Is it realistic to state as part of the bid 'our chapter will be running properly' by 2010 or not?
At this stage, no. As far as I can tell, no progress is actually being made at the moment, so it's impossible to put an estimate on when things will be up and running. Hopefully we'll at least have a timeline by the time the bid has to be in, but that's just a hope.
I'd say London too due to good airports etc.
My vote is for London as well. Most people going to anywhere else will have to go through London anyway.