This assessment process has amounted to an audit of high quality facilities throughout the UK and has shown that there are many excellent sporting facilities available throughout the UK.

Over 600 facilities will appear in the Guide, to be published at the Beijing Games. It contains high quality elite sporting facilities right across the UK which will give teams and individual athletes a great selection of venues from which they can choose to prepare for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Guide will be circulated to all National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and National Paralympic Committees (NPCs). These organisations will then decide where they base themselves or where to send individual athletes to prepare and acclimatise for London 2012.

Extensive details of the facilities will appear on a dedicated website showcasing the quality and variety of options throughout the UK which will help NOCs / NPCs decide where to train.

The national tourism agency, Visit Britain, is developing this new website with LOCOG and will bring its experience of marketing destinations and tourism products to international audiences.

The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) is also able to offer a financial award of up to £25,000 to NOCs/NPCs to help encourage teams to base themselves in the UK.

LOCOG has an allocation from its privately raised budget for this process and believes this will be an incentive for NOCs / NPCs to base themselves in the UK.

Sebastian Coe, Chairman of the London Organising Committee, commented: “We said that we wanted the London Games to be for athletes, and the facilities listed in this Guide will really help overseas athletes prepare well. It also provides a great opportunity for towns throughout the UK to get involved in our plans.

"The process we have been through shows a great spread of high quality facilities throughout the UK that can be used by elite level athletes. The new website will continue to be an asset to keep an up-to-date log of the elite facilities we have across the UK.”

Tessa Jowell, Olympics Minister, said: “The strength and diversity of our sporting infrastructure is demonstrated by so many high quality facilities having met the strict criteria to be included in this Guide. This is a real opportunity for communities across the UK to capitalise on the benefits that hosting 2012 offers.

"There are no guarantees of success just by making it into the Guide. There will be fierce competition to host foreign teams and individuals, and now it is for every nation and region, every venue, to sell itself internationally.”

Gunilla Lindberg, Secretary General of the Association of National Olympic Committees, said: “I am delighted that LOCOG is making good progress in preparing this Guide which promises to contain an excellent range of sporting facilities.

"Training and acclimatising is an essential part of an athlete’s preparation for an Olympic Games. This Guide will greatly assist those NOCs wishing to experience training in the host nation to make suitable arrangements for the London Games.”

Simon Clegg, Chief Executive of the British Olympic Association, said: “LOCOG’s Pre-Games Training Camp Guide is an outstanding publication, highlighting the huge choice of world class facilities on offer within the UK, which will greatly assist the other NOCs and NPCs in their final preparations for London 2012.

"The last weeks of an athletes’ preparation for an Olympic Games can have a significant impact on their performance. I am confident that this Guide, together with LOCOG’s generous financial award scheme, will enable a far greater number of Olympic and Paralympic teams to participate in pre Games training within the host nation than in any previous Games.

Phil Lane, Chief Executive of the British Paralympic Association said: “It’s a significant bonus for National Paralympic Committees around the world to benefit from the same process and grants as their Olympic counterparts for the first time.

"We’re working with London 2012 on evaluating the suitability of many of the named sites for Paralypmic use. In the meantime, we’re delighted that Stoke Mandeville, the birthplace of the Paralympic Games, is in the Guide.”

Prince Feisal Al Hussein, President of the Jordan Olympic Committee, said “The London Olympics will be something special and any assistance that Jordan can receive in preparing our young athletes for 2012 will be welcomed.”

President of the Greek Hellenic Committee Mynos Kyriakou said, "The financial award initiative will help all Olympic Committees to prepare the next generation of their athletes in the right environment for 2012. It will help smaller sports and countries to live the Games experience."

Facilities in the Guide range from well known major sporting hubs, universities and independent schools, community facilities, and sport specific clubs. A full list of the facilities that appear in the Guide is published by nation and region breakdown in the “Note to Editors”.

They were assessed against strict technical criteria such as the ability to offer high quality sports training facilities, experience of hosting elite teams, comfortable but affordable accommodation, the ability to offer appropriate catering, good transport links, access to a good hospital, and good sports science facilities.

Facilities that appear in the Guide will now market their facilities directly to NOCs and NPCs. There will be workshops organised to give guidance on this.

Read more about London 2012 Pre-Games Training Camps