LOCOG Reveal First Competitive Events for Olympic Park

It has been confirmed that the first competitive sports to take place in the Olympic Park will be basketball, beach volleyball, mountain biking and BMX.

LOCOG revealed the events as part of the ‘London Prepares’ series of tests, with London 2012 charging for tickets for four sporting events with mountain biking and beach volleyball will also feature in the rehearsal series for the Olympic Games next year. 

Mountain biking will begin proceedings on 31st July, beach volleyball follows on 9th-14th August, with basketball and BMX on the 16th-21st and 19th-20th August respectively. 

Teams from Great Britain, France, China, Australia, Croatia and Serbia will compete in the men’s only basketball event while beach volleyball will involve the women’s teams from Great Britain and China.

The events will be used to test various areas of the stadia, with the main forms of testing being concentrated on fields of play, technology and people – including athletes, fans, staff and volunteers with more than 150,000 tickets set to go on sale.

Paul Deighton, CEO of the London Olympic Organising Committee, said: “We need to take our plans and test them on the ground, really this is the most important part of our readiness mission. Although our venues won’t be dressed in their Games finery, a number of events will give the public a chance to see some world-class sporting action ahead of next yea.

“These events are our opportunity to try out our new venues, test new technology and equipment and walk our extended teams through their roles and responsibilities. We have learned a lot from previous Games which we will put to good use as we challenge ourselves over the next 12 months.”