Independent on Sunday, The: INSIDE LINES

It's been a `mare' of a week for New York too

Who would have thought that the demise of Dirty Den would have been over-shadowed by the demonising of Shirty Ken in the week when East Enders welcomed the inspectors from the International Olympic Committee? At least there is some small consolation for the stubbornly unapologetic Livingstone. He is not the only bid-city mayor who is having a bit of a "mare". His opposite number in New York, Michael Bloomberg, faces the embarrassment of having to tell the IOC evaluation team that his plans for the proposed new Olympic Stadium to be a done deal on their arrival there tomorrow are virtually dead in the East River. Moreover, in one of the worst weeks of his mayoralty, some fellow Republicans who are New York State senators have refused to back his pet project to build a stadium that would later become home for the New York Jets. Instead, the bid could now suffer a knockout blow thanks to Madison Square Garden, the legendary home of boxing. The venue's owners, Cablevision, want to acquire the land for a new entertainments centre and have tabled a $600m bid for the disused railway yard that is double the money the city, state and the Jets can muster between them. The stadium was to be the core of the Big Apple's bid, and although Bloomberg, who plans a jazz night for the visitors, says he has a back-up site, the situation has caused New York more anguish than Livingstone's gaffe has for London because when we were there a just a few weeks ago he was saying: "I have to be able to look the IOC in the eye and say this stadium is going to be built". Now he says what the Garden have done is "sabotage".

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No added Sugar for London's team

Conspicuous by his absence from anything to do with the London 2012 bid is the former Tottenham chairman and Amstrad boss, Sir Alan Sugar. Yet he is surely the most successful entrepreneur to come out of Hackney, the east London hub of the bid. It seems odd that with his sharp business expertise he is not involved in some way - though his scathing condemnation of footballers last week suggests his blunt speaking earmarks him as too much of a loose cannon. A bid spokesperson could give no idea as to why Sugar (pictured) has not been among the figureheads. Similarly, it is curious that Tony Banks, the MP for West Ham, also slap-bang in the bid heartland, has had such a low profile in the run-up, especially as he is a former sports minister. Banks is certainly not known to be against the bid, and though he is stepping down after the next general election London say there is no apparent reason why he should have been excluded, unless it was his association with the failed 2006 World Cup bid. Unusually for Banks, he was unavailable for comment.

Bidding farewell to the bidders

The fact that the bidding process has become an Olympic event in itself is causing concern to some IOC members. It is expensive, controversial and seems to put all but the richest cities out of the running. But things may change, according to former vice-president Dick Pound. He says that one day the IOC will adopt a different process and follow the new Fifa pattern by fast-tracking Games to Africa or South America, where they have yet to be held. "The Games could be sent to one of them as early as 2016," he says. Yet much will depend on the outcome of the current bid for 2012, as some failed candidates may wish to run again. A 2020 vision is more likely.

Not only does he have two Jags, but John Prescott also has two full-time sports advisers in his office. Strange, that, considering the nearest he ever seems to get to being passionate about sport is throwing a mean left jab.

But it transpires that the deputy PM may well need his sporty female aides in the coming months because, after the next general election, it is likely his office will become responsible for overseeing the final stages of the 2012 bid, with all the planning issues involved. It is widely expected that Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell and Sports Minister Richard Caborn will be moving on post- election should Labour win, though both will remain involved with the bid until the decision is made. In the event of London getting the Games, Prescott would become, in effect, the Olympics Minister, with Seb Coe staying on to head the organising committee. Coe says Prescott (pictured) is one of the Labour politicians who really punches his weight. "If you want something done, he picks up the phone and fingers are quickly pulled out."

As of yet blackjack, bingo and baccarat are not on the wish-list of the IOC, but you never know what bizarre activities the Games may eventually embrace. But at least London will be ready to cater for the high- rollers should they slip in roulette for 2012. The Evaluation Commission were said to be "truly awed and stunned" by what is going on at the Millennium Dome, now under American ownership, where basketball and gymnastics would be housed above what is euphemistically termed "the entertainment district". What they mean is a casino, though they are rather coy about confirming it yet lest the IOC take fright at the thought of competitors nipping down for a quick game of craps.

insidelines@independent.co.uk