MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

London bid victory linked to vote error

London's winning bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics could have been helped by an International Olympic Committee member pressing the wrong button during the voting process, according to a BBC report.

The report, to be aired Sunday, says that the member mistakenly voted for Paris in the third round of voting in Singapore on July 6, giving it 33 votes to 31 for Madrid instead of 32-32, which would have prompted a vote-off before the final round. Madrid had been ahead after the second round.

London then beat Paris, 54-50, in the e final round of voting, although it is widely believed that Madrid would have been a bigger threat to London had they got through to the final round, where Paris votes would have moved across to their bid.

The circumstances of the vote are to be screened by BBC News 24 on Sunday. Alex Gilady, an Israeli IOC member, says in the report that another IOC member, believed to be Lambis Nikolaou of Greece, made the mistake.

Nevertheless International Olympic Committee member Craig Reedie has dismissed suggestions that London's successful bid to stage the 2012 Games was the result of an IOC delegate miscasting his vote are "totally irrelevant".

"The story is totally irrelevant, the voting was conducted in a secret ballot under the rules of the IOC, absolutely properly, all votes were properly recorded," Reedie said. "If Alex is claiming that an unnamed member ?might' have done something which ?might' have brought about something else which ?might' have brought about a different voting structure then I'm afraid that this is the kind of tittle-tattle that happens after many an IOC vote.