Source: www.insidethegames.biz
By: Duncan Mackay
August 8 - The riots that have spread across London tonight, including in Hackney, an Olympic Host Borough located just a few miles from the main site, will not affect the beach volleyball test event due to begin at Horse Guards Parade tomorrow, officials have claimed.
But the rioting could hardly have come at a worse time for London 2012 with representatives from nearly 200 countries in the capital to attend the·Chef de Missions seminar to discuss preparations for next year.
Images of buildings and vehicles in flames have been broadcast around the world come as the capital prepares to stage the Games in less than a year's time.·
The unrest started Saturday night (August 6) in the Tottenham area of North London after a police shooting.
It spread closer to the Olympic Park earlier today when scattered violence broke out in the Hackney area of East London.
Groups of youths, many wearing hoods and masks, attacked shops and windows in Hackney.
Police in riot gear were pelted with pieces of wood and other objects.
Authorities said more than 200 people had been arrested and more than two dozen charged over three days of trouble.
Police said at least 35 police officers were injured.
Discussions have already been held about whether England's football friendly against the Netherlands at Wembley Stadium - which is also an Olympic venue for 2012 - on Wednesday (August 10) can go ahead.
But London 2012 officials have told insidethegames that the Visa FIVB Beach Volleyball International, which is due to feature·world number one pairing Jennifer Kessy and April Ross of the United States and·Beijing bronze medallists Chen Xue and Xi Zhang of China, is not in danger of being cancelled.
The event is being held in the shadow of Whitehall where Prime Minister David Cameron is due to hold an emergency meeting tomorrow with senior security officials about the riots.
The Chef de Missions seminar will also take place as planned, London 2012 said.
The National Olympic Committee (NOC) representatives are being housed in the Park Lane area of London, which has so far been unaffected by the riots.
Tomorrow is scheduled to be taken up with a seminar before they travel to the Olympic Park on Wednesday for a tour of the Park and to see the Stadium.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will also have an opportunity to assess the situation first-hand tomorrow as Denis Oswald, the chairman of the London 2012 Coordination Commission, and Gilbert Felli, the Executive Director for the Olympic Games, are due to arrive in the capital for a Project Review.
The meeting with senior London 2012 officials had been scheduled for several weeks but the riots will now inevitably be top of the agenda.
The IOC claimed that they had full confidence in security arrangements for the Games.
"Security at the Olympic Games is a top priority for the IOC," spokesman·Mark Adams said.
"It is, however, directly handled by the local authorities, as they know best what is appropriate and proportionate.
"We are confident they will do a good job in this domain."
London 2012 also claimed that the riots would not affect preparations for the Games.
"Security has always been a priority for us and continues to be so," a London 2012 spokeswoman told insidethegames.