The London Olympics stadium opens-India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

The stadium where the London Olympics 2012 will be held was officially opened by Niamh Clarke-Willis, a 9-yr-old girl, on Saturday. She took the stage with London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games Chairman, Lord Coe, during the special event. The official opening was followed by several shows, hosted by television presenters Vernon Kay and Gabby Logan, in which former Olympic athletes and celebrities took part in challenges. Lord Coe said he was "shaken" by the transformation of the Olympic Park and described the security of the area to be “proportionate”. “I don't think people quite realise, unless you have been here, just what has happened. I still get occasionally shaken by what I see,” The Telegraph quoted Coe, as saying. “I walked around anonymously last night and I was just listening to the excitement of the people who were walking in. It was a bit like watching my kids on the first day they woke up to find snow in the back garden,” he added. Over 75,000 people attended the official opening, who passed through the airport-style security checks at the venue. Organisers invited school students also to the venue to test timing and scoring systems, as also the flow of athletes from the warm-up areas to the competition areas. Newham Council officials, who have yet to grant a licence for the stadium, were also present at the event to assess the venue and arrangements. The security arrangement of the park was tight, with armed officers patrolling the site, a police helicopter above and police boats on the River Thames. The championships held at the stadium were watched by a crowd of over 6,000 during the day. In the evening, 40,000 spectators witnessed "2012 hours to go: an evening of athletics and entertainment" programme. Other visitors attended events at the park's hockey, water polo and basketball venues.

London Olympics 2012 stadium officially opened