London's Olympic plans are three months ahead of schedule:
The International Olympic Committee's monitoring team has heaped praise on the progress London is making for the 2012 Games.
The team, who completed a three-day visit to the capital on Thursday, awarded near-perfect marks to London.
IOC co-ordination commission chairman Denis Oswald said he'd give London '9.75 out of 10.'
Oswald added: "From what we have seen, we are very confident we will have excellent facilities for the Games."
London 2012 organisers marked the end of the visit by announcing construction has officially started on the Olympic Stadium, three months ahead of schedule.
All the big names were there:
The Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell visited the Olympic Park today to see the start of construction on the Olympic Stadium site.
The event marked the beginning of the ‘big build’ across the Park. Construction will accelerate over the next year when building works start on the other five main venues – the Aquatics Centre, VeloPark, International Broadcast Centre/Main Press Centre and the Olympic Village.
Gordon Brown said: ‘The early start to building work on the Olympic Park site is good news, taking us another step closer to 2012 and the regeneration of one of the country’s most deprived areas. I have no doubt that the construction of the new permanent venues, infrastructure and transport links within the largest new urban park to be created in Europe for 150 years will be a catalyst for lasting social and economic change in east London.’The first phase of construction on the Stadium site has now begun, three months earlier than planned.
Mick Hartley 
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