London will soon become the first city to have hosted the Olympic Games three times. After 1908 and 1948, it will be 54 years since the games have called London home, so make sure you take part in this history while you still can. Opening ceremonies are on July 27, lasting until August 12, and there are 302 scheduled events in 26 different sports. There will be 20 sports represented in the Paralympic games schedule. The 70-day Olympic Torch Relay has been planned to cover a route that will bring the torches within an hour's distance of 95 percent of the residents of the United Kingdom. The torches are set to begin their journey at Land's End in Cornwall in southwest England. There will be 8,000 Torchbearers. Three areas of greater London will be Olympic sites: the Olympic Zone, the River Zone and the Central Zone. Many events will also be held outside of London, like the sailing competitions at Weymouth and Portland in Dorset. Visitors to London can see the Countdown Clock, a digital clock structure in Trafalgar Square. 204 nations are expected to participate.
Although London is one of the areas best suited for this scale of sporting event, considerable redevelopment efforts are being put in place to optimize the game areas. Redevelopment is taking place mainly in east London to create over 2.5 square kilometers of event venues and green space. Sustainability has been a central focus in these efforts. Over 2,000 native species of trees have been picked to rehabilitate the spaces, and 2,000 more trees will be planted in Athletes' Village. An acre of new gardens and a wetland area are also planned. The Olympic Park, when finished, should have 45 hectares of wildlife habitat including 525 bird boxes. There are plans to produce all or most of the packaging for food and beverage items from compostable materials. Transportation services in and around the areas are also being upgraded. Even a new bullet train, the Olympic Javelin, will be installed.
There are more than 100,000 hotels in the greater London area - plenty to choose from to make your Olympic stay complete. If you won't be in London for the event itself, you can still check out the sites of the games. There are daily walking tours open to the public and led by trained guides that cover the 2012 sites in the city. To accommodate guests with limited mobility, there will soon be a "hop on, hop off" bus tour route. You can also go to one of the city's more than 500 Cultural Olympiad events that will be held in the three months before opening ceremonies day. There will be theater performances, art installations, film premieres, concerts, and more. Some Shakespeare-inspired events scheduled include the Iraqi Theatre Company's production of Romeo and Juliet (Montagues are Sunni and Capulets are Shia) and a Richard III-based performance by Rio de Janeiro's Companhia Bufomecanica. Jude Law will help to kick off the Cultural Olympiad opening day event which is to be based on a Peace One Day plan by the charity of the same name.
Billie Grubb likes to write about various popular tourist destination including London. If you are planning to attend the Olympics in London, there are plenty of hotels to choose from including Cumberland Hotel London.
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