London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games

The Olympic Games is the biggest sporting event on the planet attracting a global audience of over a billion people. It has the power to inspire and capture the imagination of young people and deliver a sporting and economic legacy which can bring a multitude of benefits to a nation for decades.

London will host the Olympics in the summer of 2012, predominantly in 500 acres of the Lower Lea Valley in east London. Seventeen of the twenty eight Olympic sports will be staged within a 15 minute walk of the Olympic Village in Stratford, either in new world class facilities in the Olympic Park or existing venues such as the O2.

The 500 acre Olympic Park will contain the Olympic Stadium, the Aquatic Centre, the Velodrome and BMX track, three sports halls, the Hockey stadia, the Olympic Village for 17,000 athletes and brand new media facilities. Each of these will be located no more than seven minutes from one other.

The Olympics will provide obvious economic benefits for London, and will transform a swathe of London Thames Gateway, accelerating the region's major regeneration plans, boosting existing business and the local economy and offering unrivalled investment opportunities.