Basketball & Bmx To Open Olympic Park

The first competitive sports to take place in the Olympic Park have been confirmed as Basketball and BMX.

Olympic organisers revealed the events as part of the London Prepares series of test events, with London 2012 charging for tickets for four sporting events.

Mountain biking and beach volleyball will also feature in the rehearsal series for the Olympic Games next year.

Mountain biking will begin proceedings on 31st July, beach volleyball follows on 9th-14th August, with basketball and BMX on the 16th-21st and 19th-20th August respectively.

Testing at Olympic venues will take place between May 2011 and May 2012.

The basketball event is men’s only, with teams from Great Britain, France, China, Australia, Croatia and Serbia.

Beach volleyball will involve the women’s teams from Great Britain and China.

The events will be used to test various areas of the stadia, with the main forms of testing being concentrated on fields of play, technology and people – including athletes, fans, staff and volunteers.

More than 150,000 tickets will go on sale for the test events.

Paul Deighton, CEO of the London Olympic Organising Committee, said: ‘We need to take our plans and test them on the ground, really this is the most important part of our readiness mission. Although our venues won’t be dressed in their Games finery, a number of events will give the public a chance to see some world-class sporting action ahead of next year’.

‘These events are our opportunity to try out our new venues, test new technology and equipment and walk our extended teams through their roles and responsibilities. We have learned a lot from previous Games which we will put to good use as we challenge ourselves over the next 12 months’.

Some events, such as the canoe slalom, will be tested behind closed doors.