This aerial view released by Paris City Hall shows how the Champs Elysee will be covered with an athletics track and other venues should the city be chosen to host the 2012 Olympics.
Photo: AP
Paris has been confirmed as favourite to host the 2012 Olympics after the International Olympic Committee published a glowing appraisal of the city's plans for the summer Games.
London emerged as the closest contender to the French capital in a report by the IOC evaluation commission on the plans put forward by the five cities bidding for the Games.
But doubts surfaced over New York's bid after Mayor Michael Bloomberg's four-year quest to build a $US2.2 billion ($A2.8 billion) football stadium in Manhattan failed to win approval.
Despite the praise heaped on Paris, London's bid chairman, Lord Sebastian Coe, was bullish about London's prospects in his assessment of the report.
"This is a springboard for the next 30 days. We are in a position to continue to build on the momentum that this bid has enjoyed over the last year, and very obviously, over the last six months," he said.
The publication in Lausanne of the evaluation commission's findings gives no formal ranking but provides guidance to the strengths and weaknesses of the five bidding cities - which also include Madrid and Moscow.
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