The IOC president said that the international luge and bobsleigh federations had the legal responsibilities for the track. “But we are morally responsible,’’ he said, revealing that the IOC would contribute to a planned luge track in Kumaritashvili’s home town. He said the death “will be part of the Vancouver Games”, just as the slaying of Israeli athletes has become synonymous with the Munich Olympics of 1972. The tragedy had cast a shadow over the Games but he would make a separate pronouncement at the closing ceremony – “in general, a positive one’’.

Meanwhile, Rogge predicted that the stadiums for the London Games would be full because of the city’s proximity to Europe. But he warned that the mix of spectators would not be as British as the local public might hope for because of European Union law.

“One of the rules imposed by the EU is for the free market and the circulation of goods. The stadiums will be full, but the mix of spectators may be different to what it would have been if LOCOG could have sold solely in the local market. But we have to live with that.’’