Belfast may host 2012 Olympic event

The Olympic Games will come to Belfast if London is successful in it's bid for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

The Olympic Games will come to Belfast if London is successful in it's bid for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

Wembley, Wimbledon, Lord's and a brand new Olympic Park in east London were today unveiled as the leading venues in bid proposals.

The world-renowned venues will all be used in a London Olympics along with tourist landmarks Hyde Park, Regent's Park and Horse Guards Parade.

Wembley will host both the men's and women's football finals, tennis will be held at Wimbledon and Lord's will stage archery events while athletics, swimming and cycling will be at the Olympic Park.

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Football matches in earlier rounds will be played across the country at Windsor Park (Belfast), the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Glasgow's Hampden Park, Old Trafford in Manchester, St James' Park in Newcastle and Birmingham's Villa Park.

Hyde Park would have road cycling and triathlon events, Regents Park would stage baseball and softball while there will be beach volleyball in Horse Guards Parade. New facilities will be built in the Olympic Park in the east of the capital as part of plans to regenerate a rundown area of the city.

They will include an 80,000-seat stadium, an aquatic centre - which will be built whether or not the bid is successful - and a velodrome. The details all form the core of London's bid submitted to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) this week.