COUNTING DOWN TO LONDON OLYMPICS

　　The countdown to the start of the London 2012 Olympic reached a significant milestone yesterday with the Games to begin in just 100 days.

　　Nearly all of the permanent venues and infrastructure are complete, which will please organizers as they have avoided many of the construction problems that have hit other host cities.

　　More than 30 venues throughout the United Kingdom will host events. Alongside purpose-built arenas, many iconic locations are being prepared for Olympic sports,including the Wimbledon, which will be used to host tennis; Wembley Stadium for soccer and Lord's cricket ground for archery.

　　The formal surroundings of Horse Guards Parade, normally used for ceremonial events, will be transformed into a beach volleyball arena, while Greenwich Park will host equestrian sports and central London's Serpentine for triathlon and marathon swimming.

　　While it is not unusual to see that Olympic sites turned abandoned sites once the Games are over, the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, LOCOG, built some temporary venues for the Games. Once the Games are over, the stadiums and venues can be scaled down, to avoid wasting taxpayers' money.

　　In addition to the venues, transportation officials have also geared up to upgrade London's public transport system and road networks to get the capital ready for the Games.

　　During the Games, about 82,000 athletes, officials, media, sponsors and VIPs, will use the 109-mile The Olympic Route Network (ORN), which will also be open to general traffic except in certain areas.

　　As the city is expected to face an additional three million journeys on peak days, transport officials have therefore launched a public awareness campaign, urging people to visit the government website and Twitter for up-to-date information and tips on how to dodge congested areas.

　　Train capacity on one of the main routes into Stratford has been increased by 50 percent to take more passengers. Underground trains will run an hour later than usual during the Games while 200 more buses will be running and more pay-and-ride bikes will be available for hire.

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