2012 London Summer Olympic Venues

Olympic Stadium is the centerpiece of the 2012 London Olympic Games. It will be home to many sporting events as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. Looking for a great view of Olympic Park? Take an elevator to the top of the ArcelorMittal Orbit sculpture for a spectacular panoramic view.

Here’s an inside peek at the track inside Olympic Stadium, where US track and field athletes -- like Allyson Felix and LoLo Jones -- will keep spectators on the edge of their seats as they race to the finish line.

In East London, Olympic Park is home to 8 venues, including Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre and Velodrome. Pick up souvenirs at the London 2012 Megastore at World square; eat fish and chips on Britannia Row; or listen to live music at the Bandstand on River Lawns inside the Street Market. The city has gone all out to make the Park a multi-purpose entertainment venue.

Located in London’s Olympic Park, the Olympic Village will be the site where athletes from around the world will unwind and take a break from tense competitions during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Village has residential apartments for approximately 17,000 athletes and officials, along with shops, restaurants, medical facilities, media and large areas to stay fit and train with fellow athletes.

The Handball Arena’s design is simple, efficient and flexible. This venue, built with a sustainably-sourced copper roof, seats almost 7,000 fans. After the Summer Games, the arena will become a new multi-sports facility for community sports, including basketball, handball, badminton and boxing. A health and fitness club with changing facilities and a café for local community use are planned.

You may not know it, but the Velodrome is one of the most sustainable venues of the London 2012 Games. It will host indoor cycling, and just outside the building, a new outdoor BMX track was built specifically for the Games.

According to Olympic officials, the Basketball Arena (pictured) will be most heavily used venues within Olympic Park, with competition events taking place almost every day. It’s also one of the largest temporary venues ever built for the Olympic Games.

The Lee Valley White Water Centre, the only brand new London 2012 venue that the public can use and enjoy ahead of the Games is now open. Lee Valley will host the Canoe Slalom competition, hosting 5 days of action across 4 events.

Wembley Stadium, the biggest of the 6 stadiums staging the Olympics will be used to hold the soccer competition during the Games. The stadium has over 90,000 seats and is the second largest in Europe.

The Riverbank Arena is the hot spot if you’re a field hockey fan. This venue has 2 pitches, one with seats for spectators and one area that will be used for athletes to warm-up before a game. This is the first Olympic Games where the hockey pitches aren’t green. Pink is used for the area surrounding the pitch and blue for the field of play -- making it easy to spot the yellow ball.

The Aquatics Centre is where everyone will be watching the matchup between swimming rivals Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps. This venue, designed by internationally acclaimed architect Zaha Hadid, is one of the permanent venues specifically constructed for the London 2012 Summer Olympics.

Some of the biggest tennis players in the world will play on the grass-courts in Wimbledon for the Summer Games. Home to the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon is a perfect venue to host one of the biggest tennis tournaments the UK has ever seen. As the only remaining grass-court tennis venue, it will host the venue for the 2012 Olympic Tennis matches.

This temporary venue at The Royal Artillery Barracks has 3 temporary indoor ranges for Pistol and Rifle Shooting. Outdoor shot gun ranges were also built for Trap and Skeet events. The innovatively designed venue has brightly colored opens to provide natural ventilation and light.