Olympic minister Tessa Jowell maintains that the 80,000-capacity athletics stadium being built for the 2012 Games will later be downsized to a 25,000-seat venue.

In response to London Mayor Boris Johnson's suggestion that the Stratford venue be maintained in size to potentially host the 2018 World Cup, the olympics minister insisted: "We don't need another football stadium - we've got Wembley.

"We made a very clear commitment in the bid book that the Olympic Stadium in legacy will be a 20- to 25,000-seater athletics stadium with the provision for a warm-up track so that London and indeed the UK will have a grand prix athletics stadium."

At the Beyond Sport summit in London last week, Jowell also ruled out speculation that the stadium will be used by a Premier League football club post-Games, affirming that the facility will house the English Institute of Sport and the National Skills Academy for Sport and Leisure.