Vivek Chaudhary

London formally launched its bid to stage the 2012 Olympic Games yesterday and was immediately installed as second favourite as the race to host the event intensified, with six other cities also launching their campaigns.

Paris, which is the bookmakers' favourite, launched its bid yesterday, along with Rio de Janeiro, Madrid, Moscow, New York and Leipzig.

All bidding cities have submitted their proposals to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which will draw up a shortlist in May before making its final decision in July 2005. Havana and Istanbul are also in the race.

London's bid was launched at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. The British prime minister, Tony Blair, gave it his full backing and said staging the games would provide a lasting legacy for sport and help regenerate a deprived part of east London, where the bulk of the games would be held.

"The reason why I believe we are in a strong position is not simply the legacy or the bid, it's because of the passion for sport in this country," said Blair.

The IOC's final shortlist is expected to be made up of Paris, London, New York and Madrid.

Intense lobbying is expected to take place in the months leading up to the final decision, and IOC officials will visit each bidding city before making a decision.

London bid organisers claim their proposals are unique because they could lead to the most compact games in the history of the Olympics, with 17 of the 28 sports being staged within a 15-mile radius of the Olympic village, in Stratford, east London.

A number of events would take place at well known sports venues, such as Lord's cricket ground, Wimbledon and Wembley stadium. Ten new sports venues would be constructed for the 2012 games as well as a new 80,000-seat arena in Stratford.

The hosting of the Olympics in east London is being viewed as a major opportunity to regenerate a deprived and neglected part of the capital; many new jobs and facilities will be created if the event is given the go-ahead.

But London's well-documented transport problems could count against it. There could also be problems trying to win over IOC delegates because of Britain's involvement in the Iraq war and, politically, Paris probably has the advantage. The French capital has many world-class sports facilities already in place, as well as an efficient and cheap transport system.

The British government has pledged to carry out £17 billion in improvements to London's transport infrastructure in the run-up to 2012.

It is estimated the games would cost £2.37 billion to stage, funding coming from the government and the National Lottery.

Mayor Ken Livingstone said: "London represents the Olympic ideal of diversity. When the 200 Olympic teams come here they will find a community from their home country to cheer them on and welcome them."

Rio de Janeiro has unveiled what it describes as an historic bid, promising that all venues would be situated within a 26-km radius.

Meanwhile, Brazilian Olympic Committee president Carlos Arthur Nuzman said: "This project is magnificent, excellent, unique and historic because for the first time all the installations will be within the urban perimeter."

Presenting Leipzig's proposal, bid head Peter Zuehlsdorff said more than 90 per cent of the events would be held within a 10-km radius of the city centre.

Leipzig, a city of about 500,000 inhabitants, is hoping its size will be an asset in the contest with much larger rivals.

Havana cites such factors as the successful staging of previous international events and a relatively crime-free environment.

Istanbul, making a fourth consecutive bid to stage the games, is promoting itself as a "bridge between civilisations". The sprawling city of 10 million would host all events and house all athletes in one village between two main clusters of venues on Istanbul's European shores.

Madrid proposed a green games, concentrating on public rather than private transport.

"Respect for the environment governs all aspects of this project," said mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon. "Madrid will use the opportunity of this candidacy to introduce renewable energies in all installations and hydrogen in public transport. Madrid could celebrate the first games without private transport."

Moscow promised to stage "the best, most compact Olympics ever", with Russian deputy mayor Valery Shantsev saying the Russian capital had the necessary infrastructure and expertise to stage all sports within the city borders.

l Guardian Service