Summer Olympics 2012 London

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Street artist James Cochran, Aka Jimmy C puts the finishing touches to a piece of work depicting the face of Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt on July 20, 2012 in London, England. The opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic games will take place in seven days on July 27, 2012.

 

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Olympic rings have been mowed into the grass by shire horses at Richmond Park in London. The rings are visible on the flight path to London Heathrow International Airport, ready to welcome athletes and visitors to the London 2012 Games.

 

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A cable car is seen June 28 across the River Thames in London. The cable car will make the half-mile crossing between Greenwich and the Royal Docks, allowing visitors to take in the views of Olympic Park, the Canary Wharf financial center and the Thames Barrier. Each of the 34 cars holds 10 people. Travelers can purchase one-way or round-trip tickets, with a one-way ticket costing 3.20 pounds.

 

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Twisty tower
The ArcelorMittal Orbit is seen May 11 in the London 2012 Olympic Park. The 375-foot observation tower is the tallest in England and will remain a permanent fixture in the city long after the Games end.

 

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A steward stands outside the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, London, on April 20. The OIympic shooting events will be held at this venue.

 

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The Velodrome in east London can seat 6,000 spectators and will host the cycling events at the 2012 Summer Games. A glass wall around the venue's perimeter also gives visitors a 360-degree view of Olympic Park

 

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An aerial view of the Aquatics Centre and the Water Polo Arena in the London 2012 Olympic Park on April 16.

 

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An aerial view of the North Greenwich Arena, also known as The Dome, which will host artistic gymnastics, trampoline, basketball and wheelchair basketball events during the 2012 Olympics in London.

 

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The new Basketball Arena is one of the largest temporary venues ever built for a Games.

The arena will be one of the most heavily-used venues within the Olympic Park, with competition events taking place almost every day.

 

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The iconic Copper Box will host some of the most exciting action on the Olympic Park during the London 2012 Games.

The venue is extremely flexible, with retractable seating that can change the floor size within the venue, facilitating different activities both during and after the Games.

 

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The Olympic Stadium will host the four spectacular Opening and Closing Ceremonies at London 2012, as well as some of the most iconic Games events.

The Stadium is at the heart of the Olympic Park on an ‘island’ site, surrounded by waterways on three sides. Spectators will reach the venue via five bridges that link the site to the surrounding area.

The design and build

The innovative flexible design of the Olympic Stadium means its 80,000 capacity can be reduced after the Games. It has a permanent lower tier with a capacity of 25,000, and a temporary steel and concrete upper tier, which holds a further 55,000 spectators, that can be dismantled after the Games.

The temporary upper tier means that amenities such as catering and toilets normally found inside sports stadia have been located in temporary facilities around the outside of the Stadium.

Facilities for athletes within the Stadium include changing rooms, medical support facilities and a 60m warm-up track.

An Olympic Stadium with such a large removable element and mix of permanent and temporary seating has never been attempted before.

The Stadium is also the most sustainable ever built for an Olympic Games. The lower tier sits within a bowl in the ground, which minimises the use of construction materials. This bowl was created by excavating 800,000 tonnes of soil, the majority of which was cleaned and reused elsewhere on the Olympic Park.

Around 10,000 tonnes of steel were used to build the venue – significantly less than in other Olympic stadiums, making its construction more sustainable. The top ring of the Stadium was built using surplus gas pipes – a visual testament to London 2012's efforts to 'reduce, reuse and recycle'.

Construction began in May 2008 and was completed in just under three years, with the final piece of turf laid in March 2011.

After the Games

The Stadium is designed to be flexible enough to accommodate a number of different requirements and capacities in legacy. It will retain athletics at its core, and also be a venue for other sporting, cultural and community events.

It will be the venue for the 2015 IAAF World Championships

The London Legacy Development Corporation and Mayor of London Boris Johnson have taken the decision to keep the Stadium under public ownership.

 

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Olympic fever hits London as torch finally arrives in Games' host city

Britain's Kelly Holmes holds the London 2012 Olympic torch at the Tower.

This photo made available by LOCOG shows Dame Kelly Holmes with crowds at Tonbridge Castle, Tonbridge, south eastern England, on day 60 of the Olympic Torch Relay, Tuesday July 17, 2012. The double Olympian, who won 1500m and 800m gold in Athens in 2004, lit the torch at Tonbridge Castle in Kent in front of hundreds of schoolchildren and well-wishers.

 

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On top of the world: Torchbearer Amelia, 17, holds the Olympic torch aloft on the London Eye as Mayor Johnson promises a 'gigantic schmoozathon' to spotlight British business

 

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Sky's the limit: The tiny figure of Amelia can be seen atop the London Eye in the blue morning sky over the capital with Big Ben to the right

 

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Eyeful: A plane jets into Heathrow this morning with the airline's passengers having a unique opportunity to see Amelia carrying the Olympic torch

 

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Countdown to the Games: Amelia stands in her specially-built cage to pose with the Olympic torch as part of the relay around London

 

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Approximately 4,700 Olympic and Paralympic medals have been produced by the Royal Mint. They were designed by David Watkins (Olympics) and Lin Cheung (Paralympics). Each medal weighs 375–400g, has a diameter of 85mm and is 7mm thick, with the sport and discipline engraved on the rim. The obverse, as is traditional, features Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, stepping from the Parthenon; the reverse features the Games logo, the River Thames, and a series of lines representing "the energy of athletes and a sense of pulling together". The medals were transferred to the Tower of London vaults on 2 July 2012 for storage.