During the first comprehensive operational test of the Park and general spectator areas, testing will focus on security processes, ticketing operations, mobility services and Park-wide logistics, plus venue and sport-specific testing.
11,000 workforce, including Games Makers, will be in operation as LOCOG deliver six major sports events in five venues over seven days - three Olympic and three Paralympic.
Over 140,000 spectators will watch 3,000 athletes take part in Hockey, Wheelchair Tennis, Water Polo, Athletics, Boccia and Paralympic Athletics.
At peak times over 60 Pedestrian Screening Areas at Stratford Gate and 15 at Greenway Gate will allow access for a minimum of 4,000 spectators to enter the Park each day, peaking at approximately 75,000 on Saturday 5 May.
The Olympic Stadium will host the BUCS Visa Outdoor Athletics Championships and the Visa London Disability Grand Prix, supported by UK Sport, as well over 40,000 spectators on the evening of Saturday 5 May for the ‘2012 hours to go’ event which will see the Stadium officially opened by a member of the audience.
The Riverbank Arena, Eton Manor and the Water Polo Arena will host their first sporting competitions; the Visa International Invitational Hockey Tournament, Eton Manor Wheelchair Tennis International and Visa Water Polo International, where athletes will to help test the field of play, equipment, results, scoring and timing systems and workforce training.
Field of play testing will also take place at the London Boccia Invitational 2012 where friends and families of the players will enjoy the competition.
Seb Coe, LOCOG Chair said: “We are now in the final stages of the testing programme. Testing the Olympic Park and its operations is a hugely important part of our plans.
“Over the last ten months, over 250,000 spectators have watched world-class sport as part of the 'London Prepares series' test event programme, and, in doing so, every one of them is helping us deliver the best possible Games this summer "
Debbie Jevans, LOCOG Director of Sport, said: “When this final group of events is delivered we will have carried out 42 test events in 12 months, across 28 venues, which is one of the most comprehensive testing programmes for an Olympic and Paralympic Games. The coming days are the big final test of our Olympic Park operations and sporting venues and also our workforce, who have been excellent throughout all of the events.”
The Olympic Park is at its busiest as preparation for the Games continue. While delivering test events, work continues on temporary installation for London 2012 concessions and buildings due to be completed in early June, while sponsors complete their own installations including showcasing areas by early July. A large amount of work by broadcasters to cable around the Park will be completed by mid July, to ensure the general public get the best quality TV coverage of the Games, and landscaping and dressing the Park with flags and banners will continue right up until Games time.
Statistics:
- Six events over seven days
- Over 75,000 spectators on Saturday 5 May
- Over 140,000 spectators across seven days including the evening entertainment on Saturday 5 May
- Up to 3,000 athletes
- Five venues in use
- Over 11,000 workforce
- 30 mobility vehicles and 21 manual wheel chairs
The Olympic Park will also play host to the final day of the Sainsbury’s 2012 School Games for 1,600 school-aged elite athletes in four different Park venues watched by around 35,000 spectators.
Outside of the Olympic Park, the London Para Archery International Tournament at The Royal Artillery Barracks will run from 3-6 May. The world-class event will enable testing of the venue ahead of the Paralympics and will also play a role in helping LOCOG’s test of running multiple events simultaneously.
Test Events:
May 2-6 Visa International Invitational Hockey Tournament, Riverbank Arena, Olympic Park.
May 3-6 London Para Archery International Tournament, The Royal Artillery Barracks.
May 3-6 Eton Manor Wheelchair Tennis International, Eton Manor, Olympic Park.
May 3-6 Visa Water Polo International, Water Polo Arena, Olympic Park.
May 4-7 BUCS Visa Outdoor Athletics Championships, Olympic Stadium, Olympic Park.
May 5-7 London Boccia Invitational 2012, Warm-up Arena, Basketball Arena, Olympic Park.
May 6: 2012 Hours to Go: An Evening of Athletics and Entertainment, Olympic Stadium, Olympic Park.
May 8 Visa London Disability Athletics Challenge, Olympic Stadium, Olympic Park.
May 9 Sainbury’s School Games, Olmypic Stadium, Velodrome, Aquatics Centre, Basketball Arena
- Ends -
Notes to editors:
For further information please contact the London 2012 Press Office on +44 (0)203 2012 100 or visit the website at www.london2012.com. Find out the latest from London 2012 HQ on our blog http://www.london2012.com/blog or follow us on Twitter
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UK Sport
UK Sport’s World Class Events Programme distributes approximately £3.5 million of Lottery funding each year to support the bidding and staging costs of major events on home soil, as well as providing specialist support to organisers. Ahead of London 2012, events are supported primarily based on their likely performance impact, but consideration is given to the broader impacts of events: to maximise the wider sporting, social, cultural, economic and environmental benefits, as well as sporting performance and legacy.
Over 100 events, hosted by at least 35 different towns and cities, will have been supported from 2007 until the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. These competitions will have attracted around 30,000 athletes and provided opportunities for over 27,000 officials and volunteers to gain international sporting experience and develop key skills ahead of London 2012. More @ www.uksport.gov.uk/events
About Visa Europe
In Europe, there are 445 million Visa debit, credit and commercial cards. In the 12 months ending September 2011 those cards were used to make purchases and cash withdrawals to the value of €1.7 trillion. 14% of consumer spending at point of sale in Europe is with a Visa card, and almost 80% of that is on Visa debit cards.
Visa Europe is owned and operated by more than 3,700 European member banks and was incorporated in July 2004. Visa Europe is independent of global Visa Inc., with an exclusive, irrevocable and perpetual licence in Europe, while both companies operate to ensure global interoperability. As a dedicated European payment system Visa Europe is able to respond quickly to the specific market needs of European banks and their customers - cardholders and retailers - and to meet the European Commission’s objective to create a true internal market for payments.
Visa enjoys unsurpassed acceptance around the world. In addition, Visa/PLUS is one of the world’s largest global ATM networks, offering cash access in local currency in over 200 countries.
For more information, visit www.visaeurope.com
About Team 2012
Team 2012 presented by Visa is a fundraising programme designed to provide UK athletes with the tools and support to reach their full potential and win more medals at European Championships, World Championships – and of course at the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2012. It is a joint venture between the British Olympic Association, ParalympicsGB, UK Sport and LOCOG. Alongside the vital role played by The National Lottery and Exchequer funding, Team 2012 will help fund our athletes over the next two years. The vast majority of funds raised through Team 2012 will be distributed by UK Sport through its World Class Performance Programme which ensures that the UK’s most talented athletes have every chance of reaching their potential. Having run their programme since 1997, UK Sport has developed a highly successful ‘No Compromise’ approach, which ultimately means taking no short cuts in resourcing the best athletes to realise their medal ambitions. Funding is provided to athletes via their sport’s governing body, in support of a performance programme that includes coaching, training and competition support, medical and scientific services and equipment and access to the best facilities.
London 2012 Games partners:
The Worldwide Olympic Partners who support the London 2012 Olympic Games and the National Olympic Committees around the world are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos, Dow, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Procter and Gamble, Samsung and Visa.
LOCOG has seven domestic Tier One Partners - adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB. There are seven domestic Tier Two Supporters – Adecco, ArcelorMittal, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS. There are now twenty-eight domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers – Aggreko, Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, CBS Outdoor, Crystal CG, Eurostar, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, G4S, GSK, Gymnova, Heathrow Airport, Heineken UK, Holiday Inn, John Lewis, McCann Worldgroup, Mondo, NATURE VALLEY, Next, Nielsen, Populous, Rapiscan Systems, Rio Tinto, Technogym, Thames Water, Ticketmaster, Trebor and Westfield.
There is one domestic Tier One Paralympic Games-only Partner, Sainsbury’s and one domestic Tier Three Paralympic Games-only Supplier, Otto Bock. The London 2012 Paralympic Games also acknowledges the support of the National Lottery.
Courtsey: London2012.com
