World's Largest Rehearsal Begins a Year Before the Games

Athletes, volunteers and the British public will help the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) go through its paces ahead of the Games next year. More than 10,000 volunteers, 8,000 athletes from more than 50 countries and more than 250,000 spectators will be part of a 12 month rehearsal for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in a programme of test events that run from May 2011 to May 2012.

LOCOG’s detailed testing programme, which is branded the ‘London Prepares’ series, will see some world class sporting events with athletes competing in London’s iconic existing venues as well as brand new venues in the Olympic Park.

LOCOG’s testing programme will focus on testing the sporting field of play; results, timing and scoring systems; how teams work together and how people move around venues. There are different groupings of events: events which LOCOG is organising and ticketing, events run by LOGOG that are not ticketed, and events which are not organised by LOCOG.

The four LOCOG events this summer that will be ticketed are:

Mountain Bike: 31 July – Hadleigh Farm, Essex

Beach Volleyball: 9-14 August – Horse Guards Parade

Basketball: 16-21 August – Basketball Arena, Olympic Park

BMX: 19-20 August – BMX Track, Olympic Park

Basketball and BMX will be the first competitive sports to take place on the Olympic Park.

Prices vary from event to event but range from £5 to £35. Tickets will be available from Ticketmaster from 26 May, by using a Visa card only (debit, credit and prepaid product).

There are also free events to watch, such as the Cycling – Road Race event on 14 August (the London-Surrey Cycle Classic). Please click for a map of the London-Surrey Cycle Classic.

The types of things that will be tested during the programme include a new platform for the Equestrian events at Greenwich Park; new marking lanes at the Rowing lake at Eton Dorney, Buckinghamshire; delivery of 3,000 tonnes of sand for Beach Volleyball at Horse Guards Parade; and the first competitive use of the water at the Lee Valley White Water Centre, Hertfordshire, for Canoe Slalom; new presentation graphics at the Basketball Arena.

Please click here for a full list of events

Paul Deighton, LOCOG Chief Executive, said: ‘The London Prepares series is essentially about putting our plans into practice. Although our venues won’t be dressed in their Games finery, a number of events will give the public a chance to see some world class sporting action ahead of next year. These events are our opportunity to try out our new venues, test new technology and equipment and walk our extended teams through their roles and responsibilities. We have learned a lot from previous Games which we will put to good use as we challenge ourselves over the next 12 months."

Other events that LOCOG is ticketing are:

Gymnastics (Artistic, Rhythmic and Trampoline): 10-18 January 2012 – North Greenwich Arena

Cycling – Track: 17-19 February 2012 – Velodrome, Olympic Park

Aquatics – Diving: 20-26 February 2012 – Aquatics Centre, Olympic Park

Aquatics – Synchronised Swimming: 18-22 April 2012 – Aquatics Centre, Olympic Park

Hockey: 2-6 May 2012 – Hockey Centre, Olympic Park

Wheelchair Tennis: 2-6 May 2012 – Eton Manor, Olympic Park

Water Polo: 3-6 May 2012 – Aquatics Centre, Olympic Park

Athletics: 4-7 May 2012 – Olympic Stadium, Olympic Park

Paralympic Athletics: 8 May 2012 – Olympic Stadium, Olympic Park

Ticketing arrangements for these events will be announced later this year.

Some of the test events will form part of UK Sport’s World Class Events Programme, which invests National Lottery funding to help stage major international events. These are:

Modern Pentathlon: 9-10 July 2011 – Greenwich Park/Crystal Palace

Rowing: 3-7 August 2011 – Eton Dorney, Buckinghamshire

Triathlon: 6-7 August 2011 – Hyde Park

Badminton: 8-14 August 2011 – Wembley Arena

Cycling – BMX: 19-20 August 2011 – BMX Track, Olympic Park

Cycling – Track: 17-19 February 2012 – Velodrome, Olympic Park

Aquatics – Diving: 20-26 February 2012 – Aquatics Centre, Olympic Park

Aquatics – Swimming: 3-10 March 2012 – Aquatics Centre, Olympic Park

For more information, contact: www.london2012.com.

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