Tickets

Around nine million tickets will go on sale in mid-2011 via online booking agency Ticketmaster.

Tickets will be priced according to expected demand, and the most expensive will be for the athletics finals and opening ceremony.

However, Locog says it will provide a large number of affordable tickets — priced £20-£25 — and will publish a tariff early next year.

Each ticket entitles the holder to free public transport on the day of competition.

A proposed ticket exchange will allow fans to sell unwanted ones before the Games, and a ticket recycling scheme­ — similar to that at the Wimbledon tennis championships — is under consideration.

Free events

There are three free central London sports events.

The marathon course will include a three-lap loop on the Mall to give spectators the best chance to view athletes.

There will also be road cycling through central London and the triathlon in Hyde Park, including swimming in the Serpentine.

Fans will be able to follow the action on giant screens at about 30 “live sites” nationwide, with two confirmed in Greenwich and Waltham Forest.

An affordable ground ticket will give spectators access to the Olympic Park, restricted to a “common area” with giant TV screen — the 2012 equivalent of Henman Hill.

Volunteers

Locog needs 70,000 volunteers to carry out a vast range of duties from handing out water at the marathon to chaperoning VIPs.

Priority will be given to employees of sponsors; to those who know less common languages; and to anyone who has previously worked as a volunteer.

Locog will begin recruiting and training in 2011 and it will conduct many thousands of face-to-face interviews.

The lucky candidates who are chosen will get a free Adidas uniform and the prestige of working at an Olympics — but there will be no free tickets or even a guarantee of seeing any of the sports.

Paralympics

More than 4,200 athletes will compete in 20 sports during the 11-day Paralympics.

The 2012 event will mark a homecoming — the first Paralympics were staged at Stoke Mandeville Hospital to coincide with the 1948 Games in London.

Swimmer Eleanor Simmonds, who won 100m and 400m gold aged 13 in Beijing, is likely to be among the stars of 2012, as well as wheelchair racer David Weir, from Croydon, four-time winner of the London marathon.

Great Britain will be hoping to go one better than last year when they came second to China.

Transport

Organisers are hoping to get all spectators to the Games by public transport, walking and cycling.

Tickets to each day's events will include free travel on all public transport.

There are plans for one train every 15 seconds to arrive at the Olympic Park during the 16 days. The £100 million upgrade at Stratford station, to be completed by the end of next year, will treble capacity at the Tube and overground interchange.

About 120,000 spectators are expected to use Stratford Regional station every day. West Ham station will also act as a “gateway” transport point.

The Channel Tunnel link will see 12 Javelin trains per hour travelling at 140mph and a seven-minute shuttle service from St Pancras to Stratford International.

The Docklands Light Railway will serve the Olympic Park, ExCel, Greenwich Park and the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, with 55 new railcars.

There are also plans for new walking and cycling paths.

Ceremonies

The Olympic torch will arrive in Britain from Olympia in Greece, and tour the country in a month-long procession.

The torch will visit landmarks and sports venues in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland before coming to London, where it will be used to
light the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony.

Hundreds of torchbearers —including famous names, and local heroes such as nurses and teachers — will be selected to run a leg of the relay.

It is being organised by Locog and is likely to be sponsored by Samsung.

London 2012 Olympics timeline

25 July - First Olympic action as football begins (fixture and venue to be confirmed)

27 July - Opening ceremony. Games officially begin when the Olympic cauldron is lit in the main stadium at 8.12pm

28 July - First medal, in the shooting at Royal Artillery barracks, Woolwich

30 July - Swimming and diving begin in aquatics centre

4 August - “Super Saturday”: Great chance for GB medals, with rowing finals in Eton and cycling in the velodrome. Usain Bolt defends 100m title late in the evening

11 August - Finals in team sports such as basketball (look out for Barack Obama in the crowd), handball and hockey

12 August - Boxing finals and the marathon finish in the main stadium — Paula Radcliffe is aiming to be first over the line

Closing ceremony

29 August - 9 September - Paralympics.