Download a FREE Olympic TV viewers guide with schedules, athlete profiles, facts and more.
- Official face value for tickets to London 2012 events ranges from £20.12 to £2,012 (about $31-$3,100). Tickets on secondary markets have been selling for as much as 20 times that.
- Iran filed a complaint to the IOC, claiming that the London 2012 logo was racist because it resembles the word “Zion,” referring to Israel.
- Heavy-duty security measures include 13,500 British armed forces personnel, 12,500 police officers, special forces troops in underground bunkers, unmanned aircraft, snipers in helicopters, jet fighters, and surface-to-air missiles mounted on a water tower and on top of an apartment complex.
- There will be about 4,000 extra flights landing in London during the Olympics and up to 3 million more passengers per day on the London Underground.
- Great Britain’s athletes will wear clothes and uniforms designed by Stella McCartney, daughter of former Beatle Paul McCartney. The designs have received some criticism in Britain for not displaying enough red from the country’s Union flag.
- London organizers have established a Brand Exclusion Zone in the area around the Olympic Park. No advertising for brands that aren’t official sponsors is permitted within the zone, and spectators won’t be able to wear clothes with conspicuous competing brand logos or bring in food and drink made by non-sponsors.
- London will have the largest medals ever for a Summer Games, weighing in at 375-400 grams and sized at 85 mm in diameter. The gold medals are 1.2 percent pure gold.
- While some are calling these the “social media Olympics,” spectators in attendance are strongly discouraged from posting photos and videos to social media sites to protect official broadcasters’ rights. Athletes are not allowed to mention any brand on social media that’s not an official sponsor.
- Team USA will wear lightweight basketball uniforms made from recycled polyester. According to Nike, 22 recycled plastic bottles are used in making fabric for each jersey.
- A record 150,000 condoms will be provided to athletes in the Olympic Village. Somehow, that number seems low.
