The Olympic Games in 2012 will take place in London from 27 July to 12 August. The Paralympic Games will be held from 29 August to 9 September that same year.

Why London?

In 2003, 9 different cities across the world submitted a bid to host the Olympics in 2012. That number was reduced to 5: London, Madrid, Moscow, New York, and Paris, after much evaluation by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Although cities such as Madrid and Paris were the firm favourites, it was announced in 2005 that London won the bid, beating France by a small margin.

The win for London signifies a great victory, making it the first city in the world to host the Olympic Games for the third time. The Paralympics in 2012 will be the 14th Games dedicated to athletes with physical disabilities.

Preparations

Since winning the bid, a lot has been done to ensure the Olympics in London is a spectacular sporting, social and cultural event.

Olympic committees and organisations

Although there are many companies contributing to the Games, these are the three core organisations:

• The London Organising Committee for the Olympics Games (LOCOG): overseeing the planning and development of the Games. This Committee is chaired by Lord Sebastian Coe, one of Britain's former top athlete, turned politicians.
• Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) which works closely with the LOCOG. The ODA is responsible for making sure the venues and necessary infrastructures are in place before the Games.
• The Government Olympic Executive: the UK Government body taking the lead coordinating the London 2012 Olympics. This unit is based in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

Finance

It has been estimated that the total cost for the Games will be more than £9bn. Creating the Olympic venues and making sure the right infrastructures are in place for the Games will primarily be funded by public money - taxes. The Games itself will  be funded mainly by the private sector.

Venues

London is undergoing a complete make over to accommodate the Games. A mix of new, old, historic and temporary buildings and complexes will be used as Olympic venues.

Greater London will be divided into 3 'zones':

• Olympic Zone: Olympic Park to be built in Stratford, East London, on waste and industrial land. The Park will house the Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre and the Olympic Village - accomodation for athletes and team official.
• River Zone: 5 main venues along the River Thames including the O2 arena - formerly known as the Millennium Dome, and the ExCel Exhibition Centre.
• Central Zone: venues mainly around central and west London such as Wembley Stadium and Hyde Park.

A number of other sporting events will take place outside London such as rowing and sailing which will be held around Weymouth in Dorset on England's south coast.

Transport

Public transport links in London are already strong but more is being done to make sure the public gets to the venues in time and in some degree of comfort. London's public transport infrastructure will be beefed up by the extension of the London Underground's East London line. There will also be a number of upgrades to the Docklands Light Railway (DLR).

Plans are also in place to create a high speed shuttle train service - the Olympic Javelin - which will carry passengers from St Pancras International (which houses the EuroStar) to the Olympic Park. A number of park and ride sites will also be made available around the M25 (motorway circling Greater London) with low emission vehicles being used as transport.

Key partners building the transport infrastructure include Transport for London, Department of Transport and the Highways Agency.

The official Olympic logo

The official logo for the Olympics in 2012 was designed by brand consultancy, Wolff Olins and unveiled in June2007. The logo, available in a number of different colours, represents both the Olympics and Paralympic games for the first time.

Green Olympics

Plans are in place to make the London 2012 a Sustainable Olympic Games. The Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 was launched in January 2007 to assure that the Games is the most sustainable to date. The key aims include:

• using low carbon emissions building the Olympic Park and venues
• producing little waste during construction stages
• using ecological resources
• improving and promoting healthy living
• working with the communities in and around the new Olympic Park.

Sporting activities

26 sporting activities - from archery to athletics - are featured onthe Olympics programme. 20 events are listed for the Paralympics with a number of sports, including 5-a-side football and wheelchair tennis, housed in the Olympic Park. Find out more on the Sport events in the Olympics and Paralympic Games website.