London Venues for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games

The 2012 volleyball competition will be held at Earls Court, watched by up to 18,000 spectators. The existing exhibition space was first opened in 1937; at the time, its 40,000 square metres space was unprecedented. Earls Court is in west London, close to the Victoria and Albert, Science and Natural History Museums.

London 2012 events at ExCeL London include: boxing, fencing, judo, table tennis, taekwondo, weightlifting, wrestling, boccia, paralympic table tennis, paralympic judo, paralympic powerlifting, volleyball (sitting), and wheelchair fencing. Test events will be held in 2011 to ensure the venue is ready.

Greenwich Park will host the equestrian events – jumping, dressage and eventing, paralympic equestrian – and modern pentathlon events during the Games. The main arena holds 23,000 spectators. Greenwich Park is London's oldest Royal Park, dating back to 1433. It has been a World Heritage Site since 1997.

Horse Guards Parade dates from 1745 and takes its name from the soldiers who have protected the monarch since 1660. The parade ground, which hosts Trooping the Colour on the Queen's official birthday each year, will host the beach volleyball competition in 2012, in front of a crowd of 15,000.

In 2012, the North Greenwich Arena will host artistic gymnastics, trampoline gymnastics and the basketball finals during the Olympic Games; then, a few weeks later, you can see wheelchair basketball during the Paralympic Games. The Arena will hold 20,000 spectators for the basketball finals and 16,500 for the gymnastics.

Four temporary indoor ranges for pistol and rifle shooting will be built with outdoor shotgun ranges for trap and skeet events at The Royal Artillery Barracks in South East London for both the Olympic and Paralympic shooting during the Games. The barracks will also host the Paralympic Games Archery competition.

Wembley Arena, a fantastic live music and sport venue in North West London will host the badminton and rhythmic gymnastics events at the London 2012 Olympics. The Badminton World Championships will take place at the venue in August 2011, acting as a test event for the 2012 Games.

Wembley Stadium is a 90,000-seat stadium in North West London, which will host the football at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Wembley Stadium is around six miles from the city centre, its stunning arch is more than 130m high and it comes with a sliding roof to protect against bad weather.

Wimbledon is the home of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club and the setting for the famous Wimbledon tennis tournament since 1877. It is the only remaining major grass-court tennis venue in the world. The tennis competition for London 2012 will be held here, in front of up to 30,000 people.

The Olympic Park in East London is made up of nine Olympic venues, plus the Olympic Village. As well as the Olympic Stadium, there's the Aquatics Centre, Basketball Arena, BMX Circuit, Eton Manor, Handball Arena, Hockey Centre, the Velodrome and the Water Polo Arena. Come summer 2012, it'll be THE place to be!