OLYMPIC GAMES:EVERYTHING FROM responses to a terror attack to long queues at venues will be tested in a series of exercises for the emergency services and other key organisations involved in the 2012 Games, British home secretary Theresa May announced yesterday.

Power failures on the Underground, crowds at venues, threats from serious crime and protests are some of the potential situations that will be looked at.

A minimum of 10 exercises will be staged to see how the key organisations work together with the London 2012 organisers and share information with the public.

May said police will have the manpower and legal force to ensure the 2012 Games are safe despite cuts. Up to 12,000 officers will be needed on peak days during the Games and events such as the Notting Hill Carnival will still have to be manned.

May believes the police will be resilient enough, arguing that the cuts they are being asked to make are “challenging but achievable”. London Metropolitan Police commissioner Paul Stephenson said it “adds to the challenges” but did not change efforts to maintain high standards.

The exercises, which run from this summer through to June 2012, begin with “table-top” scenarios where key players have to respond to different situations. There will also be a “live” simulated exercise with personnel on the ground next spring.

Part of the aim is to try to avoid confusion and ensure that all the different agencies are linked properly and working well together.

Specialist police skills such as protection officers, detector dogs, search and mounted officers, which have limited numbers, are also part of the plans. The 2012 security effort has a budget of up to £600 million (€668m) although it is believed that just under £500 million (€556m) may be needed.

London 2012 is set to be Britain’s biggest peacetime security operation and will be policed at severe threat level. It also coincides with the 40th anniversary of the 1972 Munich Olympics, when 11 Israeli team members died after being held hostage by Palestinian gunmen.

May would not say if the killing of al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden two months ago had led to any new intelligence about the threat to the Games.

She said: “I am confident that we have the appropriate planning in place to deliver a safe and secure Olympic Games.”

Describing it as a “a robust safety and security strategy”, May said: “The testing of our plans, structures and responses to ensure they can deal with any incident is vital. It is important we learn lessons ahead of the Games. I want to reassure everyone that with a year to go we will leave nothing to chance in our plans to deliver a Games that London, the UK and the whole world will enjoy.”

With London 2012’s 42 test events now under way, security officials are also getting several chances to try to fine tune the way they will need to work. These competition test events, made up of specially-created invitational and scheduled competitions featuring top athletes, are being used to test the operation of venues and iron out problems at the facilities.

Paul described the planning as “well advanced”. He said: “While I am delighted with the progress we have made I am far from complacent – that is where the learning will be from these test events.”

The exercises are in addition to the ongoing exercising programme taking place across all levels of government and the emergency services every year to test incident responses. Work carried out in the past year to gear up for 2012 include a review of security plans to ensure they deliver a safe and secure 2012 Games.

Safety and security funding for the Games has been protected to ensure the safety of all those participating, watching and visiting the Games and the maximum fine for ticket touting has increased from £5,000 (€5,500) to £20,000 (€22,000).

The police’s Olympic Intelligence Centre which is now operating and the Airwave radio system, has been expanded to ensure that every single officer working on or around the Olympic venues will be able to use it as their primary source of communication. There is also a police-led National Olympic Co-ordination Centre, which involves different agencies, to oversee safety and security operations during the Games.

WAITING GAMES: Pyeongchang hopes

THE Korean city of Pyeongchang will finally learn today whether it will celebrate becoming host of the 2018 Winter Olympics or be pipped at the post for the third time.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will decide on the first day of its annual session in Durban, South Africa, today whether to award the Games to Pyeongchang or to Annecy of France or Germany's Munich.

Eight years ago, Pyeongchang surprisingly garnered 51 votes in the first round of voting to lead favourites Vancouver, on 40, with Salzburg from Austria collecting 16. But candidates have to have a clear majority and after Salzburg's elimination, most of its votes went to Vancouver which won the right to stage the 2010 Olympics on a 56-53 vote in the second round.

Four years ago as favourites against Salzburg and the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, Pyeongchang won the first round again, 36 to 34 for the Russians and 25 to the Austrians.

But again Salzburg's votes swung mainly to Pyeongchangs rivals and the Koreans lost the second round 51-47 as Sochi was awarded the 2014 Games.

Pyeongchang should lead after the first round today for a third time. But with Munich expected to come second, the Koreans have to fear they will once again fail to get an overall majority and that Annecy's votes will then swing to fellow Europeans.

If Munich do win the vote, it would become the first city to stage both the Summer and Winter Games.