§ Mr. FearnTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of proposals to increase the capacity of the new Wembley stadium to meet the criteria of the International Olympic Committee. [95433]
§ Kate HoeyThe current International Olympic Committee requirements for staging an Olympic Games are for 75,000 seats for the opening and closing ceremonies. The British Olympic Association (BOA) has indicated that a capacity of 80,000 should be provided for an Olympic bid to be credible. The design of the national stadium chosen by Wembley National Stadium Limited (WNSL) envisages special conversion of the stadium for staging athletics events and can provide 80,000 seats in athletics mode. WNSL have recently refined their detailed proposals for the stadium in athletics mode and I have asked Sport England and UK Sport to commission further detailed technical assessments of these latest proposals.