One year on: London 2012

Last updated at 15:46 04 July 2006


Here's an overview of where London stands after a year of preparations for the 2012 Olympics

• International Olympic President Jacques Rogge took 24 seconds to open the envelope to reveal who had had won the 2012 Olympics. London's bid leader Seb Coe later jokingly gave him a steel letter-opener so that no other candidate city ever has to put up with such agony.

• The Wembley stadium debacle is still strong in people's minds. Despite the confident claims the Games will be ready on time punters can get 16/1 that the opening ceremony will be delayed because the stadium is not ready from William Hill.

• Britain aims to shoot up to fourth in the 2012 medals table behind China, the United States and Russia, up from tenth at the 2004 Athens Olympics. This means Team GB must win 60 medals, including 17 golds. In Athens they won 30 medals, including 9 golds.

• Already a political peer, Lord Coe received the rare honour of later also being knighted in the New Year's Honours for his efforts in bringing the 2012 Games to London.

• London's Olympic bid video is to be turned into a Hollywood film. A £19 million production by Paramount studios due to be released on the eve of the 2008 Beijing Olympics with Daryl Goodrich, director of the original which cost just £400,000 to make, and Caroline Rowland, the producer, set to make the Hollywood version.

• Use of the song Proud as the London 2012 bid anthem has given former M People frontwoman a second chance at global success. The song became a theme tune for Oprah Winfrey's chat show with Heather performing it on the show in front of a worldwide audience of 21 million.

• By the times the Games begin up to 3,500 staff will be employed by the London Olympic Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and the Olympic Delivery Authority. These are the British organisations that will deliver and run the event.

• There will be 9.6million tickets for sale - 8million for the Olympics and 1.6million for the Paralympics.

• As many as 70,000 people can join the 2012 volunteer programme.

• Newham, one of the east London host boroughs, is planting 2,012 trees to mark the London 2012 Olympics.

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