Support for London’s bid to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is growing rapidly and Paul Seales, a 33 year-old from Benfleet in Essex, has become the 500,000th person to officially 'Back the Bid’.
Seales, who signed up at the Bluewater Shopping Centre, said: "I’m thrilled that London is in the running to host the 2012 Games. We already have a great history of sporting achievements and we deserve the right to bring the Games to London. It will give us the chance to show what we can achieve."
Bid organisers are now at the halfway point to the target of one million registered supporters they set on '2012 Day’ in December. Since then, the public have been encouraged to show their support for the bid by registering online at www.london2012.com, via test message, or in person at events across the country.
"I am delighted with the level of support the bid has," said London 2012 Chairman Sebastian Coe. "People around the country have taken this bid to their hearts. The more registered supporters the bid can show, the easier it is to demonstrate to the International Olympic Committee the UK’s support and passion to host the Games in 2012."
Meanwhile, a new report published this week has highlighted 40 existing and proposed new development which will radically alter the public face of London if the bid is successful. 'Capital Spaces’, produced by English Heritage and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), features the likes of the revamped Wembley Stadium, the Greenwich World Heritage Site and London’s Royal Parks.
The report’s conclusion states that: "London is a great global city because it is open and tolerant. It has much to share with the world – its vast international trading and commercial networks, its multi-cultural population and its world-class buildings and public spaces. The bid to stage the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2012 reinforces all that London stands for."