LONDON, Sept 26 (AFP) - London has made Keith Mills,inventor of the Air Miles scheme, chief executive fortheir 2012 Olympic bid.
Mills, 53, was in advertising and marketing beforelaunching Air Miles in the mid-1980s. He was also one ofthe crew which won the Clipper round-the-world yachtrace in 1999.
I am joining an impressive team that has alreadybegun the work to bring the Olympic Games to London andit's my job to make it happen,'' he said. Bid chairman Barabara Cassani said she was delightedMills had accepted the position. In business, he has proved he is able to take aconcept and turn it into a worldwide reality,’’ shesaid.
``He has the skills to run the bid and win the supportof the sporting community.’’
London’s first priority is to make the ‘cut’ nextyear.
Nine cities – London, Paris, New York, Rio, Leipzig,Madrid, Moscow, Havana and Istanbul – have entered thebattle for the 2012 Games and although IOC presidentJacques Rogge has declared several times all nine couldmake it through to the final vote, three cities arelikely to be rejected before the final bid.
The IOC members will vote the 2012 winner in Singaporeon July 6, 2005.
The first hurdle for the bidding cities is a detailedquestionnaire which must be submitted by January 15 nextyear.
The IOC executive board will endorse candidate citiesin May 2004, opening the way for a full-bloodedassessment, including visits by an evaluationcommission.
London called up Sebastien Coe, the only man to winback-to-back 1500 metre Olympic titles, two weeks ago.
Coe, athletics promoter Alan Pascoe, the 1974 Europeanand Commonwealth Games 400m hurdles champion and 1972Munich Olympic 4x400m silver medallist, and Granadachairman Charles Allen were appointed vice-chairmen.
Coe won gold at the 1980 Moscow and 1984 Los AngelesOlympics.