London is holding a series of events marking the start of a year long countdown to the 2012 Olympic Games. The organisers are saying the preparations are on track. The Chairman Sebastian Coe said a mountain of work remains to complete the venues but he was proud of what has been achieved. Mr. Coe said every venue has got a mountain of works still to be done. Critics have complained that the Games are an elitist extravagance with the 15 billion dollar budget several times the original estimate.