London 2012 Olympic Venues

One of the best things about the Olympics in 2012 is the fact that so many events will actually take place beyond London.

While the main Olympic Park in Stratford, East London will house the Stadium, pool and velodrome (a cycling stadium which has a racing track with steeply banked curves), a host of other Olympic venues will enjoy putting on spectacular events right across Great Britain.

For example, the soccer (or ‘football’, as it’s known here in Britain) will take place in magnificent stadiums in Glasgow, Scotland and Cardiff, Wales, as well as in some of England’s finest grounds, such as Old Trafford, Manchester, home of Manchester United FC, St James’ Park, home of Newcastle United FC, and of course Wembley Stadium – ‘the home of English football’, which is in London.

Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour, in Dorset, is the first London 2012 Olympic venue to be finished and will be the venue for the Olympic and Paralympic Sailing competitions. Dorset is a picturesque English county on the south coast, just over 80 miles from London.

Close to the capital, the rowing and kayak events will be held in Eton Dorney – a modern world-class rowing and flat-water canoeing center located near Windsor, which itself is a major London tourist attraction (although it’s actually 23 west of the city) as Windsor Castle is where the Queen lives when she’s not at Buckingham Palace (or Balmoral, her Scottish retreat). Windsor is a lovely place which sits on the River Thames between Oxford and London.

Olympic equestrian events will be staged in Greenwich Park, which includes the Old Royal Naval College and National Maritime Museum, (which, together with Greenwich Park, make up one of London’s six World Heritage Sites).

There are lots more Olympic venues to enjoy, so be sure to keep coming back to this site to read more about them as we add more useful information for you.

*UPDATE*

Lord’s – 2012′s Archery Venue

Lord’s, the north London cricket ground and spiritual home of the sport, will join several other iconic London venues that will stage 2012 events.

Tennis will be played at the All England Club (Wimbledon), equestrian events will take place at Greenwich Park and Horse Guard’s Parade will host beach volleyball.

And now archery is provisionally scheduled to run from July 27 to August 3, in the middle of the English cricket season at Lord’s. However, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) who are based at Lord’s, believe disruption to the calendar will be minimal.

Lord’s will have 5,000 temporary seats installed on its lush green outfield.