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Olympics 2012

The Olympic Games will take place in London in 2012. Northern Ireland citizens can take the opportunity to see the Olympic torch run and attend the world's biggest sporting event. Find out more here.

Olympic torch to visit Northern Ireland

The Olympic flame will visit all counties in Northern Ireland. The first stop for the Olympic torch here will be Belfast on June 3, before it travels on through Portrush and over the next few days to Londonderry, Newry, and then back to Belfast before visiting Newcastle in County Down. Other places it will travel through include:

  • Larne
  • Carrickfergus
  • Ballycastle
  • Bushmills
  • Ballymena
  • Magherafelt
  • Strabane
  • Omagh
  • Irvinestown
  • Enniskillen
  • Armagh
  • Banbridge
  • Bangor
  • Newtownards

You can find out more about the route around Northern Ireland through the pages below:

You can also see an interactive map of the torch relay, including details of the street-by-street route, at the following link:

Over 95 per cent of the UK population will be within just 10 miles of the Olympic flame this summer.

The 70-day Olympic torch will start at Land’s End, Cornwall on 19 May 2012. It will travel an estimated 8,000 miles around the UK before being used to light the cauldron at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games on 27 July.

Schedule

Dates and locations for the visit of the Olympic torch are as follows:

  • Portrush - Sunday 3 June 2012
  • Derry - Monday 4 June 2012
  • Newry - Tuesday 5 June 2012
  • Belfast - Wednesday 6 June 2012

On 7 June the torch will be in County Down, Antrim and Londonderry.

For more information on the torch route, visit the London 2012 website.

Competition schedule

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has published the full sports competition schedule for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The schedule contains the full details of 19 days of sporting competition, including the times and venues for over 640 sessions, across more than 300 events, 39 disciplines, and 26 sports.

Plan your Olympic experience

Publishing the Olympic sports competition schedule means that everyone – athletes, coaches, spectators, broadcasters and everybody who wants to be part of London 2012 can now start planning their Games.

Families can now plan their summer of 2012 to include the Olympics.

Ticket applications

Olympic Games

Applications for London 2012 Olympic Games tickets are now closed.

Free events

You can see the Road Cycling, Triathlon and the Marathon events for free, and cheer the athletes from the roadside. Live Sites across the UK will have large screens showing the sporting action.

There will be festivities throughout the city of London during the Olympic Games.

Getting accredited to work, volunteer or compete at the London 2012 Games

If you are due to work, volunteer or compete at the Olympic or Paralympic Games, or are attending in another official capacity, it's likely you will need an accreditation pass to give you special access to London 2012 venues and sites. Find out what the process involves.

London 2012 Festival

The London 2012 Festival involves leading artists from all over the world, coming together to celebrate London 2012. Whether you love dance, music, theatre, fashion, food, art or film, you’ll find something you can get involved in. It's happening all around the UK, with many free events suitable for families.

Many of the London 2012 Festival events are taking place in Northern Ireland between 21 June 2012 and the last day of the Paralympic Games on 9 September 2012.

Northern Ireland's Festival programme will offer people the opportunity to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

All confirmed programming for the Festival is now available for the public to view on the London 2012 Festival website, where people can sign up to receive information as the programme develops.

Live Site big screens in Belfast and Derry

Live Site screens have been added to the grounds of Belfast City Hall and Derry City's Waterloo Place in the run up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Live Sites are Big Screens and event spaces in urban centres offering live information, video, news and community events as part of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012.

Inspire Programme

If your Games-inspired project continues beyond London 2012 Open Weekend, it may be eligible for the London 2012 Inspire Programme. This recognises and supports participatory initiatives across sport, culture, education, sustainability, volunteering and business opportunities. For more information, please see the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure's (DCAL) website below.

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