BBC key to London's Olympic win

[Fiona]

The BBC's commitment to Olympic broadcasting, and in particular its coverage of last year's Paralympics in Athens, helped tip the balance in favour of London's bid for the 2012 games.

Sue Campbell, the chair of UK Sport and part of the London Olympic bid team that travelled to Singapore for the announcement in July, said the BBC was "very highly regarded" by the International Olympic Committee, which awarded the 2012 games to the UK capital.

"It's fair to say that between the Olympics and Paralympics [in Athens last year], most other broadcasters exited, but the BBC stayed with it," Ms Campbell today told the Lords select committee reviewing the corporation's charter review.

"I think the BBC is very highly regarded by the IOC - it won an award from the committee for its coverage of the Sydney Olympics - and I think that was an important factor," she said.

The IOC has yet to award the 2012 London Olympics contract to be the event's host broadcaster - a role that involves providing outside broadcast coverage of all sports at the games to media rights holders.

With an event the size of the Olympics, it is unlikely that one organisation alone could be host broadcaster, but the BBC, with its extensive experience of sports OBs, will almost certainly play a key role.

Dominic Coles, the BBC director of sports rights and finance, told the Lords committee: "We would be involved in the [host broadcaster operation], I would imagine."

The corporation has exclusive UK TV rights to the London Olympics.

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