ETA trying to derail 2012 bid - Madrid Mayor

Madrid's mayor accused ETA yesterday of trying to derail his city's bid for the 2012 Olympics, a day after the Basque separatist group detonated a car bomb near Madrid's main convention centre.

The bomb, which injured 43 people, was close to the IFEMA centre visited last week by International Olympic Committee (IOC) inspectors as they weighed up the Spanish capital's ability to host the Games.

"Undoubtedly when ETA attacks in Madrid it is trying to damage as much as possible the aspirations of Madrid's citizens - it is trying, but it will not deprive us of the Olympic Games in 2012," mayor Alberto Ruiz Gallardon said in a television interview.

Madrid is vying with favourite Paris, New York, London and Moscow for the Olympics. A final decision will be taken in Singapore on July 6.

Boxing, fencing, weightlifting, badminton, table tennis and wrestling are among sports scheduled to be held in the IFEMA pavilions if Madrid's bid is successful.