The 2012 Games will provide London with a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate the capital's ability to successfully host the world's largest sporting and cultural events and showcase the UK's sporting credentials in front of a predicted global TV audience of five billion viewers.
Hosting the 2012 Games is also providing a legacy the chance for various parts of the city to be regenerated, which will create lasting benefits to London as a whole.
Approximately 200 countries will be represented at the 2012 Games, with 17,000 athletes taking part. Ticket sales start in 2011 and nine million are expected to be sold.
The Olympics will feature 26 sports, including athletics, swimming and boxing, at 34 venues in London and around the UK.
The Paralympics will follow with 20 sports, including wheelchair rugby, goalball and Boccia, at 21 venues. Find out more about these sports at www.london2012.com/games.
Olympic venues
Most sporting venues are located in east London, with the Olympic Stadium being the centrepiece of the new Olympic Park. London's other venues (and sports involved) include:
Greenwich Park (equestrian events)
Hyde Park (triathlon, 10k open water swim)
Lord's Cricket Ground (archery)
Regent's Park (road cycling)
Wembley Stadium (football)
Wimbledon (tennis).
Transport links to the 2012 Games
Existing transport links are being enhanced and new transport links are being created across London for the Olympics, both of which will continue benefit Londoners long after the 2012 Games finish.
The Olympic Park in Stratford, east London, will be accessed by the Javelin, a high-speed rail service. It will run from St Pancras International station, in central London, to Stratford International station in just seven minutes.
Spectators can also travel to the Olympic Park and other sporting venues across the capital by rail, bus, Tube and Docklands Light Railway. There will be coach services and park and ride options for a selection of venues too.
Legacy of the 2012 Games
Hosting the 2012 Games has created an important opportunity to develop plenty of benefits for London.
The regeneration of the Lower Lea Valley, which is home to the Olympic Park, will provide local communities with new homes, jobs, sporting opportunities and excellent transport links, which will benefit the capital as a whole.
Following the 2012 Games, the Olympic Village site will become residential housing, with approximately 2,800 new properties available.
New jobs and business opportunities will be available during and after the 2012 Games. CompeteFor is a free service that allows businesses, based in the UK and internationally, to compete for contracts linked to the Games.
Following the 2012 Games, further development of east London will lead to more jobs and investment opportunities. Steps are also being taken to improve the skills and employment prospects of Londoners so they can take advantage of these opportunities.
Local communities will have access to world-class sporting venues at the Olympic Park and across other parts of London.
London's transport links, specifically within east London, are being transformed and, by connecting these businesses and communities to the rest of London, these investments will benefit the whole city.
And showcasing London as a culturally diverse, creative and cultural city will encourage businesses to continue investing in the capital, enhancing tourism prospects and providing Londoners with a city to be even more proud of.
LDA involvement
The London Development Agency (LDA) aims to ensure that all Londoners benefit from the staging of the 2012 Games and its legacy.
In 2010/11, the LDA will:
invest in programmes to help London benefit from the 2012 Games
invest in land and property to regenerate east London
train people to complete the Personal Best scheme and become eligible for Olympic volunteering
create construction training places in three east London centres over the next three years
work in partnership with the Mayor of London, the five host boroughs (Greenwich, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest), Jobcentre Plus, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) (also referred to as London 2012).