Athletics Track Laid
The athletics track at the 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium is virtually complete, marking another significant milestone in preparations with little more than 300 days to go.
The Olympic Delivery Authority is declining to confirm when work on the track will be finalized at the $759 million centrepiece of the Games.
But aerial photos of the stadium published by Britain's Daily Mail newspaper Tuesday clearly show that the track is now laid with just a few final touches needed for completion.
Next week, the track will be on show to the IOC Coordination Commission led by Denis Oswald. The IOC inspection team is visiting London for its latest check-up on 2012 preparations from Oct. 5 to 7.
A LOCOG spokesman tells Around the Rings that the fabric wrap that will encircle the stadium will be erected in time for the first test event at the stadium next May.
Last month, Dow Chemical confirmed it will produce the fabric wrap after inking the last major sponsorship for the London Games in a deal worth around $10 million. The 1km wrap will comprise 336 panels, each about 25 meters high and 2.5 meters wide.
Olympic organizers are still considering how to display graphics and art on the panels as originally conceived.
London 2012 organizers say they are not planning any special events to mark the 300-day-to-go mark on Friday.
Unprecedented Paralympics Ticket Sales
LOCOG reports satisfaction with sales of Paralympics tickets at the end of the first application window.
"We are very happy. We have seen sessions oversubscribed in several sports," a London 2012 spokesman told ATR.
"It is unprecedented this far out [from the Paralympics] to be going to ballots on tickets. It will help us to pack venues."
A total of 1.5 million tickets were available in the six-week window that closed at 6 p.m. Monday.
Games organizers say the opening and closing ceremonies, track cycling, swimming and the wheelchair rugby and tennis finals were oversubscribed, meaning that ballots will be held to allocate the tickets.
LOCOG will release further figures about the first sales phase on Wednesday or Thursday.
Successful applicants will find out what tickets they have bought by Nov. 18.
Some tickets are still available for next year’s event via the International Paralympic Committee’s authorized ticket reseller. eVenture Zone hasbeen the IPC’s official ticket partner since the Beijing 2008 Paralympics.
"Now that the LOCOG ticket window hasclosed, our authorized ticket reseller has a diverse number of tickets still available for what promises to be a spectacular Games next year," said IPC chief executive Xavier Gonzalez.
The sports competition schedule for the Paralympics was announced last month. A total of 4,200 athletes from 160 countries will compete in 503 different medal events.
The second phase of Paralympic ticket sales takes place in December.
Team GB Shop Opens at Westfield
Triple Olympic gold medal-winning cyclist Bradley Wiggins and 2012 Paralympic hopeful Sophia Warner cut the ribbon Tuesday to open the Team GB and ParalympicsGB shop at the new Westfield Stratford City shopping center next to Olympic Park.
The 2000 square foot Games merchandising retail outlet will be home to more than 1,500 products by Games-time.
"As an Olympic athlete, it’s the ultimate dream to win gold in front of your home crowd. Visible home support makes a huge difference so it would be amazing to look into the velodrome crowds and see our supporters wearing the team colors," Wiggins said.
Team GB and ParalympicsGB will include 900 athletes.
The shop's product range includes T-shirts, sweatshirts, cushions, bed sheets, collectable jewellery, luggage – and even scooters and bicycles.
"Merchandise is an important revenue stream when funding the Games but these products also give fans the chance to show their support for London 2012 and for Team GB and ParalympicsGB," LOCOG chief executive Paul Deighton said.
LOCOG expects the London 2012 merchandise program to generate more than $1.6 billion worth of sales, contributing over $125 million to the costs of staging the Games.
Team GB and ParalympicsGB merchandise and London 2012 merchandise is also available at official LOCOG shops located at St Pancras International, Paddington station, Heathrow Terminal 5 and Stansted Airport.
Search on for Sochi Volunteers
LOCOG officials are next week travelling to Sochi, the 2014 Winter Olympic city, to start the recruitment of Russian volunteers for next year's Games.
Around 100 volunteers will eventually be selected to join the 70,000-strong volunteer workforce for London 2012, reports Russian news agency RIA Novosti. They will be appointed to key volunteer roles at the Sochi Winter Games two years later.
Reported by Mark Bisson
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