Rio’s Government has launched a US$378m international competition, in partnership with the Institute of Architects of Brazil (IAB) and coordinated by the Instituto Rio 2014/2016, to design the Olympic Park master plan for the 2016 Olympic Games.

The Olympic Park is spread over more than a million square metres and is due to host 15 different competitions during the Games with some of the facilities being permanent and others might be used for other purposes after the Olympics, including setting up the Olympic Training Centre (TOC) which it is hoped will train future elite members of Brazil’s Olympic team.

At least least 60 per cent of the area will be used after the Games for projects like hotels, and commercial and residential use and according to Rio’s Economic Development Secretary, Felipe Goes, the projects will have to take into consideration the existing facilities built for the 2007 Pan-American Games.

The majority of the facilities will be built on Rio’s race track – the Nelson Piquet Autodrome in Jacarepagua, which will be demolished as part of the redevelopment.

Officials also stressed that the environmental aspects of the project will be taken into consideration, such as the low water and energy use and the preservation of nearby lagoons.

Felipe Garcia, the secretary of Municipal Development for Rio, stated: “The chosen project must consider environmental concerns and avoid unnecessary Governmental expenditures.

“The project is of paramount importance, because the world will see the Games through the Olympic Park.

“The winner is the one that best combine the Olympics infrastructure with an excellent exploration of the urban area.”

Companies will have to present the projects by the end of June and foreign firms can enter providing they have an office or representative in Brazil. The winning project is due to be announced by mid-July.

The jury that will decide the winner will consist of representatives from Rio 2016, the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB), Rio City Hall, the Federal Government, five consultants from IAB and two international judges.

Another contest will be held to choose the design of the facilities, with the President of Rio 2016 and the COB, Carlos Nuzman adding: “The concern is we will be ready to stage the test events a year before.

“But the IOC are satisfied that we are acting within the time and have enough time to build the Olympic Park.”

Qatar, the oil-rich state located in the Middle-East, are not content with just hosting soccer’s FIFA World Cup in 2022. The Qataris have now set their sights on hosting the Tour de France Grand Depart in 2016.

The tiny Gulf state has experience of hosting professional cycling with the UCI Asia’s Tour of Qatar, which had it’s 10th edition take place earlier this year, also being organised by Tour de France operators Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO).

Qatar Airways is also the official airline of the Tour de France and it was aboard one of the airline’s jets, rather than the usual TGV, that the riders made their way to the final stage in Paris over the weekend.

The Grand Depart has history of departing from neighbouring European countries, but never has the Tour began outside the continent.

It is doubted whether teams, riders and sponsors would accept the Grand Depart being removed from a European setting and deposited in the searing heat and high humidity of a desert kingdom in the height of summer, but the Qataris have proved in the past that they have the wealth to change the mindset of many sporting organisations.

Cycling fans are likely to have little enthusiasm for the idea of one of cycling’s great spectacles being held in a different time zone and in a location that would require considerable expenditure to reach.

A spokesperson close to the Qatar’s rulers said: “His highness (the Emir) has had this idea in mind for quite a while. They have started the discussions and the process.”

As for the inevitable questions about how athletes would be expected to perform in extremes of heat and humidity the source said: “I think there are options to manage it. We can have a small prologue, not too long, with water sprayed at certain points. There is no technical problem with doing it here.”

The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) has been awarded the contract to record the 205 national anthems required for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic medal ceremonies after a competitive bidding process.

The LPO will record the anthems at Abbey Road Studios in May this year using 36 musicians and 50 recording hours over six days to produce the anthems. The final sessions will take place in September this year.

Sebastian Coe, doctor chairman of the London 2012 organising committee, symptoms stated: “The playing of anthems at victory ceremonies is one of the most emotive parts of any Games and we’re delighted to be working with the London Philharmonic Orchestra to deliver this key element of the ceremonies.”

NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment and WWE today announced a multi-year strategic partnership for WWE’s flagship programming.

Mnday Night Raw will receive a three-hour block on USA Network and the top-rated Friday Night Smackdown on Syfy. The two programs are the longest-running weekly episodic entertainment programs on cable TV with a combined reach of 10.8M viewers each week. The announcement was made today by Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President Talent, Live Events & Creative, from the stage at the NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment upfront presentation at the Javitz Center in New York. 

“USA Network President Chris McCumber, Syfy President Dave Howe and I are incredibly pleased to renew this strategic partnership with WWE,” said NBCUniversal Cable Chairman Bonnie Hammer. “In today’s TV landscape, live event programming is an extraordinarily valuable asset, and WWE remains the only entertainment franchise that consistently delivers this on a 52-week a year basis. We look forward to bringing WWE’s action-packed and unique brand of drama to the wide audiences across our cable networks for many years to come.”

“We are proud to continue our long-standing partnership with NBCUniversal given their premiere position in the marketplace and vast promotional platforms,” said WWE Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Vince McMahon. “We are excited about our future as we further the reach and popularity of our live, family-friendly entertainment programming 52 weeks a year.”

Doha are still undecided about whether they will bid for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics despite Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, the head of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), claiming here that they do plan to put themselves forward.

Sheikh Ahmad, a Kuwaiti, had revealed that he had been told they were going to bid but that nothing had been officially announced yet.

But a spokesman for the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) insisted that the Sheikh’s claim on the eve of the OCA General Assembly was premature, even though Doha had promised as long ago as August 2008 that they would bid.

He said: “No decision has been made yet. We are still discussing the situation with the QOC and the Government.”

Doha bid for the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics but were cut from the shortlist because their proposed dates were outside the window that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had published.

They claimed that IOC President Jacques Rogge had led them to believe that they could host the Games outside the window, just as Sydney had done in 2000.

The IOC have changed the criteria for this contest and any cities who propose to hold the Games outside the normal Olympic window of between July 15 and August 31 have until July 29 to make their intentions known.

The dates issue is a particularly sensitive one following FIFA’s controversial decision last year to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, which have caused there to be calls to move the tournament from its traditional June/July slot to January to avoid the scorching summer heat in the Middle East.

Qatar’s desire to stage major events remains strong.

They are already hosting the 2015 World Handball Championships and are among the contenders for the 2017 World Athletics Championships, a bid that is looking increasingly strong in view of the problems London is having securing the future of the Olympic Stadium.

Building work on a £50m (US$81.3m) cable car across the River Thames in London, linking two Olympic venues, will begin this summer, running the O2 arena in North Greenwich to the Excel exhibition centre at the Royal Victoria Docks.

Transport for London (TfL) warned that completing the connection in time for next year’s Olympics would be “an extremely challenging timeline for a complex project”, but claimed that it was “striving” to do exactly that.

It will be part of the Oyster card network but fares have yet to be set.

Having said last year that it would not be funding the cable car, TfL has decided to pay for the project upfront in order to help its “quick delivery”, a spokesman said.

The spokesman added that the company could not guarantee that some of the money would have to come from taxpayers, though he claimed it would be trying to recoup its costs.

The consortium which will build and run the cable car is to be led by Mace, the firm which worked on the London Eye and is currently constructing the Shard Tower at London Bridge, south-east London.

London’s mayor, Boris Johnson, said: “Gliding serenely through the air across the Thames will provide a truly sublime, bird’s eye view of our wonderful city.

“This innovative airborne travel link will be a vital component in the ongoing renaissance of a vibrant easterly quarter of the capital, providing a much-needed river crossing.”