Cynicism put to one side as Olympic countdown begins

With just one year to go before the start of the London 2012 Olympics the hoop-la surrounding the 'greatest show on earth' appears to have already begun, with athletes, journalists and politicians lining up to fete the Games and the impact they will have on the country.

With the preparations on track, the organisers have successfully diverted attention away from the ticketing fiasco towards the Games themselves.

There are a number of events planned to celebrate the fact that the Olympic flame will be lit in London in 366 days' time (2012 is a leap year). Perhaps the most significant will be the handing over of the £269m Aquatics Centre to the organisers of the Games, and teenage diver Tom Daley will be on hand to plunge into the pool for the cameras.

The Aquatics Centre is the sixth and final permanent structure in Stratford to be handed over by the Olympic Delivery Authority, although they still require 'fitting out' while several temporary structures including the hockey stadium still need to be built.

But Jacques Rogge, president of the IOC, said that the preparations were going well: "London organisers have done a great job. It is on schedule and on budget... they are on a par with Beijing."

Rogge will join organiser Lord Coe, Boris Johnson the mayor of London and various politicians at a celebration in Trafalgar Square tonight. That will come after the design of the medals to be fought over at the Games is revealed, and the world's athletes are formally invited by Rogge to come and compete in London.

And as the Olympics near it appears that the hitherto cynical attitude of the press towards the Games may be softening. In the Daily Mail Jonathon McEvoy ladels on the anticipation, and writes: "The noise of building the Olympic Park softens a little. Now we hear the footfall of pounding athletes, the splash of the swimmers, the whirring wheels of our cyclists, and the thousand other sounds of Olympians beating their path to London."

A Guardian editorial announces: "In these gloomy times it needs repeating: in a year's time an extraordinary event will take place in London. The Games of the XXX Olympiad will open, and with them a fortnight of a kind never before seen in the capital."

The Times comments that "the project looks set to be delivered in fine style, well on time and well within budget. Given Britain's dismal record in managing large infrastructure schemes, particularly in the public sector, this comes as a bit of a shock."

Focusing on the Games themselves Owen Slot, also in the Times bullishly predicts that Team GB will perform well and take fourth place in the medals table, behind China the US and Russia.

And in the Telegraph Denise Lewis proudly states: "The Games will be a phenomenon in a country with a rare passion for sport, they will touch a section of society who would not normally be interested. There have been and will be issues that arise but so many people want to be involved in them, the stadiums will be packed to the rafters." ·