Britain should "compete and excel" in its bid to win the Olympic Games, Tessa Jowell has said.

Winning the 2012 Games would give sport in Britain "its bigger ever boost" the culture secretary told Labour's conference.

In an upbeat assessment of the government's Olympic hopes, Jowell said ministers were 100 per cent behind the bid.

"When we talk of achievement, when we think of dreams coming true, nothing beats the Olympic Games".

A successful bid would show Britain as a "can-do nation".

"They will galvanise the regeneration of London's East End," she said.

"They will give sport in Britain its biggest ever boost."

And she insisted that the country as a whole was behind the London bid.

"When we asked people whether they wanted us to bid, they made one thing very clear they wanted us to give it a go," Jowell told Labour's rank-and-file.

She added that the public would "forgive us for trying" even if the games went elsewhere.

Addressing Labour delegates, former world champion athlete Steve Cram said a successful Olympic bid would meet the "dreams and hopes" of the next generation of British sportsmen and women.

"I firmly believe that we have a great chance of winning this bid," he said.

"I want us to bring the greatest show on earth to these isles."