Five stars

Madrid, London, Paris , New York and Moscow are currently battling for the right to host the Olympic Games in 2012. Up until the announcement of the results on 6 July, Al-Ahram weekly will offer periodic updates on the latest news of the five bidding cities, some provided by the candidates themselves

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Chirac to be there

FRENCH President Jacques Chirac will go to Singapore on 6 July to promote the Paris 2012 candidacy to members of the International Olympic Committee. It is the first time that a president will head a French Olympic Games delegation.

Chirac, who was actively involved in the first Parisian bid to host the Games in 1992 as mayor of Paris and prime minister, was the spokesman for the French delegation for the IOC's 112th session in Lausanne in 1986.

The Elysee Palace said that "in spite of major agenda constraints, it was his duty to be in Singapore to promote the interests of the Paris 2012 candidacy."

Chirac will participate in the final Paris 2012 presentation before the International Olympic Committee. Together with Mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoe, and other leading executives of Paris 2012, Chirac will promote the "Amour des Jeux" of the whole nation and will present IOC members with the vision that drives France's Olympic project.

On 6 July, given the time difference and the schedule of the French candidacy presentation in Singapore, Chirac will be able to attend the opening of the G-8 summit at Gleneagles.

Signing on

BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair has signed London 2012's giant campaign flag outside Number 10.

Blair was joined at Downing Street by bid Chairman Sebastian Coe and children from a sports academy in Stratford close to the site of London's planned Olympic Park.

Hundreds of sports stars, celebrities and politicians have signed the giant flag, which will accompany the London 2012 delegation to the crucial meeting in Singapore where the 2012 host city will be selected.

Blair, who will travel to Singapore to underline the government's backing for the bid, said he was "really looking forward" to the trip.

"It is a fantastic bid," he told the media. "Seb and his team have done an amazing job.

"It is generating such enthusiasm, inspiring the young people and will leave a tremendous legacy, not just for Britain but for the Olympic movement."

Dozens of sports stars will be joining Blair in Singapore, including England skipper David Beckham, football legend Sir Bobby Charlton and five-time Olympic champion Sir Steve Redgrave.

The prime minister is travelling to the Far East before returning to Scotland to chair the G-8 Summit at Gleneagles.

Safin helping out

AFTER his second victory at Wimbledon, Russian tennis star Marat Safin announced that he will help promote Moscow's bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games as one of its ambassadors.

The announcement that Safin, the latest famous Russian to become an ambassador for Moscow's 2012 bid, was made as he beat Mark Philippoussis in Round 2 of Wimbledon.

"As a Muscovite I am proud to support Moscow's bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games," Safin said. "Moscow is a wonderful city. It is open, buzzing with dynamism and passionate about sports. You can really see it with all these Russian athletes achieving brilliant results in all sports around the world. I always go back to Moscow full of affection and admiration for the extraordinary expansion it has undergone. That's the reason why Moscow should have the Games."

The 25-year-old Safin was born in Moscow. As a baby he was taken by his mother Rausa to the Moscow Spartak Club where she trained and his father Mubin was manager.

Safin himself began to play at the age of six and hasn't stopped since. His mother coached him until he was 13 when he went to Valencia in Spain. There his potential was spotted and a Swiss sponsor paid to train the boy to become a professional.

Success on the international circuits came with his first Tennis Masters success in Toronto in 2000 and was followed by the finals in Indianapolis in the US. This year Safin won the Australian Open before heading for Wimbledon.

Other supporters of Moscow's 2012 bid include Maria Sharapova, Kostya Tsuy, Natalia Vodianova, Boris Yeltsin, Elena Dementieva, Anastasia Myskina and Alexey Nemov.