MCC offers use of Lord's to boost London's Olympic bid

Date released: 3 August 2003

Lord's could form part of London's plans to host the 2012 Olympics, following proposals put forward by MCC.

MCC has contacted the key stakeholders in the London bid to offer them every practicable assistance in bringing the Olympics to the capital for the first time since 1948.

These offers of support have been made by MCC's Chairman (Lord Alexander) and Secretary & Chief Executive (Roger Knight) in letters to the British Olympic Association, the Mayor of London and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

In addition to offering the use of various facilities at Lord's in 2012 itself, MCC is happy for other parts of the Ground to be used, in the meantime, for meetings and presentations associated with the development of London's bid.

MCC has also offered to provide any logistical advice that the bid team might find helpful - on issues such as ticketing.

Announcing the news, Roger Knight (right) said: "Every year, London stages some magnificent sporting events - such as Wimbledon, the Marathon and, of course, Test match cricket. In 2012, we would love to see the city stage the ultimate festival of sport - the Olympic Games.

At Lord's, we are keen to help London's bid team in any way we can. We can offer some excellent facilities, a worldwide sporting reputation and a long track-record of staging top-class sport in the capital".