LONDON, Oct 15 London 2012 organisers on Thursday agreed to scrap plans for a temporary venue near the Olympic Park and move rhythmic gymnastics and badminton across the city to Wembley Arena.
The decision by the Olympic Board follows months of uncertainty over the venues for some sports as planners sought to cut building costs in the face of the economic downturn.
“The Olympic Board today agreed the proposal to use existing facilities at Wembley Arena to host two sports rather than build a temporary venue on the North Greenwich Peninsula.
“This proposal is subject to the approval of the international badminton and rhythmic gymnastics federations.”
The London Organising Committee (LOCOG) also confirmed that shooting would go ahead as planned at Woolwich Barracks just across the Thames from the main Olympic Park.
Shooting's own governing body had criticised the choice of Woolwich, arguing that it would leave no lasting legacy.
Fencing and volleyball have already been switched to the existing ExCel exhibition centre instead of a temporary venue while the original canoe and kayaking venue had to be scrapped because of contamination.
The decision to re-locate badminton and rhythmic gymnastics to Wembley Arena is good news for boxing which strongly opposed being forced away from the conveniently positioned ExCel to accommodate them.—Reuters