London 2012 bid team welcomes IOC report

London's bid for the 2012 Olympic Games has been given positive feedback from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) commission, but still appears to be second favourite behind Paris.

The publication of the IOC's evaluation committee's reports on the five bidding cities earlier this afternoon has been received by the London 2012 bid team as "very, very positive" in a press conference featuring London 2012 chair, Seb Coe, culture secretary, Tessa Jowell and London Mayor, Ken Livingstone.

Coe said that the report demonstrated how the bid team had acted on observations made by the first evaluation assessment, and that it provided a "springboard" to "continue to build on the momentum gathered over the past 12 months."

Coe said that the partnerships between the government, Greater London Authority and British Olympic Association were of a high quality and paid tribute to the strengthening of areas previously identified as weak, such as transport and public support.

However, despite the optimism of the bid team, the evaluation committee's verdict does not seem to have altered the view of Paris being the frontrunner.

Paris fared extremely well in the report and is continuing to benefit from key elements – such as venues, transport and accommodation – being in place already.

Bookmaker William Hill currently has Paris at 1-4 to win the 2012 bid, with London at 11-4 and New York drifting behind at 12-1.