csconstantine.com

By Sportsbeat staff

THE curtain raiser to next year's Premier League season will kick-off on the final day of the London 2012 Olympics - but a compromise has kept the match out of the capital.

CLASH: The 2012 Community Shield will be staged during the Olympics - but it won't be played at Wembley (Reuters)

A condition of London 2012's host city contract with the International Olympic Committee forces organisers to work with other sporting bodies to ensure the Games takes place in an uncluttered calendar.

Organising committee chief executive Paul Deighton had already negotiated for the FA Premier League season to start one week later than usual but it appeared there was no other way to accommodate the annual Community Shield, between the top flight champions and FA Cup winners.

It was suggested the match could be played one or two days after the Olympics conclude but feedback from clubs suggested they wanted more time between the fixture and their opening league games on Sunday August 19th.

Wembley will stage the final of the Olympic men's football tournament on Saturday August 11th and therefore won't be available to stage showpiece curtain raiser.

Football Association officials had considered taking the match aboard but again there was opposition from the majority of teams consulted - who all wanted the game played on Sunday August 12th.

Manchester's Old Trafford - which will host a men's Olympic semi-final five days earlier - is considered the frontrunner to stage the game, although Manchester United have featured in 14 of the last 18 Community Shield matches. 

Labels: clash, curtain, Games, league, London, Olympics, Premier, raiser

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The offical events schedule for the Games show both Olympic champions will be aiming to retain two of their athletics and cycling sprint titles on consecutive days.

The organisers have released their schedule a month before the tickets go on sale, to allow fans time to decide which events they would like to apply for.

London 2012 chair Lord Coe described it as a "huge moment".

"We are now getting to the business end of the project and we know from the number of people who have signed up for ticket information that there is a real hunger from all parts of the country to be there," he said.

Among the other most popular days are likely to be the July 29 and August 3, when Rebecca Adlington will defend her swimming golds.

Jessica Ennis will be hoping to add to her European and World heptathlon titles by ending the August 4 on top of the Olympic podium.

Diver Tom Daley will be aiming to round up the Games in style, competing in his second event, the 10m platform, on August 11, the penultimate day of competition.

As well as promising a potentially glittering end to the London Games for the home crowd, the schedule offers the possibility of an early celebration.

The first chance at gold will come in the cycling road race on July 27, when the 'Manx Missile' Mark Cavendish will be favourite to win his first Olympic gold.

Defending champion Nicole Cooke will be hoping to retain her title the following day - which would make for a dream start to the games for Team GB.

The very first event will not take place in London but in Cardiff - a women's football match at the Millennium Stadium on July 25, two days before the Opening Ceremony.

:: Read our guide to buying tickets

Tickets for the Olympic games will go on sale on March 15. Fans will have until April 26 to apply for their share of the 6.6 million being made available to the public.

Tickets for the Paralympic Games go on sale on September 9. The Olympics will run from July 27 to August 12 and the Paralympics from August 29 to September 9.

Labels: London, Olympics, Released, Schedule

To view this content you need Flash and Javascript enabled in your browser.

Please download Flash from the Adobe download website.

The official events schedule for the Games

The offical events schedule for the Games show both Olympic champions will be aiming to retain two of their athletics and cycling sprint titles on consecutive days.

The organisers have released their schedule a month before the tickets go on sale, to allow fans time to decide which events they would like to apply for.

London 2012 chair Lord Coe described it as a "huge moment".

"We are now getting to the business end of the project and we know from the number of people who have signed up for ticket information that there is a real hunger from all parts of the country to be there," he said.

Among the other most popular days are likely to be the July 29 and August 3, when Rebecca Adlington will defend her swimming golds.

Jessica Ennis will be hoping to add to her European and World heptathlon titles by ending the August 4 on top of the Olympic podium.

Diver Tom Daley will be aiming to round up the Games in style, competing in his second event, the 10m platform, on August 11, the penultimate day of competition.

As well as promising a potentially glittering end to the London Games for the home crowd, the schedule offers the possibility of an early celebration.

The first chance at gold will come in the cycling road race on July 27, when the 'Manx Missile' Mark Cavendish will be favourite to win his first Olympic gold.

Defending champion Nicole Cooke will be hoping to retain her title the following day - which would make for a dream start to the games for Team GB.

The very first event will not take place in London but in Cardiff - a women's football match at the Millennium Stadium on July 25, two days before the Opening Ceremony.

Tickets for the Olympic games will go on sale on March 15. Fans will have until April 26 to apply for their share of the 6.6 million being made available to the public.

Tickets for the Paralympic Games go on sale on September 9. The Olympics will run from July 27 to August 12 and the Paralympics from August 29 to September 9.

Labels: London, Olympics, Released, Schedule