Welcome to the weekly blog following the London 2012 qualification process as athletes and teams compete to secure their place at the Games.

The qualification process can at times be quite complex, so we’ve put together a brief guide which explains how it all works.

In my latest audio blog I talk about the positive impact that the Paralympic Games can have in helping to change attitudes towards disabled people.

Listen to the blog

View the transcript

Six months from today, the eyes of the world will be on London with the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games. With excitement building around the globe, I feel this day marks a good opportunity to look at the enormous scale of the project.

I often talk about the Games being a massive logistical exercise, the largest in peacetime. This is evident when considering the range of people whose needs we have to satisfy between now and the end of the Games.

Heart of our Games

First, the athletes – the people at the heart of our Games. There will be over 10,000 Olympic athletes and over 4,000 Paralympic athletes competing at London 2012. To put this into perspective, less than 1,000 athletes compete at the FIFA World Cup. Furthermore, our Olympians come from over 200 nations, more than are represented at the UN.

Next we come to our spectators. Eight million tickets will be sold for the Olympic Games: this is the same number as Athens 2004, Euro 2012 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup combined. A further two million tickets will be sold for the Paralympic Games. We are currently working hard to finalise the ticket designs, official souvenir programmes and many more licensed products.

And then there's the media: across print and broadcast there are over 22,000 people covering the Games. In fact, when you include the technical teams across broadcast, there are around 28,000 accredited media attending. We need to house, feed and provide facilities for them, which is a massive job in itself – and that’s before the actual sport begins!

Extraordinary summer

Then there are the people all over the UK, tens of millions of people joining in with the Games. Whether it’s through the 1,000 Inspire programmes; as part of the Get Set education programme; taking part in the London 2012 Festival; or signing up as a Local Leader; there are great opportunities for everyone to get involved with what is set to be an extraordinary summer.

Elsewhere, our Torch team is busy meticulously plotting for the Torch Relay routes, planning Torchbearer spots and discussing every evening and lunch time celebration – including the Paralympic Torch Relay Flame Festivals – with local authorities.

And finally, the people watching at home around the world. The estimated television viewership will be bigger than the Royal Wedding, with over four billion viewers worldwide. Our Games-time website is likely to have as many visitors as there are internet users in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

Everything we do is focused on creating the best possible Games-time experience for all of these groups of people. It's quite a responsibility – but at the same time an extraordinary opportunity.