200 days to go
9 January marked 200 days to the start of London 2012. The milestone begins the final countdown to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Both events will transform London - with an estimated eight million people visiting the capital - and have a major impact on Hackney, a key 2012 host borough.
From the evening of 27 July, when 100,000 people are set to attend the Olympic opening ceremony, to 9 September, when the Paralympics comes to a close, some 20,000 journalists will be based at media centres in Hackney Wick, broadcasting the Games to nearly four billion viewers worldwide.
Thousands of spectators will also be in London to join in the party atmosphere - which begins on 23 and 24 June with the BBC Radio 1 Hackney Weekend 2012.
This will see more than 100 top acts and 100,000 spectators flock to Hackney Marshes for the biggest live concert the BBC has ever staged. Between then, and the arrival of the Olympic flame in the borough on 21 July, dozens of celebratory events are set to take place in Hackney.
Jules Pipe, Mayor of Hackney, said: "The Games will be a unique opportunity to showcase Hackney to the world.
"Whilst stunning venues and beautiful parkland will transform this part of East London, it's always been the Council's priority to secure a lasting economic and social legacy for residents.
"We will use the next 200 days to continue our work toward these aims."
Lord Coe, Chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, added: "This is the largest project delivered in the UK in peace-time, and we're going to show the world what we, as a nation, and London as a city, can deliver."
Page updated: 10 Jan 2012