Beijing? You ain't seen nothing yet

How were we going to match that, eh? And my tactful answer was that the London Games would be different, but every bit as good as Beijing.

With only 58 Mondays left till our curtain goes up, I now think I was being too modest. We have a huge amount still to do, but if things go on as they are I have no doubt whatever that we are going to lay on the greatest Olympic and Paralympic Games that have ever been held.

The stadium is all but complete, with more than a year to go. The beautiful velodrome is done. The basketball court has been handed over. The Arcelormittal Orbit - Anish Kapoor's vast hubble-bubble sculpture - is sprouting before our eyes.

The International Olympic Committee say they have never seen a host city make such fast progress. I have walked round the athletes' village, and can testify that it will make superb accommodation not just for the athletes but for thousands of London families that will follow.

I have been given a sneak preview of the plans for the Opening Ceremony, and I can assure you that Danny Boyle and Stephen Daldry are showing all the Oscar-winning genius you would expect. It will be sensational.

Even if you cannot get a ticket, you can be sure that every single Londoner will have the opportunity to spectate at or be involved in the events of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

We are on the way to getting 70,000 volunteers to work for Locog, and 8,000 London Ambassadors, who will be showing visitors how to enjoy the Games, and where to go. There will be "Live Sites" in Hyde Park, Victoria Park and other venues, where families can come and enjoy the action as it happens, and where the crowds will be entertained in the evenings by some of the greatest bands and acts in the world.

In the streets of central London there will be entertainment and performances that I cannot yet reveal; and virtually the whole of the South Bank will become a 2012 festival area.

There will be 11 road events through the streets, beginning with the cycling - where Team GB did so well in Beijing; and anyone can come and watch. The Olympic Park will be open to the public on at least four occasions before the Games, for test events such as running and swimming, as well as the Schools Olympics.

During the Games one in eight London kids will get free tickets. And to avoid the empty-venue problem we saw in Beijing we will make sure there is ample scope to get families into the Park at less busy times. Across every London borough there will be cultural events and attractions. We saw how fantastic the city looked during the royal wedding, and we are going to do it again.

We still have much to get right but everyone involved believes we can do it - and that we are engaged in London's most exciting project for the past 50 years.