Key events
We're freeloaders and we're proud.London 2012 Olympics without a ticket
If you haven't got a ticket, highly likely given that more than 1.8 million people tried to get hold of one, then fear not, as there's still plenty to see.
The marathon, the walk, the triathlon, the open-water swimming and four road cycling events will all be free to the public while big screens in Hyde Park and Victoria Park in Tower Hamlets in east London will broadcast live BBC coverage of the Games.
Hyde Park will accommodate up to 50,000 people and Victoria Park up to 30,000. While admission is free, it is possible to pre-book tickets for Hyde Park that guarantee early and speedy entry, each costing £3.50. (Visit www.btlondonlive.com for information)
The organizing committee is also working through the details of general admission tickets to the Olympic Park during the Games, so fans can watch events on several big screens, including one large double-sided screen positioned in the Lea River.
The number of tickets available will depend on how many events are taking place on site each day, and it is expected the tickets will cost around £10 (see www.london2012.com for more details).
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Opening Ceremony
The day British icons come out to play.
Venue: Olympic Stadium, Olympic Park
Date: Friday July 27
More than 1 billion people are expected to tune in to watch the London 2012 opening ceremony with performances that will celebrate London's culture.
Award-winning film directors Danny Boyle ("Trainspotting" and "Slumdog Millionaire") and Stephen Daldry ("Billy Elliot") will oversee what is being billed as the United Kingdom's biggest-ever live show.
The ceremony, which will feature 10,000 athletes from 205 nations, will cost an estimated £27 million and is called "Isles of Wonder," named after a quotation from Shakespeare's play "The Tempest."
Some 15,000 performers using 25,000 costumes will take part in the opening and closing ceremonies. The opening night will be attended by Queen Elizabeth II and up to 100 heads of state.
Athletics
Human flight, au naturel.
Venue: Olympic Stadium, Olympic Park
Dates: Friday August 3-Sunday August 12
Medal events: 47
With 2,000 athletes competing in 47 events, the athletics events are the Olympics for many fans, with the men’s 100 meters final alone attracting 1.3 million ticket applications.
There are four main strands to the athletics: track events, such as the 100 meters; field events, which include the high jump; combined events, such as the decathlon; and road events, including the marathon.
Jamaica is king of the sprint while Kenya dominates the long-distances but expect the medals table to be topped by all-round powerhouses, the United States and Russia.
Beach Volleyball
A coastal game in the center of the city.
Venue: Horse Guards Parade
Dates: Saturday July 28-Thursday August 9
Medal events: 2
First introduced in 1996, beach volleyball was one of the quickest events to sell out. Tickets for the women’s event were, curiously enough, particularly sought after.
Twenty-four teams of two players will take part in a total of 108 matches to determine who will win the two gold medals up for grabs.
Set at Horse Guards Parade, the home of the annual Trooping the Colour parade, beach volleyball is one of the few events to be held in central London.
Swimming
Australia will try to take the swimming crown from the Americans.
Venue: Aquatics Centre, Olympic Park (pool events); Hyde Park (Marathon Swimming 10 kilometers)
Dates: Saturday July 28-Friday August 10
Medal events: 34
The swimming will take place at the brand-new, wave-shaped Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park. It is one of four aquatic sports, the others being water polo, diving and synchronized swimming.
The United States and Australia are the nations to beat. They maintained their dominance during the Beijing 2008 Olympics with the United States securing 31 medals and Australia 20.
Great Britain, their closest challengers, won six medals in Beijing and, as the home team, will be looking to make a bigger impact in 2012.
Tennis
Andy Murray will no doubt get tantalizingly close again.
Venue: Wimbledon
Dates: Saturday July 28-Sunday August 5
Medal events: 5
Competitors will make their way to the leafy London suburb of Wimbledon in the hope of securing one of five gold medals up for grabs.
The sport is split into men's and women's singles and doubles competitions.
Since its reintroduction at the 1988 Olympics, some of the sport's best known figures have picked up Olympic gold medals, including Andre Agassi, Boris Becker and Steffi Graf.
Basketball
Who will be 2012's Dream team?
Venues: Basketball Arena; O2 Arena
Dates: Saturday July 28-Sunday August 12
Medal events: 2
One of the world’s most popular and fastest-growing team sports, men’s basketball first appeared on the Olympic program at the 1936 Berlin Games, with the women’s event introduced at Montreal in 1976.
Professional players first competed at the Barcelona 1992 Games, when the United States' "Dream Team" led by Michael Jordan dominated proceedings.
The basketball will take place in two venues. All preliminary matches, along with the women’s quarterfinals, will take place at the Basketball Arena, a new, purpose-built venue in the Olympic Park, while the men’s quarterfinals, plus all semifinals and medal matches, will be held at the O2 Arena.
Boxing
Featherweight -- perhaps the most erroneous naming of an athlete ever.
Venue: Excel
Dates: Saturday July 28-Sunday August 12
Medal events: 13
At the London Games, the ever-popular men’s boxing will be joined by a women’s competition for the first time.
It will feature 10 men’s weight categories from light flyweight (46-49 kilos) to super heavyweight (over 91 kilos).
Men’s bouts will take place over three three-minute rounds, with women’s bouts held over four two-minute rounds. Boxers score points for every punch they land successfully on their opponent’s head or upper body.
Muhammad Ali (1960), George Foreman (1968) and Oscar de la Hoya (1992) have all won Olympic gold medals.
Gymnastics
Power and agility disguised as grace.
Venue: O2 Arena
Dates: Saturday July 28-Tuesday August 7
Medal events: 14
Men compete on the floor, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar, while women compete on the vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor.
The men’s individual apparatus and team competitions first appeared at the 1924 Paris Games. A women’s team event was introduced in 1928, with women’s individual apparatus competitions added at the 1952 Helsinki Games.
Weightlifting
Weightlifting could also double as a funny-face event.
Venue: Excel
Dates: Saturday July 28-Tuesday August 7
Medal events: 15
One of the most straightforward sports is also among the most awe-inspiring. The result is pure sporting theatre and is a real spectator favorite.
Competitors are divided into 15 weight categories, eight for men and seven for women.
The heaviest individual weight lifted at the Olympics was by Iranian Hossein Rezazadeh at the 2004 Games after he clean-and-jerked 263.5 kilos, the equivalent of five flyweight boxers.
Closing Ceremony
Say goodbye to London 2012, and hello to Rio de Janeiro 2016.
Venue: Olympic Stadium, Olympic Park
Date: Sunday August 12
The show called "A Symphony of British Music" will involve established British acts and new talent, according to creative director and choreographer Kim Gavin, who was behind Take That's comeback shows.
The names of artists playing on the night have not yet been revealed but the London 2012 organizers say the 4,100 performers will include 3,500 adult volunteers and 380 schoolchildren from the six Olympic host boroughs.
The London Symphony Orchestra will record the core orchestral soundtracks for both the opening and closing ceremonies.
Games chiefs will have less than 24 hours to set the stage for the ceremony after the end of the athletics action.
Source : edition.cnn.com/TRAVEL/
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