Livingstone, the driving force behind the proposal to locate the Olympic bid in Stratford to help regenerate East London, has claimed that if Tottenham are allowed to pull down the £537 million ($826 million) Olympic Stadium and replace it with a £250 million ($400 million) football ground it would have "'horrendous" environmental consequences.

He has been backed by Amber Charles, an up-and-coming young basketball player who was arguably the star of London's final presentation in Singapore in 2005.

The youngster has claimed that if the Olympic Stadium is demolished then it "would destroy the whole idea" behind London's bid.

In an interview published in  The MJ, a magazine for Local Government workers, this week Livingstone claimed that, as Mayor, he and the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) had ensured the environmental damage caused by the Olympic Stadium, including carbon use, had been kept to a minimum.

The current Stadium in Stratford required just half of the usual concrete and steel required for large stadia, largely because of the temporary structures that form the upper tiers. 

"If they decide to go for West Ham, then you have football and athletics there, that's fine," Livingstone told The MJ.

"I would be horrified at the thought, if Tottenham get it, that you demolish a stadium we've just spent £400 million ($640 million) [sic] building – and then build a new one, because the carbon cost of a stadium is horrendous.

"We used half the normal amount of steel and concrete that you would use on a stadium of that size - and there were environmental reasons for doing that.

"To demolish it?

"There's a carbon footprint cost here which is just not acceptable."

Livingstone also claimed that Tottenham's proposal to fulfil the legacy promises made by London 2012 to athletics by spending £25 million ($40 million) to redevelop the National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace was unrealistic.

"The athletics facilities at Crystal Palace are standing up only by willpower," Livingstone told The MJ.

"If we hadn't won the Olympics, the Mayor of London would have had to have found a couple of hundred million pounds to create a modern athletics facility – or we weren't going to have one in the city.

"I think for a great world city to not have an athletics capacity is ridiculous.

"And [so] the Olympics are god-sent.

"You leave an athletics legacy at the Olympic site, and you then give the people of Crystal Palace back their park."

Charles (pictured with Sebastian Coe), meanwhile, has expressed her disillusionment that London 2012 would break its promises if the Olympic Stadium is given to Tottenham.

"To pull it down would destroy the whole idea," she told the BBC in an interview.

"I think it's appalling really.

"A lot of our bid was about it being a lasting legacy for London and it being there for years to come."

Charles was only 14 when she travelled to Singapore as part of the London 2012 bid team and presented to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) members by Sebastian Coe as an example of who would benefit from Britain hosting the Games.

Charles, who is now on a basketball scholarship at Temple University in Tennessee, claimed that if Tottenham are allowed to demolish the Stadium then it would undermine London's promises.

"The Stadium is meant to be something for London to be proud of but that's not going to be the case if Tottenham win," she said.

"What's going to be left to say the Olympics have been here at all?"

European Athletics President Hansjorg Wirz, meanwhile, has warned that London must keep the promises it made during its bid if it hoped to be able to stage major events in the future.

"Keeping the athletics track must be part of any future plans for the Olympic Stadium," said Wirz.

"London needs a high-quality venue that has the potential to host future European Athletics Championships and World Championships.

"An iconic venue such as the Olympic Stadium can act as an inspiration for future generations of British athletes, whether they train or compete there for clubs, schools or universities or are able to witness the best athletes compete there during a major championships.

"Bid pledges made during the London 2012 campaign that an athletics track be retained as a legacy of the Olympics should be honoured and not forgotten."

The Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) are expected to meet on January 28 to discuss which of the rival bids to accept to takeover the Stadium, Tottenham or West Ham United, who have promised to keep the athletics track.

Wirz claimed that London should look for inspiration to Paris, the city that it controversially beat to be awarded the Olympics and Paralympics.

"Those voicing concerns about a multi-purpose stadium post-Olympics should consider venues such as the Stade de France, which has not only hosted a World Championships in Athletics and currently hosts the yearly Paris IAAF Diamond League meeting but has also seen a football World Cup final, two Champions League finals and a Rugby World Cup final played there," he said.

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