The London 2012 Olympic Village has been sold to a partnership between British developer Delancey and Qatari Diar, sale the company of the Qatari Royal Family.

The deal, find worth US$908 million, is set to see the village be converted to private housing once the Games has concluded at the end of August next year.

The deal includes a profit-share agreement which will recoup the government some of the US$15bn of public money that has been spent in staging the Olympics.

Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt said the deal gives taxpayers “a great return”, saying that “the village will be the centrepiece of a new vibrant east London community.”

The two companies will take over 1,439 of the 2,818 homes on the site and build as many as 2,000 more.

They will rent out the homes, which will form part of a portfolio of London property that includes Harrods.

A company called Triathlon Homes has already been appointed to manage the other 1,379 homes in the village which are to be kept as affordable housing for key workers including teachers and health professionals.

The new neighbourhood will also include education and health care facilities, parklands, public squares and open space.

The news comes as an important deal for the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) who have been under pressure to deliver the legacy promise they made when winning the rights to host the Games back in 2005.

The Football Association Chairman David Bernstein has resigned as chairman of retailer Blacks Leisure. He explained his decision by saying he didn’t want to create divisions in the business.

Mike Ashley, the current owner of Sports retailer Sportsdirect and Newcastle United Football Club, owns 21% of the chain. Sportsdirect voted against his re-appointment at the firm’s AGM in July.

The outdoor specialist Blacks said that Mr Bernstein decided to step down because “the company needed a unified shareholder base.”

The company has been badly hit by the High Street slowdown. Like-for-like sales in the 19 weeks to 9 July fell 9.7% and the firm announced an increase in its overall debt levels.

Julia Reynolds was named Chief Executive at the start of this month and will start to turn around the figures.

The Mike Lee-founded international sport business consultancy Vero Communications has announced the launch of their first overseas office in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which formally opens today, May 26, under the company name MLA True Communications.

Lee, the former director of communications and public affairs during London’s successful 2012 Olympic bid, founded Vero in January 2006 to offer, what he claims, is campaigning style communications, brand positioning, campaign planning and media relations solutions to clients.

Drawing on Vero’s experience, which includes the successful Rio 2016 Olympic Bid campaign, MLA True Communications will look to capitalise on sports industry opportunities in Brazil ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Lee stated: “Brazil’s presence on the world stage is greater than ever and we are keen to be part of that ahead of the World Cup and Olympic Games.

“I have had a fantastic experience working with the Rio 2016 team and we are now thrilled to launch MLA True Communications to offer our services in Brazil – a dynamic country in an exciting stage of its growth.”

MLA True Communications will be headed up by Hettie Paul, who has been appointed to lead and develop the consultancy’s Brazilian operation and added: “Brazil is an amazing place to be right now, both in sporting and economic terms and I am looking forward to maximising the creative opportunities that lie ahead with organisations and companies in Brazil, the UK and across the world who want to develop their presence.”

Paul has worked in the marketing and communications industry for the past ten years representing globally recognised brands such as Nestlé, Pernod Ricard and Cadbury’s and Lee added: “Hettie is an excellent appointment for us.

“She brings all of the right credentials to the job, coupled with a passion for the country and I believe she will make a real contribution to the continued development of the Brazilian sports market.”

Vero played a key role in the controversial decision to take the FIFA World Cup to Qatar last year and were involved in the recent move to bring the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships to Scotland in 2015.

Vero’s current clients include Rio 2016, the Pyeongchang 2018 Bid Committee, the International Rugby Board, the International Cricket Council, the Qatar Olympic Committee and UK Sport.

Lee also attracted controversy when he worked on Tottenham Hotspur’s unsuccessful bid to take over the Olympic Stadium. He was subject of a controversial set of questions regarding Qatar’s lobbying process for FIFA votes at the UK Parliamentary inquiry into soccer governance earlier in the month and was apologised to due to unreasonable questioning from the panel.

NASCAR today announced the promotion of Dr. Michael Lynch to vice president of green innovation.

As he has done over the past five years at NASCAR, Lynch will champion the adoption and implementation of sustainability practices across the sport.

Lynch joined NASCAR in 2008, shortly after NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France declared the sport would be venturing into an endeavor to reduce its environmental impact. After joining the company, Lynch launched NASCAR Green, which has since grown into the largest sustainability program in all of sports and one of the most powerful and impactful green programs in the public and private sectors.

“We knew that going green was not only the right thing to do, it was also good for business,” said France. “In the process of creating programs and implementing changes to help make our sport more environmentally friendly, Mike has also helped generate commercial opportunities for the entire industry through partnerships with more than two dozen organizations interested in using NASCAR as a platform to uniquely validate their technologies.” 

Once coined ‘the dirtiest sport in America,’ NASCAR now boasts the three largest green programs in sports: renewable energy, recycling and clean air.

“NASCAR is a widely embraced and trusted form of community engagement to tens of millions of Americans,” said Allen Hershkowitz, senior scientist, Natural Resources Defense Council. “NASCAR Green, through Dr. Lynch’s leadership, offers the encouraging prospect that millions of sports fans and businesses will be positively influenced about responsible environmental action for years to come.” 

“The backbone of NASCAR Green has been the mass adoption and acceptance of sustainable practices by our green-conscious fans; the steadfast involvement of the industry; and the strong and unwavering support from a range of Official NASCAR Partners,” said Lynch. “Thanks to these key stakeholders, we’ve been able to make substantive changes to our operations and business practices and expand the reach and scope of the platform.”

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement, announced today that Canada will be the host country for the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships next August. 

While the host city is yet to be confirmed, Swimming Canada CEO Pierre Lafontaine says that he is excited to bring another major international swimming event to Canada. 

“Over the years, Canada has had great success at hosting international swimming events,” said Lafontaine. “Bringing IPC Swimming World Championships for the first time to North America will be a great opportunity to showcase the best para-swimmers in the world. We are delighted that Canada will play host to the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships, the sixth edition of the event. With a seven-day program that includes 180 medal events across 14 classifications, it will be a fantastic opportunity to showcase Paralympic Sport in North America between Paralympic Games years.” 

The Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) is partnering with Swimming Canada for these championships. 

“This is a great opportunity for us to partner with one of the leading national sport organizations, Swimming Canada, in bringing this prestigious event to Canada,” said Henry Storgaard, CEO of the CPC. “It’s important for our athletes to compete at such a high level in front of Canadian supporters. This event will be a great platform for our Paralympic swimmers to inspire the next generation of para-athletes and show Canadians with a disability that sport is accessible to them. For the CPC, hosting parasport events in Canada on an ongoing basis will significantly contribute to the growth of our sport community as we aspire to become one of the leading nations in parasport.” 

“Giving Canadian athletes the opportunity to compete in front of their families, friends and youth across the country will be significant in Swimming Canada’s goal of encouraging more athletes with a disability to take their joy of plunging into the pool at recreational swim lessons to the next step, and chase a Paralympic dream,” added Anne Merklinger, chief executive officer Own the Podium. “Hosting major international events at home therefore is critical to the growth of all sports, and in turn, helps build depth which is key to any medal-winning program. We applaud the International Paralympic Committee for giving Canada the opportunity to host the IPC World Championships, and the chance to showcase para-swimming at its highest level to all Canadians.” 

The previous IPC Swimming World Championships were held in Eindhoven, Netherlands and attracted 49 athletes from 53 countries competing in 181 medal events. 

Based on a Letter of understanding signed today, Swimming Canada will finalize the date and location of the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships by October 2012.

Dejero, drugs creator of the award-winning LIVE+ bonded cellular newsgathering solutions, health and 7th Wave Broadcast Services, viagra provider of live-shot stand up positions, studios and broadcast facilities at the Olympic Park, today announced plans to collaborate on the provision of mobile services at key venues for the London Olympic Games.

7th Wave and Dejero have built out a long-range private Wi-Fi network at 7th Wave’s rooftop location overlooking the Olympic Park that will provide broadcasters with coverage across the park and surrounding areas. Using Dejero’s LIVE+ mobile transmission products on the private Wi-Fi network, broadcasters have the ability to transmit live video directly into 7th Wave’s media centre, where it can be uplinked to any destination around the world. With this private network in place, live HD and SD transmissions can be broadcast with high quality and short latency, even if minimal or no bandwidth is available from the cellular networks.

As well as the Olympic Park location, where 7th Wave have panoramic views of the Olympic Stadium, aquatic centre, orbit tower and the London skyline, Dejero and 7th Wave will be establishing broadcast Wi-Fi hotspots at London’s Carnaby Street and the Houses of Parliament, where the Dejero LIVE+ platform of products can be used to transmit live broadcasts.

“With hundreds of thousands of mobile phones in use near the Olympic venues, the cellular networks are expected to be highly congested during the Games,” said Todd Schneider, COO at Dejero. “The establishment of the 7th Wave-Dejero private wireless hotspots will provide broadcasters with a very strong and reliable cellular network supplement that can be used in conjunction with Dejero’s LIVE+ platform of wireless transmission products.”

“We are delighted to be working with Dejero on this innovative live transmission service,” commented Andy Tweedley of 7th Wave. “We believe that broadcasters will quickly see the benefits of this high quality and cost effective means of transmitting live content worldwide from around the Olympic Park and at other key London locations.”

Britain’s Olympic team will hope to have new funds after a major concert has been planned at the Royal Albert Hall for next May which will also help to raise enthusiasm before the games.

The British Olympic Association (BOA) organised the event at that time so it would coincide with the build-up to the arrival of the Olympic Torch in Land’s End and eventually arriving at the Olympic Stadium on July 27, 2012 for the Opening Ceremony.

The Royal Albert Hall is a prestigious music hall and one of the country’s most treasured and distinctive buildings, recognisable all over the world. It allows many other functions to happen there as well. 

Since its opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world’s leading artists from every kind of performance genre have appeared on its stage.

The BOA hope the event will help raise much-needed funds to pay for the cost of preparing the team for London 2012, including pre-Games training camps and medical support. 

The BOA’s Director of Communications, Darryl Seibel, confirmed the event had been discussed but nothing had been finalised.

“The British Olympic Association is exploring the possibility of hosting an event at the Royal Albert Hall on 11 May 2012 to celebrate Team GB,” he told insidethegames.

“The evening will feature a variety of the Best of British entertainment and provide an exciting opportunity for the British public to rally around Team GB by showing their enthusiasm and support for the home team.

“Plans for the event – including the event name – are still in the exploratory stage and not yet final.”

The Event will also be a three-day media summit during the world’s press will be invited to inspect final preparations for London 2012 and speak to some of Britain’s leading medal hopes.

After it was announced yesterday, May 5, that its chairman and CEO Ted Forstmann is being treated for brain cancer, global sports management powerhouse IMG has elevated its executive vice president and CFO Mike Dolan to president and COO. 

A memo released to employees by Jim Gallagher, IMG’s chief communications officer, stated: “Ted continues in his position as chairman and chief executive officer and will be working closely with Mike to continue his long-term strategy of growing IMG’s business.” 

Forstmann, 71, bought IMG for $750 million in 2004. Dolan, 64, has been at IMG since March 2010, following a career that included senior management positions at Viacom, Inc., and chairman and CEO of Young & Rubicam.