Demolition work on the five major Olympic sites has been completed and construction will begin in 2008.

"In a project of this scale and complexity, we have to make the most of every day, and we have done just that this year, making excellent progress," London organizing committee chairman Sebastian Coe said today.

"We have made strong progress in our operational planning and, importantly, are engaging and inspiring people all over the UK to appreciate and value the power and magic of sport. As the eyes of the world turn to London after Beijing, we will be ready, and we won't disappoint."

London was widely praised by the International Olympic Committee during its inspection visits this year and has secured three sponsors, which Coe said was more than any other previous host city in its first 2› years of planning.

But despite a public support rating throughout Britain of 76 percent, the modern, jagged jigsaw-style logo had a mixed reception when it was released in June. Organizers also withdrew an animated version on its Web site following concern it could trigger epileptic seizures.

Last month, the simple design of the Olympic Stadium — a 25,000-seat permanent bowl with a temporary overlay of 55,000 seats — was criticized by some for lacking pizzaz. Coe disagreed.

"We are ushering in a new era in the Olympic Games," he said. "We build what we can sustain in the future. We also build what local communities can use going forward."

The biggest issue for organizers in 2007 was the budget.

In March, Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell said the budget for staging the games had almost tripled to $19 billion from the figure in the bid book.

"It's good it's been resolved," Coe said. "It's important that there was transparency and clarity around it. Getting that out of the way this early has been a very important part of this process."

Coe said London was more advanced in its budgetary planning than many other host cities, including Sydney in 2000.

"Going back over previous games, this issue was probably not even addressed in the way we've done it, in a very structured way," he said.

The Olympic Delivery Authority will use that money to build the venues and regenerate the Olympic Park site in east London. ODA chairman John Armitt said the public was starting to recognize that the budget wasn't just for the Olympics.

"Four thousand new homes, a massive investment in transport and railway systems for the games, the legacy of the park, the legacy of the stadium," Armitt said. "It's not a lot of money just for a four-week event, it's money for generations to come."

Coe's organizing committee has a separate operational budget of $4.1 billion, raised through sponsorships, television rights fees, merchandising and ticket sales.

Next year marks the 100th anniversary of the first time London hosted the Olympics. The games were also held in London in 1948.

A sizable delegation from London's staff will be at the 2008 Beijing Games, some working in the jobs they will carry out in 2012, others observing.

Work has also started on London's eight-minute segment at the end of the Beijing closing ceremony, where London officials will be handed the Olympic flag.