London Olympic Stadium legacy – Statement by President Diack

Monte Carlo – Athletics is the Olympics’ number one sport and the principal stadium sport of the Games. For this reason, even if the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has no vote in the final decision regarding the London Olympic Stadium legacy, we care deeply about what will happen when the Games are over.

As I already said in an official statement issued on 7 November 2008, ‘what saddens me most is that a country like Great Britain, with its magnificent tradition in our sport and a great future ahead of it, surely must be entitled to have a decent athletics stadium in its capital city?… for the IAAF, destroying the track would be totally unacceptable’.

The crux of the stadium debate for the IAAF focuses on the commitment given by the London bid committee in Singapore in 2005 to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which has many members from the sport of Athletics, to retain a sustainable athletics legacy after the London Games.

This promise was not a footnote of London’s bid: it was a core policy of their presentation to convince the Olympic family of their exciting, viable legacy plans. It offered a vision of year round health and fitness opportunities for the local community and a venue to stage national and major international athletics competitions ranging from meetings like the Samsung Diamond League to Area and World Championships.

There is no doubt that this commitment played its part in the UK winning the right to host the 2012 Games. It was also seen by many as a long overdue recompense for the 2001 decision to scrap a £100 million stadium at Pickets Lock, London, which despite written assurances from the UK Government, led to the subsequent withdrawal of the UK from hosting the 2005 World Athletics Championships.

The multi-use facility is the best solution for the Olympic Stadium in legacy mode, and with that in mind, UKA, our national Member Federation, has worked closely with the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) to ensure that the legacy promise is central to the tender process. This option, which draws together football, athletics and the whole local community through clubs and schools, can work financially and leave a real living legacy in the East End of London.

While concerns have been raised about sightlines for football we should recall that football has often shared with other sports and not just outside the UK. The old Wembley Stadium had a track around the pitch which was not only used for athletics but for speedway and greyhound racing! In the history of FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Champs and Cups, most matches have been played in multi-purpose arenas. Five out of the last six Champions League finals have been held in stadiums with tracks!

To now demolish the Olympic stadium, throwing away the original £500 million investment of public money seems to me an outrageous proposition, especially in the present world economic climate. Instead, let us keep London’s promise alive and leave an athletics legacy at the venue with a top football club as a valued partner.

IAAF President Lamine Diack