2012 news and events
In this section you can keep up to date with what's happening with Games-related developments, projects and news.
BBC Radio 1's Hackney Weekend 2012
More acts join the star studded line up for Radio 1's Hackney Weekend
How you can Get Ahead of the Games
With less than six months to go, TfL has launched a London-wide campaign Get Ahead of the Games, advising travellers and businesses on how to prepare their journeys at Games time. More
Volunteers wanted in Hackney
Over 300 volunteers are needed to give visitors to the borough a warm welcome as they attend a range of exciting events during the 2012 Games. The deadline to apply is 13 February. More
Hackney 2012 jobs hotline launched
In the countdown the Olympic and Paralympic games, the race is on for local people to take up the temporary jobs available in and around the Olympic Park at Games time in the summer of 2012. To help you with your job search we've launched a Games time jobs hotline: 020 8356 5700. More
Olympic jobs for residents
Thousands of residents are being offered paid jobs to work in and around the Olympic Park during the 2012 Games. Although 461 Hackney residents have already been offered jobs this summer, many thousands more are needed to work in areas as varied as catering, hospitality, cleaning, retail and security. More
Hackney businesses must plan for the Games now
Transport for London has warned that businesses in Hackney and the other host boroughs must start planning now to minimise disruption to deliveries and staff travel during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. More
Big Waterways Clean Up 2012
Big Waterways Clean Up 2012 is a London 2012-inspired partnership campaign to improve East London's waterways by July 2012. It is seeking young and old to get involved in this mass volunteer-led initiative to inspire community activity and produce a lasting legacy for Londoners and their local neighbourhoods long after the 2012 Games. Find out more
New Age Games winter programme
Hackney's free physical activities programme for the over-50s, New Age Games, starts a new 12-week programme 23 January 2012, offering a range of 20 sports, from aerobics, pilates, fencing and archery, to cycling, swimming and jogging. More
Hackney schoolchildren mark 200 days to go by scoring 200 baskets at Olympics sports training venue
Two teams of 26 Hackney primary schoolchildren scored 200 baskets each within 26 minutes at a basketball challenge to mark 200 days to go to the Olympic Games which took place at Hackney Community College, Monday 9 January. More
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. More
Carry the Paralympic flame
Residents have the chance to carry the Paralympic flame during the London 2012 Paralympic Torch Relay. More
Photo slideshow
You can now view a slideshow of aerial images of the Olympic Park. View the slideshow now.
A walk in the Olympic Park
Over 2,000 residents were among the first spectators to walk through the Olympic Park to see some top class sporting action, thanks to a free ticket offer for the six host boroughs. More
New Age Games winners
Winners of the New Age Games finals received a bonus prize - free tickets to the Olympic or Paralympic games. More
Hackney hotspots revealed by TfL
The most recent information to emerge from TfL relating to travel within and through Hackney during the Olympic and Paralympic Games (27 July-9 September). More
Hackney students win jobs on the Olympic Park
More than 200 young people in Hackney schools know what they will be doing next summer - they have been offered jobs in or around the Olympic Park, giving them a supporting role in the greatest event east London has ever seen. More
Olympic Torch Relay to visit Hackney Saturday 21 July 2012
Hackney residents will have the chance to celebrate and welcome the Olympic flame as it travels through the borough on Saturday, 21 July - the weekend before the Torch arrives at the Olympic Stadium for the Opening Ceremony on the evening of Friday 27 July. More
Buy tickets for three world class sporting events
Buy tickets for three world class sporting events at Olympic venues next year. More
Free swimming for disabled people and their carers
To celebrate one year to go until the 2012 Paralympic Games, disabled people and their carers will swim for free at pools across the borough, all year round. More
New Age Games
The latest New Age Games programme of free activities for Hackney residents aged 50 plus begins on 12 September and runs for 12 weeks, with the finals at Clissold Leisure Centre on Tuesday, 6 December. More
Hackney celebrates 1 year to go
Hackney recently celebrated 1 year to go to the 2012 Olympic Games with a host of events around the borough. More
Hackney's 2012 Walking and Cycling Routes
As part of the Olympic legacy, a new walking and cycling route has been developed that will guide people through Hackney to the Olympic Park. More
Bike Across the Borough event
More than 100 primary school children were the first to test out the new 2012 Hackney Parks Walking and Cycling Route on 23 June, as they celebrated national Bike Week with a mass ride. More
US Paralympic Swimming Team to train at London Fields Lido
London Fields Lido will be the training venue for the US Paralympic swimming team, it has been announced. More
Hackney Empire to host Barbican 2012 event
The Hackney Empire will host an important event as part of the Barbican's contribution to the London 2012 Festival next year. Tickets are on sale now for a concert at the Empire by the Kronos Quartet with a children's choir on 24 January 2012. More
Olympic torch relay - one year to go
In one year's time, the Olympic torch will leave Land's End, Cornwall, on Saturday 19 May 2012 and will travel around the UK on a 70-day journey before arriving at the Olympic Stadium for the 2012 Opening Ceremony. See the London 2012 website for more details of the 70-day route and how to apply to become one of the 8000 torch bearers. More
Sculpture for 2012 arena
Three nine-metre tall letters forming the word 'run' are to be built outside the Olympic Park handball arena in Hackney. More
Hackney 2012 volunteers explore the Olympic Park
The first group of Hackney's new 2012 volunteer force, the Hackney Hosts, enjoyed a day out with a difference recently when they took a bus tour of the Olympic Park. More
500 days to go until the Paralympic Games
Elite Paralympic swimmers, gold medallist Dervis Konuralp and Lauren Smith joined children from the Gayhurst School swimming squad and friends, to mark 500 days to go to the Paralympics on 17 April, at Hackney's London Fields Lido. Read on for the full story
Hackney young people in demand for Olympic jobs
Five young Hackney residents have just been accepted for the latest round of the BBC Work Experience. The BBC Work Experience is open to Hackney residents aged 18 or over, who aren't on a degree course or already have a degree, and offers placements of up to four weeks in different areas of the BBC. More
First glimpse of Handball Arena
The finishing touches are being put to Hackney's new 6,000-seat stadium - the Handball Arena - completed ahead of the 2012 Games. Mayor of Hackney, Jules Pipe, and four councillors were among the first residents to get a sneak preview of the impressive venue. More
Hackney welcomes 500 Days to the Games
Hackney's Gainsborough School children took a break from fitness training to form the figure "500" to mark 500 days until the start of the Olympic Games, and Olympics tickets going on sale. The playground at Gainsborough School overlooks the International Press and Broadcast Centres and is the closest to the Olympic Park. More
CREATE11 announces winner of £40,000 Art Award
A major art prize worth £40,000 was announced as part of the official launch of CREATE11, the fourth annual summer festival celebrating the Olympic Host Boroughs as Europe s largest cultural quarter, where over 12,000 artists live and work. CREATE is supported by Hackney Council, the lead host borough for culture. More
Hackney's youth to get taste of Olympic glory
Hackney Council has confirmed that it will purchase the 100 Olympic Games tickets offered by LOCOG, and announced that it will be giving them to young people who have excelled at sport in the borough. More
London 2012 Chair Seb Coe visits Hackney school
Seb Coe, Chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), visited Mossbourne Community Academy in Hackney to see for himself how young people in one of the six host boroughs are inspired by the London 2012 Games. More
Page updated: 8 Feb 2012