The London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) today announced a comprehensive testing programme which will form a key part of its preparations for the Games next year with athletics leading the way.
LOCOG's testing programme will focus primarily on testing the field of play, results, scoring and timing systems, as well as key operational procedures and functions.
This programme is made up of three different types of events, namely:
- International Invitational Events, created and delivered by LOCOG
- International Federation (IF) events, delivered by LOCOG in partnership with the IFs and sports national governing bodies
- International events organised by sports national governing bodies and other organisations with LOCOG testing operational aspects.
According to LOCOG, many of the events will be available to spectators with others restricted to technology and field of play testing. Some tickets will be sold by LOCOG and some will be sold by other event organisers.
Seb Coe, Chair of LOCOG, said: "Our approach to operational delivery is similar to that of an athlete. You do not want to face any conditions at competition time that you have not prepared for.
"When the world's greatest Olympic and Paralympic athletes come to London in the summer of 2012, every aspect of our delivery needs to be the best it can be.
"The invaluable experience we gain through our testing programme means we can 'road-test' all our operational plans and make sure we have all the knowledge we need to deliver a truly memorable Games in 2012."
The Events in 2011 which will be ticketed by LOCOG and will go on sale in May 2011 via Ticketmaster are:
- Mountain Bike - 31 July 2011- Hadleigh Farm, Essex
- Beach Volleyball - 9-14 August 2011- Horse Guards Parade
- Basketball - 16-21 August 2011- Basketball Arena, Olympic Park
- BMX - 20-21 August 2011 - BMX Track, Olympic Park
The Events in 2012 which will be ticketed by LOCOG (subject to confirmation) are:
- Gymnastics (Artistic, Rhythmic & Trampoline) - 10-18 January 2012 - North Greenwich Arena
- Track Cycling - 17-19 February 2012 - Velodrome, Olympic Park
- Diving - 20-26 February 2012 - Aquatics Centre, Olympic Park
- 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
- Water Polo - 2-6 May 2012 - Aquatics Centre, Olympic Park
- Athletics - 4-7 May 2012 - Olympic Stadium, Olympic Park
- Paralympic Athletics - 8 May 2012 - Olympic Stadium, Olympic Park
Some of the above 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 - 4-8 August 2011 - Eton Dorney
- Triathlon - 6-7 August 2011 - Hyde Park
- Badminton - 8-14 August 2011 - Wembley Arena
- Cycling, BMX - 20-21 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)
On-sale dates for events taking place in 2012 will be released later this year.
You can view the full testing programme (subject to change) below: