Are the Olympic venues really ready?

It was all going so swimmingly.

Up until now we have had very few negative stories about the construction work leading up to the Games. Bearing in mind the furore over the building of the Millennium Dome and Wembley Stadium, this is a minor miracle.

Even the most evangelical optimist would have to concede that months of media mud-throwing about construction was surely inevitable leading up to the Games. Even more so when you consider the well-noted problems of Athens in 2004 and, more recently, the comically bad process of getting Delhi ready for last year’s Commonwealth Games.

But, no, we have had very little. A real achievement given that the UK won the bid to host the Games just as one of the worst post-war recessions hit.

Instead, negative press has surrounded the ‘legacy’ of the Games, amid reports that the sweeping £308m tax payer-funded media centre will be demolished straight after the Games. Not forgetting the very public handbags over the Olympic Stadium which, for now, is in the hands of Championship side West Ham.

In fact, the only real negative PR story the Games has faced to now has been – wait for it – Olympic tickets. I made a promise not to discuss that subject anymore here so I will move on now.

A real test?

Now a seed has been sown of a new potential problem – the venues might not be up to scratch. This week a test event at Greenwich Park – site of the Equestrian event – was roundly criticised by riders taking part as not up to standard.

Of course, this is what test events are for – to iron out issues. But the main focus of these events is to concentrate on how the events are organised and run in the venues, not to test the finished venues themselves from an athlete standpoint. Should the cyclists bemoan the state of the track come its test event next February, won’t it be too late to rip up all that expensive Siberian pine?

With a whole series in the pipeline over the coming months, the organisers will be rightly nervous. To recap, the further test events this summer are:

Hadleigh Farm Mountain Bike International, 31 July, Hadleigh Farm, Essex
FIVB Beach Volleyball International, 9-14 August, Horse Guards Parade
London International Basketball Invitational, 16-21 August, Basketball Arena
UCI BMX Supercross World Cup 2011 – London, 19-20 August, BMX Track

The next one – at the mountain bike event – has the potential to go the same way. There has already been wide-spread criticism of the course, so what the pros make of it as they pop their Hadleigh Farm cherry will be interesting.

Not forgetting the BMX event in August. Will Shanaze Reade be on the offensive should she ‘do a Beijing’ on the new track? That I will be able to answer for myself as I am working that test event interviewing the athletes after they compete. Watch this space for that one.

The real issue that may come out of this is about preparation. Sure, the venues look impressive – and have been finished on time – but will they pass through the test events? Has deadline-making made way for quality venues for both athletes and fans?

The next few months will provide a lot of answers.