Olympic venues handed over

09/01/2012

The Olympic Delivery Authority has handed the Olympic Park at Stratford over to the London Organising Committee with exactly 200 days to go until the Games begin.

Sports fans hoping to enjoy Olympic hospitality have been able to learn the names of two of the venues today (January 9th).

The Olympic hockey (and Paralympic and five and seven-a side football) venue has been given the title the Riverside arena, due to its location next to the River Lea, while the handball and modern pentathlon venue - which will be used for Paralympic goalball - will be called the Copper Box, due to its shape and copper cladding.

And the Copper Box has already staged a non-sporting event after prime minister David Cameron hosted the first cabinet meeting of the new year at the venue.

Mr Cameron used the occasion to declare that the government is "determined to maximise the benefits of 2012 for the whole country".

It is not the first time the coalition government has met in a sporting arena, having done so at Bradford Bulls' Grattan Stadium in June last year.

By Ted Walker