London 2012 venues
Although the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics are officially hosted by London, as with other countries, individual events are to be held across the whole of Great Britain. Do you have any photographs of any of the venues (and there are plenty to choose from). If you have any that you would like to share, click here to email them to us.
The XXX Olympiad will be held from
27 July to 12 August 2012
The XIV Paralympics will be held from 29 August to 9 September 2012
Click here for the official Olympic website
Click here for the official Paralympic website
Click here for the official London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics website
Click here to go to the individual Sports
Click here for other Towns and Cities celebrating 2012
The Venues
The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Venues are split into Venues inside London and Venues outside London. The 2012 London Olympic Venues have been further split into three zones - the Olympic Zone, the River Zone and the Central Zone.
| Zone / location | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| Olympic Zone | This is the main, specially-built Olympic Park at Stratford, London | |
| Aquatics Centre | Located in the south east corner of the Olympic Park, the Aquatics Centre will be the ‘gateway’ to the Park during the Games. It will include a 50m competition pool, a 25m competition Diving pool and a 50m warm-up training pool. Water Polo will be held next to it in a temporary 5,000-seat venue with competition and warm-up pools. | |
| Basketball Arena | The Basketball Arena will be a temporary venue in the Olympic Park, north of the Olympic Stadium. | |
| Fencing Arena | The Fencing Arena will be a temporary venue in the Olympic Park, north of the Olympic Stadium. | |
| Volleyball Arena | The Volleyball Arena will be a temporary venue in the Olympic Park, north of the Olympic Stadium. | |
| Handball Arena | The Handball Arena will be a temporary venue in the Olympic Park, north of the Olympic Stadium. | |
| Olympic Stadium | The Stadium will host the Track and Field Events as well as the opening and Closing Ceremonies | |
| London Velopark | The Velopark will have a 6,000 seat indoor velodrome as well as an outside BMX racing track -again 6,00 seat | |
| Eton Manor | Eton Manor will be Hosting the Paralympic Archery and the Wheelchair Tennis Events. it is located at the north of the Olympic Park. | |
| Olympic Hockey Centre | There will be a 5,000 and a 15,000 seat arena to host the Hockey | |
| Press and Broadcast Centre | ||
| River Zone | This encompasses five venues in the Thames Gateway area | |
| ExCel Centre | This will host the boxing, judo, table tennis, taekwondo, weightlifting, and wrestling events | |
| North Greenwich Arena | Basketball and Gymnastics | |
| Greenwich Arena | Badminton, basketball and tennis | |
| Greenwich Park | Equestrianism | |
| Royal Artillery Barracks | Shooting | |
| Central Zone | This encompasses existing venues in Central and West London | |
| Wembley Stadium | Football Finals | |
| Wimbledon | Tennis | |
| Lords Cricket Ground | Archery | |
| Regent's Park | Road Cycling | |
| Horse Guards Parade | Beach Volleyball | |
| Earls Court | The Indoor Volleyball competition will be held in Earls Court, watched by up to 18,000 spectators. | |
| Hyde Park | Triathlon | |
| Mountain Biking | ||
| Broxbourne, Hertfordshire | Canoeing and Kayaking | |
| Dorney Lake, near Windsor | Rowing | |
| Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, in Portland Harbour, Dorset | Sailing | |
| Hampden Park, Glasgow | Football | |
| Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | Football | |
| Old Trafford, Manchester | Football | |
| St James' Park, Newcastle | Football | |
| Villa Park, Birmingham | Football | |
| Windsor Park, Belfast | Football | |
The Sports
The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Venues are split into Venues inside London and Venues outside London. The 2012 London Olympic Venues have been further split into three zones - the Olympic Zone, the River Zone and the Central Zone.
| Sport | Location(s) | |
|---|---|---|
| Olympic Sports | ||
| Aquatics | Swimming, diving, synchronised swimming and water polo. To be held at the Aquatics Centre | |
| Archery | To be held at Lord's Cricket Ground | |
| Athletics | Running, jumping, throwing and combined events. To be held at the Olympic Stadium | |
| Badminton | To be held at the Greenwich Arena | |
| Basketball | Olympic Basketball Arena for qualifying and the North Greenwich Arena for the Finals | |
| Boxing | To be held at ExCel | |
| Canoe and kayak | To be held at Eton Dorney for flatwater and Broxbourne for the Slalom | |
| Cycling | To be held at Regent’s Park (Road), Olympic Park Velodrome (Track), Weald Country Park, Essex (Mountain Bike) and the Olympic Park BMX Track (BMX) | |
| Equestrian | To be held at Greenwich Park | |
| Fencing | To be held at the Olympic Park Fencing Hall ** This may change as the Hall may not be built due to budget contraints ** | |
| Football | Qualifying will be held around the Country at Old Trafford, Millennium Stadium, St James’s Park, Hampden Park and Villa Park with the final at Wembley Stadium | |
| Gymnastics | Artistic, rhythmic and trampoline. To be held at the North Greenwich Arena, Greenwich (Artistic, Trampoline) and the Greenwich Arena (Rhythmic) | |
| Handball | To be held at the Olympic Park Handball Arena | |
| Hockey | To be held at the Olympic Park Hockey Arena | |
| Judo | To be held at ExCel | |
| Modern Pentathlon | To be held at Greenwich Park, Olympic Park Basketball Arena, and the Olympic Park Aquatics Centre. The order of events is Shooting, Fencing, Swimming, Riding and Cross-Country Running. | |
| Rowing | To be held at Eton Dorney | |
| Sailing | To be held at Weymouth and Portland | |
| Shooting | To be held at the Royal Artillery Barracks | |
| Table tennis | To be held at ExCel | |
| Taekwondo | To be held at ExCel | |
| Tennis | To be held at Wimbledon. | |
| Triathlon | To be held at Hyde Park, Central London | |
| Volleyball | Volleyball and beach volleyball. To be held at Earls Court (Volleyball - Indoors) and Horse Guards Parade (Beach Volleyball) | |
| Weightlifting | To be held at ExCel | |
| Wrestling | To be held at ExCel | |
| Paralympic Sports | ||
| Boccia | To be held at ExCel | |
| Football - 5 a side | To be held at the Olympic Park Hockey Arena | |
| Football - 7 a side | To be held at the Olympic Park Hockey Arena | |
| Goalball | To be held at the Olympic Park Handball Arena | |
| Paralympic Archery | To be held at the Olympic Park Paralympic Archery venue (Eton Manor) | |
| Paralympic Athletics | To be held at the Olympic Stadium | |
| Paralympic Cycling | To be held at Regent’s Park (Road), Olympic Park Velodrome (Track) | |
| Paralympic Equestrian | To be held at Greenwich Park | |
| Paralympic Judo | To be held at the Olympic Park Fencing Hall ** This may change as the Hall may not be built due to budget contraints ** | |
| Paralymic Powerlifting | To be held at ExCel | |
| Paralympic Rowing | To be held at Eton Dorney | |
| Paralympic Sailing | To be held at Weymouth and Portland | |
| Paralympic Shooting | To be held at the Royal Artillery Barracks | |
| Paralympic Swimming | To be held at the Aquatics Centre | |
| Paralympic table tennis | To be held at ExCel | |
| Volleyball - sitting | To be held at Greenwich Arena | |
| Wheelchair basketball | To be held at ExCel and the Basketball Arena | |
| Wheelchair fencing | To be held at the Olympic Park Fencing Hall ** This may change as the Hall may not be built due to budget contraints ** | |
| Wheelchair rugby | To be held at the Basketball Arena | |
| Wheelchair tennis | To be held at the Olympic Park Wheelchair tennis Arena | |
Other Places, Towns and Cities of interest
| Place | Reason |
|---|---|
| Aldershot | The location of the British Olympic Team Training Camp |
| Ascot | Home of Ascot Racecourse and Ladies' Day |
| Bath | Home to the Royal Crescent, the Roman Baths and numerous sights |
| Berkshire | Gateway to the Thames Valley, it is home to the Dorney Rowing lake Olympic venue |
| Blackpool | Blackpool with its Golden Mile, Tower and sandy beach, will have some great Attractions in 2012 |
| Brighton | Brighton, with its beach, pier and Laines Shopping area is a terrific Visitor Holiday location |
| Bristol | Bristol is hosting the Kenyan Olympic Team |
| Calais | They enterprising Mayor of Calais is hoping that the promise of a speedier journey into Stratford from Calais compared to, say Slough may generate some business for the Villesfolk. |
| Cambridge | Cambridge, one half of Oxbridge |
| Cheshunt | The canoeing and kayaking, currently at Broxbourne just up the road may be moved to Cheshunt if the cost of preparing the area proves too high |
| Dorney | Dorney Village is home the the Dorney Rowing Lake Olympic Venue |
| Edinburgh | Capital of Scotland and home to Edinburgh Castle, watch out for Scotland's unique style of celebrating |
| Eton | Eton College owns the Rowing Lake at Dorney |
| Glasgow | Glasgow's Hampden Park will be hosting some of the Olympic Football Heats |
| Henley on Thames | Henley - already known for its rowing regatta will certainly have activities planned |
| Hertfordshire | Hertfordshire, to the West of London contains the Canoeing and kayaking venue at Broxbourne |
| Maidenhead | Maidenhead lies just outside the Dorney Olympic Rowing Lake |
| Marlow | Marlow on Thames - a picturesque Town, home to Steven Redgrave and just North of Dorney Rowing lake |
| Newcastle | St James' Park in Newcastle will be Hosting some of the Olympic Football Heats |
| Oxford | Oxford, with its University and historic architecture will be celebrating 2012 in style |
| Reading | Reading, in the Thames Valley is ideally suited for London, the South and Dorney Rowing Lake |
| Slough | Slough lies just outside the Dorney Olympic Rowing Lake |
| Surrey | Surrey, Stockbroker belt is home to a number of Attractions and lies just to the South of Dorney Rowing Lake |
| Windsor | Windsor, home to the Queen and Windsor Castle has plenty for the Tourist and lies within easy reach of Dorney Rowing Lake |
History
The modern Olympic Games were revived in 1896 in Athens, Greece. Since then they have been held every four years. The winter Olympics started in Chamonix, France in 1924. However in 1994, the Winter Olympics were rescheduled to alternate with the Summer Games to make life easier. In 1960, in Rome, the first Paralympics were held alongside the Summer Olympics.
| 1896 Athens, Greece 1900 Paris, France 1904 St. Louis, USA 1908 London, England 1912 Stockholm, Sweden 1916 Cancelled due to World War I 1920 Antwerp, Belgium 1924 Paris, France 1928 Amsterdam, Netherlands 1932 Los Angeles, USA 1936 Berlin, Germany 1940 Cancelled due to World War II 1944 Cancelled due to World War II 1948 London, England 1952 Helsinki, Sweden |
1956 Melbourne, Australia 1960 Rome, Italy 1964 Tokyo, Japan 1968 Mexico City, South America 1972 Munich, Germany 1976 Montreal, Canada 1980 Moscow, Russia 1984 Los Angeles, USA 1988 Seoul, South Korea 1992 Barcelona, Spain 1996 Atlanta, USA 2000 Sydney, Australia 2004 Athens, Greece 2008 Beijing, China 2012 LONDON, England! |
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