GBR - Olympic Basketball arena ready for action

LONDON (London 2012) - With more than a year before the Olympic Basketball Tournament gets underway, 12,000 brand new red and black seats overlook the illuminated court area of the newly completed Olympic Basketball arena.

Work on what is among the largest temporary sports venues ever built began in October 2009, while the assembling of the un-mountable steel structure started in March 2009. The structure will be dismantled after the games to be reused, while it is even being considered as a possible venue for the 2016 Olympic in Rio de Janeiro.

The venue, which will welcome all basketball games of the 2012 London Olympics except for the men's quarter-finals and all semi-final and final games (held in the North Greenwich Arena), is 35m high and weighs 1,000 tonnes.

In spite of its size, the venue is light on the eye thanks to its cloud-like look exterior, which is comprised of a 20,000 square meter PVC shell, which will be lit up during the games.

Before welcoming Olympic Basketball, the arena will welcome some of the world's best players this summer as it hosts the London International Invitational from 16-21 August.

There, Great Britain, Australia, China, Croatia, France and Serbia will face off in a five-day round robin tournament as preparation for the continental zone Championships, which act as qualifiers for the Olympics.

The London International Invitational will also serve as the Olympic test event for basketball, putting all technical and logistical requirements to the test.

Olympic legend and chairman of the London 2012 Organising Committee Sebastian Coe said: "Basketball is one of the most popular Olympic sports and spectators will be able to see the game played out in spectacular surroundings.

"It is a superb venue which will be the centre of some of the best team action during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games."

FIBA