Rushanara Ali (pictured) has held a meeting with the London 2012 chairman but failed to persuade him to change his mind to restore the original plan to have the race pass through the East End and finish in the Olympic Stadium rather than in front of Buckingham Palace.

"Lord Coe and his colleagues switched the marathon route from the streets of East London to central London despite having made a commitment in the bid, and despite Tower Hamlets council spending £10 million on improving the local area in preparation,” the Labour MP told insidethegames after her meeting with Coe.

"A YouGov poll found almost half of Londoners wanted to see the 26-mile event staged through Tower Hamlets to finish in Stratford.

"Only 27 per cent preferred a central London route.

"Originally, Tower Hamlets had been set to host the basketball, walking race and marathon, but these have all been moved - leaving it without any Olympic events.

"It’s a shame it has had to come to this.

"I have a great deal of admiration for Coe, for the important work he is doing.

"But he and his colleagues must make sure that, in the years to come, the local population’s recollection of the Olympics will not be of something that they barely caught a glimpse of.

"We should not be looking back and asking: why didn’t we do more to ensure a lasting legacy?

"Why weren’t local people given a starring role?

"And why didn’t the Games live up to their promise?"

The race is now due start on The Mall with a 2.2-mile circuit of St. James’ Park before three eight-mile loops past landmarks including Admiralty Arch, Birdcage Walk, St Paul’s Cathedral, Leadenhall, Tower Hill and the Houses of Parliament before finishing in The Mall, where the annual London Marathon finishes each April, as first revealed on insidethegames last August.

The new route, which been approved by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the Olympic Board, and agreed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will only go as far east as the Tower of London.

"We proposed moving the start and finish of the London 2012 marathons for operational reason and discussions were held and advice was sought from a range of organisations," a London 2012 spokeswoman told insidethegames.

"The development of the Olympic Transport Plan, and evolving sports competition schedule, led to the route change.

"The new route provides a better operational solution without causing a high risk of disruption to the many other sports taking place at the same time in the Olympic Park and across London.

"It was a very tough decision for all the parties involved to take, but we believe it was the right one, and we believe the process undertaken to reach this decision was comprehensive, fair and legal.

"We understand that there has been disappointment in Tower Hamlets and will continue to work with them to develop other opportunities for the Borough to be part of the Games."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
November 2010: IAAF back London 2012 in Olympic marathon row
November 2010: People's Marathon launched to protest over London 2012 changes
November 2010: London 2012 set to face legal action from Host Borough over Olympic marathon course
October 2010: London 2012 confirm Buckingham Palace start and finish for Olympic marathons
October 2010: Exclusive - Running marathons through East London would put Olympics at risk claims Coe