LONDON 2012 - No BWF Green Light for Wembley Yet

In spite of what has been written in various media after the announcement made by London’s Mayor Boris Johnson BWF issued a statement today saying that no final agreement had been given and concerns were still high for a switch of venue.
London’s Mayor was quoted in Media-Newswire.com as saying: "I am pleased and thank the two federations (Badminton and Gymnastics) for understanding our concerns to save money wherever we can in these tough economic times. I am confident that Seb and his team will ensure that every athlete competing at Wembley in 2012 will not only have a great venue, but all the facilities they need, right on the doorstep, to help them go for gold."

However, in a press release published today by the Badminton World Federation (BWF), President Kang Young Joong warned that badminton's governing body was still not happy with the decision to change venue, because of the length of transportation between the Olympic village and the new venue, which the organizing committe has hoped to switch to Wembley Stadium to save the money that would be involved in building the originally planned temporary structure.

"We are of the opinion that this will affect the Olympic experience for players and spectators compared with the initial setup. Thus, the BWF Council requested more investigations to be made on the proposal," said Badminton World Federation President Dr Kang Young Joong. "We have received comprehensive material from LOCOG on the proposal, but the travel time in particular for the athletes is very high. We furthermore find that the assurances provided by LOCOG to reduce this to a reasonable figure are still insufficient."

The BWF Council had gathered in Bali last week and looked over the new proposal from LOCOG.

No green light was then given to the London Organizers and the BWF expressed its will to continue working together with the Olympic Committee to find a suitable solution for both parties. The LOCOG had earlier hinted that lodging in hotels close to the new venue in Wembley could be offered to the athletes participating in the event. This would mean that they would not stay in the Olympic village.

In the meantime, construction is moving fast in London, as shown in this video HERE

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