Games chiefs in ticket price admission

Organisers insist tickets for the Games will be "highly affordable" but admit they cannot guarantee to honour the initial commitment made by London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe. In November 2004, at the launch of the detailed plans for the bid, Coe said ticket prices would "start at £15 and over half of them are £30 or less, and the prices include free transport".

An organising committee spokeswoman said the 2004 figures were "indicative" and were based on dollars - the exchange rate is now different - and when baseball and softball were among the events. Paul Deighton, chief executive of the London organising committee, told reporters: "It was all in dollars, which was a bit confusing, and at bid time we had both softball and baseball, which would have been a very significant number of relatively cheap tickets."

He added: "The principle still applies that a very significant chunk of our tickets will be highly affordable so we can get families there. This is the strategy we are working on now and will be finished in 2010."

"A very significant proportion of the 9million tickets will be priced so they are very attractive.

"There will be some more expensive tickets but the most important point of those is that is what enables us to sell so many cheap tickets."

Meanwhile, the final position of the cauldron that will contain the Olympic flame is still being debated.

There is the potential for it to be situated on the roof of the stadium, as it was in Beijing, but another proposal is for it to be situated outside the venue on top of a large tower so it is still visible by those in the seats.

London leaders are keen on finding a solution that will leave a meaningful legacy beyond 2012 - making more likely that it will be outside the stadium.

The other outstanding decisions regarding the venues for shooting, boxing, badminton and volleyball will be made before the end of the year, Deighton said.