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Olympics 2012: Don’t try to better Beijing, IOC tells London

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  • Organizers of the 2012 London Olympics do not need to top the Beijing Games and should focus on creating a festive atmosphere and controlling spending on venues, IOC president Jacques Rogge said Monday. Rogge also reiterated that the Olympics can survive the current global economic crisis.

    The International Olympic Committee leader said he is often asked how London can outshine the Beijing Games and its extravagant opening ceremony, eye-catching venues and near flawless organization.

    "It doesn't need to," Rogge said in a speech to the Royal Society of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce. "London just has to be London. No single Olympics is better than another”, he added.

    "There is no 'best' or 'greatest,' there is just 'different,"' Rogge said. "Each games are unique. It is not the amount of money spent that determines how good a games is. It is also the unique and inspiring atmosphere created within the city. I'm sure London will do very well there."

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    Rogge noted that the Olympic movement is coming out of the big success of the Beijing Games into a world economic downturn.

    "Well, the games have survived difficult times before," he said. "They have survived and thrived because of what they mean to people all over the world. ...Wars, economic downturns, natural disaster and violent attacks to not dissuade or dishearten humanity."

    Rogge's speech came three days after he told European Olympic committees in Istanbul, Turkey, that the Olympics were no longer in "growth mode" but in "conservation mode."

    On Monday, he said London will be the first summer Olympic host city to implement recommendations by an IOC panel in 2003 for limiting the size and cost of future games.

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