Event's Olympic countdown: the venues

Background

Many of the 29 competitive venues are in London but some are as far afield as the northernmost venue at Hampden Park in Glasgow.

Work started to build new venues in the Olympic Park in Stratford in 2007 when the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) gained possession of the site. Most of the venues in the park were completed in 2011 and the final building, the Water Polo Arena, was finished in April 2012.

Major exhibition venues are being transformed into sports centres, with Earls Court hosting the volleyball. Excel London is the largest competition venue, putting on a complex programme of seven Olympic and six Paralympic events.

Due to the 'clean venue' policy for the Olympics, official venues can't display any branding. This means O2 must drop its naming rights for The O2 during the Games. The building will be referred to as the North Greenwich Arena when it holds basketball and gymnastics events.

Latest news

Few problems have been reported with the venues, although this summer's heavy rain could be challenging. High-risk parking sites at four venues for sailing, mountain biking and football have been abandoned and other provisions have been made.

The equestrian venue at Greenwich Park has just passed its final assessment from the International Equestrian Federation, which approved the all-weather surface.

The Olympic Stadium was officially opened for the 2012 Hours To Go entertainment event for an audience 40,000 in May. Nine-year-old Niamh Clarke-Willis from Hackney was chosen from audience to push a button to open the venue.

The event was part of the biggest test of venue operations so far as more than 140,000 people visited the park in one week. Events included the Bucs Visa Outdoor Athletics Championships and Visa London Disability Grand Prix. Elements like security, ticketing, mobility services and logistics were tested out and no problems were reported.

During the Games

Travel between venues in London will be a key challenge during the Games, and Transport for London has created extensive models and advice on its Get Ahead of the Games website.

The 2012 Hours to Go event took place on the same day as the FA cup final at Wembley Stadium, testing out travel on the Jubilee tube line which will be the main route for travel during the Games.

Special road provisions will operate from 25 July to ease journeys between venues as the Olympic Route Network comes into force. There will also be 30 miles of 'Games Lanes' reserved for athletes, officials and sponsors.

Sport won't be the only activity going on inside the venues: acts like Rizzle Kicks and Scissor Sisters are set to play unscheduled gigs at Olympic venues to entertain the crowds.

After the Games

The venues in the Olympic Park will be closed while they are transformed for post-Games use with altered capacities and layouts. They will reopen in phases from July 2013, and some won't be ready until 2014. The first post-Games event will be the London Cycling Festival in August next year.

The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) has secured future owners and tenants for most of the venues but a question mark remains over the tenancy of the Olympic Stadium, after West Ham Football Club's plan to buy the venue collapsed last year.

The stadium will now be owned by the public and leased to a tenant that has yet to be chosen – the final four bidders include West Ham and a joint bid including Formula One.

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