• London Olympics 2012

Race for London steps up with one year to go

The Olympic Park is set to be delivered on time and within budget © Getty Images

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With exactly a year to go before the start of the London 2012 Olympics, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogges believes England is firmly on track to deliver a "fabulous Games".

Rogge, who marked the milestone by formally inviting athletes to participate in the Games, visited the newly-completed £269 million Aquatics Centre and hailed the venue as "a masterpiece".

"London has done a great job," he said. "Eighty-eight per cent of the venues are finished, the operational readiness is extremely high, the spending is on budget and on time so I'm a very happy man.

"I would say that in terms of preparation and readiness, London is on par with Sydney 2000 and Beijing 2008. Both of them were fabulous Games so this is a good omen for London."

Long-distance swimmer Keri-Anne Payne was the first athlete to qualify for the British team last week, but for most the challenge to secure Olympic qualification lies ahead.

With Britain set to take a 550-strong team to London - the largest British Olympic delegation in more than a century - Team GB chef de mission Andy Hunt urged the British hopefuls to "fully embrace this once-in-a-lifetime experience, and feel the momentum of an entire nation behind you".

"For many athletes, today's celebration represents an arrival at the doorstep of history," Hunt said. "The years of sacrifice and struggle will soon be rewarded with the ultimate honour: the opportunity to compete for Team GB, and to do so in a home Olympics."

With the organising committee poised to deliver the Games on time and in budget, British Olympic Association chairman Colin Moynihan praised the work of Lord Sebastian Coe and LOCOG in "building a theatre worthy of the world's greatest athletes".

"With the stage now set, the spotlight shifts to the athletes who will fill this grand theatre and thrill fans from around the world with their performances," Moynihan added.

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