiled a list of 600 sporting facilities which could host visiting teams for training camps.

The award was removed from the 2012 tender document in April 2005, but Lord Coe says he has always backed the idea.

"We brought it back into play as soon as we won," he said. "I was always clear this would be a commitment."

London 2012 took the award out of their tender after an investigation by the International Olympic Committee's ethics commission.

"We weren't just using warm words about these Games being athlete-focused"
Lord Coe

But Coe added: "From my own experiences I feel quite strongly about this.

I was fortunate when I was preparing for the Olympics that I was in a better position than some to fund all my preparations, and I did.

"But that fell as quite a burden on my family and so we were very keen to make sure we weren't just using warm words about these Games being athlete-focused.

"This is probably not going to make a massive difference to a decision by the German Olympic Committee or the Chinese.

"But if you look at the typical size of a team that comes to the UK from smaller or often emerging nations, with maybe 10 competitors, that will make a difference."

The £25,000 award will be funded by the London Organising Committee (LOCOG) which has set aside the money from a privately-raised budget.

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The training camp guide will be sent by London to all national Olympic and Paralympic committees later this year.

Each country will then decide where to base its athletes for London 2012.

"It's a great opportunity for towns throughout the UK to get involved in our plans," said Lord Coe.

London mayor Ken Livingstone welcomed the news that 96 sports centres and facilities across the capital had been selected to appear in the national guide.

He said: "This shows what an excellent range of sporting facilities is currently available to Londoners and which might in 2012 be used by some of the world's greatest athletes."

REGIONAL LISTS OF OLYMPIC TRAINING FACILITIES

London

South East

East

South West

West Midlands

East Midlands

Yorkshire

North West

North East

Scotland

Northern Ireland

Wales

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