Morning:
5°c
City Hall has joined a bid to host the 2014 hockey world cup in London as part of a long-term plan to use the Olympic venues for major sports events.
London must beat off competition from Beijing and Melbourne to land the 12-nation hockey tournament which would be the first international event staged in the Olympic Park after the 2012 Games.
A formal bid is due shortly from the British hockey federation in a deal backed by government agency UK Sport and the Greater London Authority.
The GLA provided financial guarantees this month against any losses incurred in staging the event.
It would be held at the Eton Manor hockey centre in the north of the Olympic Park which can seat up to 15,000 spectators.
The site is being used for Paralympic archery in 2012 and then converted for hockey and tennis.
The bid is expected to be announced on Thursday at the SportAccord summit in Dubai where a City Hall delegation will seek to persuade sports chiefs to choose London for future tournaments.
Britain's hockey team has enjoyed a resurgence since the men won gold at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
The men's team also won a gold at last year's European Championships thanks to star player, 22-year-old midfielder Ashley Jackson from Kent. The women's team won European bronze.
The men and women finished 5th and 6th respectively at the Beijing Games.
Hockey is among several competitions being lined up for the years after the 2012 Games.
The aquatics centre may play host to the 2014 European Swimming Championships and the diving world cup.
The £100 million velodrome is being lined up for the track cycling world cup in 2013.
UK Athletics is considering a bid for World Championships in 2015 but may be forced to defer the bid by two years if the Olympic stadium is converted to become the new home of West Ham.
The world netball championships may be held in the Olympic handball arena in 2015.
City Hall's head of events Iain Edmondson said using the venues after the Olympics was “part of our vision for London to be the world's most exciting major events destination”.
