Thrilling sporting line up planned ahead of London Olympics

The UK is planning a thrilling run up to the London Olympics to be held in 2012, with sporting events to be held almost every fortnight in the 1,000 days that lead up to the actual London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2012.

The programme kicks off tomorrow, with racing stars like Victoria Pendleton, Jason Kenny and Bradley Wiggins participating in the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Manchester.

A total of 64 events are being planned for the period, to be spread across 20 towns and cities in the UK, including Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Birmingham. Organisers are expecting more than 17,000 sportspersons from all over the globe to participate in the many events.

The events are being organsied to give the British public a front-row seat to watching potential Olympic champions in action, as well as to offer British athletes a chance to compete in major events on their own home ground.

So far, the organising committee has confirmed about 25 events, and more are being planned. It is hoped that the committee will reach an agreement on a further 39 events shortly. When all set up and running, these events will in fact be the most comprehensive set of programmes in the lead up to any Olympic games ever held, says chief executive of UK Sport John Steele.