Olympics shortlist cut to five

London’s bid to stage the 2012 summer Olympic Games was given a major boost today when the capital was short-listed as one of five candidate cities by the International Olympic Committee.

The IOC executive board voted unanimously for London, which will now battle with Paris, Moscow, New York and Madrid for the right to host the event.

“It’s a very special honour to be chosen as a candidate city and we will do everything in our power to justify the IOC’s faith in London as a potential host,” said a jubilant Barbara Cassani, the chair of the London bid.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair immediately issued a statement in support of the London campaign.

“I am not surprised we have cleared this important first hurdle,” he said.

“A huge amount of work has gone into ensuring London’s bid will deliver a memorable games for the athletes, for the capital, for our whole country and for the entire Olympic family.”

London last hosted the Olympics in 1948 and Blair added: “The government will continue to do all we can to bring the Games back to the UK.”

At a news conference after the short-list was announced at the Palais Beaulieu in Lausanne, IOC president Jacques Rogge refused to compare the cities that had survived the cut.

Havana, Leipzig, Rio and Istanbul all missed out but Rogge said: “I don’t like the word rejection. Unfortunately we could not retain certain cities because we did not think their files were totally ready.”

All nine candidates were judged on a 50-page report they submitted in January.

Paris, which hosted the Games in 1924, is widely viewed to be slightly ahead of London in the betting.

The final vote will now be taken at the IOC Congress in Singapore in July 2005 though a second and final elimination process could still take place three months beforehand, Rogge said.