LONDON, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- The International Olympic Committee has agreed to scrap plans for a new temporary venue near the London Olympic Park and will stage badminton and rhythmic gymnastics in an existing venue.

    London 2012 organizers proposed switching venues to keep costs down and have both events at Wembley Arena amid the global economic recession.

    Denis Oswald, head of the IOC's coordination commission for the London Games, said Thursday that the badminton and gymnastics federations had agreed in principle to the move despite their concerns over the added travel time for their athletes.

    "It still has to be formalized," Oswald told a press conference at the close of a two-day visit to London, the fifth by his commission since the city was awarded the Olympics in 2005.

    "There is no doubt this question will be resolved in coming weeks. The two federations have been very cooperative and understand it was wise to look for a cheaper solution."

    The two sports federations must still get the approval of their governing boards, and the deal must then get final ratification from the IOC.

    The IOC had previously hoped to approve the change at its Dec. 8-9 executive board meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland. Oswald said he now expects final approval in the first two months of 2010.

    With less than 1,000 days to go until the opening ceremony in 2012, the external structure of the main 85,000-seat Olympic Stadium is complete, the roof has been lowered into place on the aquatics center, and work is well under way on the three other main Olympic Park venues - the velodrome, athletes' village and main media center.

    "We realize a lot has been done since our last visit," Oswald said. "It's very positive. It starts feeling like the games are taking shape. We are confident about the delivery of excellent Olympic Games in 2012."