The 2012 Olympics will be held in London, England from July 27, 2012 through August 12, 2012. The Olympics will showcase the best athletes in the world in an array of sports including athletics, diving, hockey, basketball and water polo. The summer Olympic Games are held every four years at various locations throughout the world.
The games will attract visitors from across the globe and London has already begun preparing for them. Knowing that many people are traveling to London to see their favorite athlete compete for the gold, they are working hard to create a great venue. They have designed and selected several high-tech stadiums that will be used to accommodate the athletes and the spectators.
London Olympic Stadium
The main stadium will be the London Olympic Stadium, which is located at Marshgate Lane in Stratford, London. This stadium will be the showcase of the Olympic Games and both the Opening and Closing ceremonies will be held here. There will be enough seating in the stadium for 80,000 people.
This stadium is located in the southern section of Olympic Park and is surrounded by waterways on three sides. The waterways give the effect of an island stadium and there will be a minimum of five bridges leading over to the London Olympic Stadium.
Olympic Park
Olympic Park is located in Stratford, East London and is the area that will be home to most of the Olympic competitions. In addition to the main London Olympic Stadiums, several other arenas and London Olympic Stadiums have been built to accommodate the games. South of Olympic Park will be the Aquatics Centre which will be home to all of the swimming and diving events. The Centre will be able to seat 17,500 and will include two swimming pools and one diving pool. Right beside the Aquatics Centre will be the Water Polo Park which will seat 5,000 people.
The Velopark will include a few of the London Olympic Stadiums and is located in the north-west section of Olympic Park. The Velopark includes the Velodrome, which is where the track cycling competition will be held and the BMX Circuit. Both of these venues are located in the northern portion of Olympic Park and can seat 6,000 people. Also included in the Velopark are four separate arenas for fencing, volleyball, basketball and handball.
Surrounding Areas
Some of the London Olympic Stadiums will be located outside of the Olympic Park and are located in other areas around London. The equestrian events will be held at Greenwich Park, which will seat about 23,000 people and the tennis competitions will be held at the world famous Wimbledon courts, which will seat about 30,000 people. Football matches will also be held outside the Olympic Park at several locations including Wembley Stadium.
Still other events will be held outside the city of London and held at nearby destinations. Football is one of those sports that will be held at many locations both within London and outside of London. For example, some of the football games will be played at the Millennium Stadium and Hampden Park. All of the London Olympic Stadiums were designed and chosen to provide spectators the best views for watching the world class competitions.
