7:30 PM
Shweta Pandey
But Clegg, the former chief executive of the British Olympic Association, will have a very different role this summer to the one he envisaged when he led the BOA’s political lobbying campaign to persuade a reluctant Cabinet to back the Games.
The man who managed British teams at 12 Olympic Games, six as chef de mission, will be experiencing London 2012 as the official Olympic attaché for the Pacific island of Guam, one of the tiniest countries in the ‘Olympic family’ with a population of just 160,000. While Britain will be fielding a team of 550 athletes, Clegg will be looking after the interests of half a dozen.
It is a vivid illustration of just how much the landscape has changed since the Government, after months of prevarication, announced its intention to bid for the Games on May 15, 2003, and how some of the key figures responsible for this summer’s sporting extravaganza now find themselves on the periphery.
Clegg, who was made a CBE in 2006 for his contribution to London’s successful bid but who resigned from the BOA in 2008 after his role at the organisation was changed, has not received so much as a single ticket for London 2012 and so jumped at the offer of a job with Guam — and the perk of an access-all-areas pass.
“I’m still friendly with a lot of people in the Olympic movement – international colleagues that I’ve known for 20 years,” he said. “One of those colleagues kindly gave the opportunity to be the official Olympic attaché for Guam.
It’s not particularly demanding because obviously they are a small country with a tiny team and I will do whatever I can to support during the build-up and will continue to do so during the Games.
“The kind of jobs involved are speaking to people about uniforms, doing some work on the vehicles for them, and they’ve asked me to organise a team reception for them.”
Clegg, who has been chief executive of Ipswich Town since 2009, is not the only key player from nine years ago now on the Olympic margins.
- Where are they now? The key players in the decision to bid for 2012
- Sir Craig Reedie
After playing a key role in London's successful bid to host the Games, Sir Craig retired as chairman of the British Olympic Association in 2005. He remains a member of the International Olympic Committee.
Tickets for London 2012? Full accreditation. - Simon Clegg CBE
Having resigned as chief executive of the British Olympic Association in 2008, he is now chief executive of Ipswich Town FC and will take up a temporary role this summer as the official Olympic attaché for Guam.
Tickets? Full accreditation. - David Luckes MBE
The former Olympic hockey player, who was the author of the original feasibility study for the London bid in 1997, is now head of sport competition for the London organising committee.
Tickets? Full accreditation. - Tessa Jowell
The MP for Dulwich and West Norwood is the shadow minister for the Olympics and continues to sit on the ruling Olympic board. She will be working at the Games in a variety of roles
Tickets? Full accreditation. - Richard Caborn
The former Minister for Sport, who played a key role in persuading the Government to back the bid, retired from politics in 2010. He is now president of the Amateur Boxing Association of England.
Tickets? None. - Ken Livingstone
A keen supporter of the London bid long before the Government gave its backing, Livingstone announced his retirement from politics following his defeat in this month's London mayoral election.
Tickets? Boris Johnson has promised to invite him to the Games.
After his defeat to Boris Johnson in the London mayoral election, Ken Livingstone will play no official part in an event that might never have got off the ground had it not been for his unwavering support for a London bid as a means of regenerating the east end of London.
His contribution has, however, been recognised by Johnson, who announced last week that he would be burying political differences by inviting Livingstone to the Games.
By contrast, Richard Caborn, the former Minister for Sport who helped lay the foundations for a London bid by garnering crucial support from Commonwealth sports ministers, has been offered no Olympic tickets other than an invitation by Camelot to watch the rowing.
“I don’t want to make a big issue of it but I haven’t got a single ticket to anywhere,” said Caborn, who retired from politics in 2010. “I’m not looking for it. I understand people move on. If I get it I’ll go but I’m not going to ask. If people think I’m not entitled, then I’m not entitled.”
Caborn’s political colleague, shadow Olympics minister Tessa Jowell, will at least have complete access to the Games after playing a fundamental part in persuading her Cabinet colleagues to endorse a bid nine years ago.
Despite Labour’s General Election defeat two years ago, Jowell retained her seat on the ruling Olympic board and will be working in a “troubleshooting” role at the Games with full accreditation.
Sir Craig Reedie, another key figure in the political lobbying that went on before 2003 and in the subsequent bidding process, will also enjoy privileged access as a member of the International Olympic Committee, while David Luckes, author of the BOA feasibility study in 1997 that formed the basis of the London bid, is now head of sports competition for the London organising committee.
Clegg, meanwhile, is looking forward to a less central role with his Pacific island charges.
“We were very, very close to calling it a day with the Government,” he said. “All the other cities had not only declared but were out there lobbying and we were still procrastinating and had been doing so for about two years. But in the end the Government did get over the line.
“I’m incredibly proud of the modest role I played in bringing the Olympics to this country. I’m convinced it’s going to be a fantastic Games.”
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