London Olympic Games 2012 - Facts

-This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Paralympics. The wheelchair games, involving injured World War II soldiers, were staged on the opening day of the London 1948 Olympics. (London Councils 2012 Team)  

-Over 200 buildings had to be demolished at the 2.5sqkm Olympic Park, the majority of the site, including the main five Venues. (Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) 

-There are proposals for a 45% increase in capacity on the London Underground's Jubilee line, along with plans to create a transport hub in Stratford only, which is 7 minutes by train from Kings Cross station. It would be designed to carry at least 320,000 people per hour. (London2012)    

-The 22,500-seater aquatics centre’s cost has been revised from £74m to £215m. (Minister for the Olympics Tessa Jowell) 

- East London will see a massive upgrade in facilities. As many as 5,000 new homes could be available there after the Olympics. (London2012)

-Londoners will contribute £625m to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. (London Councils 2012 Team)

-The five host boroughs are Newham, Hackney, Waltham Forest, Tower Hamlets and Greenwich.

-An estimated global audience of 4bn people are expected to watch the opening ceremony on July 27, 2012. (London Councils 2012 Team)

-Pundits predict a peak in labour demand in 2011. There will be a need for 2.8m people who work in the construction industry across the UK. (Construction Skills Network) 

-The London Olympics will generate £10bn in revenue for the British economy as a whole. (Lloyds TSB) 
-Revenue from tourists attracted by the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games are forecast to add up to an additional £2.1bn. (London Councils 2012 Team) 

-Costs for the 80,000-seat Olympic stadium have been revised from £280m to £496 because of inflation and VAT. (Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA)

-When London officially becomes the Olympic city on August 24, this year, it will mark the start of the Cultural Olympiad, a four-year country-wide programme of cultural activities.

-It will also be the third time the city is hosting the great Games. The games were previously held in London in 1908 and 1948.