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A radical plan to turn the Olympic stadium into a football venue could be deployed to bring the World Cup to London in 2018.
Advisers to Boris Johnson say the move could be the key to maximising the event's benefits to London.
The proposal comes from London United, the group set up to ensure the city spearheads the English bid for the 2018 World Cup.
London and 14 other cities including Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool have until November to make their case to England 2018, the bid company established by the Football Association.
The London United taskforce aims to maximise the economic boost to the capital of staging the world's largest sports event. It must convince football chiefs that London's world class football stadiums and Olympic status make it the "jewel in the crown" of the 2018 campaign, which was launched at Wembley last week.
The FA will decide in December which of the applicant cities will be put forward to Fifa, the world governing body, ahead of next year's vote.
The taskforce will bring together London council officials, the police, Transport for London, tourism bosses and figures from the world of football.
A sub-group will consider how to maximise the use of outdoor spaces such as parks and will canvass opinion from Londoners.
London's host city status would be assured as it is home to the national stadium at Wembley but Mayor Boris Johnson wants to distribute the benefits more widely across the capital.
Current plans for the Olympic stadium would see the 80,000-seat venue reduced to a 25,000 capacity athletics ground, but the group will hold talks in the coming weeks with the Olympic legacy delivery company chaired by Baroness Ford to discuss options for the 600-hectare park's role in 2018.
These include converting the stadium to a 40,000-seat World Cup venue that could also host the world athletics championships as early as 2017, setting up giant TV screens for a World Cup fan park and using the Olympic media centre for international broadcasters in 2018.
Arsenal, Tottenham and Twickenham stadium will also be competing to become one of the competition's 16 venues. Cities can also bid for training facilities, team base camps and "fan parks".
Central to City Hall's bid planning is to use the 2012 Olympic Park in Stratford which is currently having its future mapped out.
Employing Olympic facilities would spread the potential benefits of the World Cup eastwards in the capital and may boost the bid's public polling, an important aspect of the 2018 campaign.
As part of its prospectus the campaign is expected to stress excellent transport links, hotel accommodation and the experience gained from staging the Olympics.
Reader views (3)
Frank, you obviusly haven't seen the progress being made on site.
- David, London, 02/06/2009 16:25
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I doubt it will be ready for 2012 let alone 2018! Another British cock-up this country is a JOKE.
- Frank, London, 28/05/2009 17:10
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But surely, Geoff Banks designed Wembley to be big enough for an event such as this? I mean, he obviously had it designed with all major sporting events in mind which is why it's being used so heavily during the Olympics isn't it?
- Bob, Cheam, 28/05/2009 11:17
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