London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) Chair Seb Coe launches a set of bicycles at the British Embassy in Beijing, highlighting London's preparations to stage an environmentally friendly and sustainable Games.
A two-year planting programme to create the UK's largest new urban park for more than a century on the London 2012 Olympic Park has been completed. Some 250 acres of new parklands has been created from former industrial land by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), providing a colourful atmosphere for the London 2012 Games and beyond.
A group of high-profile London 2012 Sustainability Ambassadors paid <a href="http://www.london2012.com/news/2011/11/london-2012-sets-the-standard-for-sustainability.php">a special visit to the Olympic Park today</a> as the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) was recognised for its ground-breaking approach to sustainability.<br/><br/><p>LOCOG has become the first Games Organising Committee to be certified to the British Standard 8901: Specification for a Sustainability Management Systems for Events.</p>
London 2012 mascots Wenlock and Mandeville enjoy the autumn sunshine as they pay a visit to the Olympic Stadium. <br/><br/>The Stadium is located in the south of the Olympic Park on an 'island' site, surrounded by waterways on three sides.
A striking new piece of architecture for the Olympic Park has been unveiled as the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) announced the completion of a key footbridge that spans over the River Lea, at a focal point between the Olympic Stadium and the Aquatics Centre.<br/><br/><p>The bridge features two permanent footbridges linked by a central blade-like walkway, creating a ‘Z’ shape, clad in mirror-finish stainless steel. <br/><br/>The temporary Games-time bridge deck has been covered with a multi-coloured rubber surface, inspired by the London 2012 brand colours. <br/></p><br/><br/>
Jeremy Hunt, the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, visits the Olympic and Paralympic Village to see how construction is progressing.<br/><br/>The number of completed apartments on the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Village has <a href="http://www.london2012.com/news/2011/10/jeremy-hunt-praises-construction-progress-on-the-olympic.php">now passed the symbolic 2,012 mark</a>, signalling that the handover date of early next year remains firmly on schedule.
<p>Progress is being made on the London 2012 Shooting venue at <a href="the-royal-artillery-barracks">The Royal Artillery Barracks</a> in south-east London. The vibrantly coloured openings, seen here on the white façade, help create tension and provide natural ventilation and light. <br/><br/>The enclosures are being clad in around 18,000sqm of PVC membrane and are on track to be completed in December, in time for the Shooting test event next year.<br/><br/>The temporary venue will host the <a href="shooting">Shooting</a> competition at the Olympic Games and the <a href="paralympic-archery">Archery</a> and <a href="paralympic-shooting">Shooting</a> at the Paralympic Games. </p>
The London 2012 Organising Committee has unveiled the Olympic Hockey Centre's first blue and pink pitch and revealed that a yellow ball will be used during the Hockey competition for the first ever time at an Olympic Games. The Hockey Centre in the Olympic Park will host over 780,000 spectators during London 2012 staging both Olympic Hockey and Paralympic 5 and 7-a-side football competitions. The Great Britain women's hockey squad got the chance to train on the water-based pitch, allowing them a taste of what to expect next year.
Some of Britain's top athletes have witnessed the unveiling of the track in the Olympic Stadium. <br/><br/>World record holder and Paralympic gold medallist Dan Greaves, British Long Jump record holder Chris Tomlinson, and World Championships Bronze medallist Hannah England were the first athletes to take to the track where they will challenge for a medal next summer. <br/><br/>Athletes were joined by local school children from West Ham Church Primary School in Newham who will benefit from the Stadium's legacy plans to be a venue for sport, athletics, community and cultural events.
