Earlier in the month, London 2012 released a new batch of aerial photos of the Olympic Park.

Click on the thumbnails above to see our pick of the best ones, including great views of

1. The Olympic Stadium, which is now structurally complete with roof and lighting towers in place. Work is continuing on the field of play and installing the seats
2. The Handball Arena, showing the structure is complete and weather-tight. The unique roof – fitted with natural light-pipes to illuminate the venue – is also finished. The top half of the building is now being clad in 3,000sq m of copper cladding
3. The Basketball Arena showing the venue’s completed cladding, Inside, 12,000 seats are being installed, while the lifts, toilets and external service rooms are still being built
4. The Velodrome, which is now structurally complete and watertight, and the timber track is being installed

Find out more at www.visitlondon.com/2012 and www.london2012.com/olympic-park-aerials-show-progress

After five years’ planning, construction and frenzied anticipation, the London Olympic Games are now just two years away.

On 27 July 2012, competitors from more than 200 countries will step into London’s new Olympic Stadium to mark the beginning of the Olympic Games.

The impressive Olympic Park is now really taking shape, the world’s top athletes are stepping up their preparations for the Games, and Londoners are already seeing benefits of the Games.

If you want to find out more, check out the websites below:

• The BBC are live at the Olympic Park all day, follow the developments here

• Olympic partners are also stepping up their preparations. Check out this dramatic video from London 2012 partner Panasonic

• The last time London hosted the Olympic Games was in 1948, have a look at these fascinating images of competitors in action

We can’t wait for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to be on our doorstep, will you be coming to see the world’s best sportsmen and women compete in London?

Former Welsh rugby captain, Gareth Thomas – who recently announced that he was gay – was given the first badge Pride Pin Badge at the unveiling ceremony this week.

Thomas said: “It’s great to see LOCOG reaching out to all communities and making sure that London 2012 is a Games for everyone, in which every community feels included.

“I hope that everyone buys and wears their pin badge with pride and helps us achieve greater inclusion in sport.”

Paul Deighton, Chief Executive of LOCOG added:

“Our vision is as bold as it is simple – to use the power of the Games to inspire change. We want to reach out to all parts of the community and connect them with London 2012.”

The summer of 2012 is set to be one big celebration with WorldPride 2012 also taking place in the city.

Further badges celebrating different sections of the community will be launched within the next 12 months celebrating London’s diversity – a major part of the successful Olympic bid.

The pride pin badges will be on sale tomorrow at London Pride and also from the London 2012 online shop.

London 2012‘s Velodrome is on course to be the first completed stadium in the Olympic Park after its roof was guided into place this week.

The Pringle-shaped roof, made from more than 1,000 timber panels, has now been weather-proofed allowing work on the inside of the arena to gather pace.

The venue, which will host the cycling events at the London 2012 Games, is expected to be completed early next year.

Sebastian Coe, the London 2012 chairman, told the Press Association: “We hope that the Velodrome’s striking design will be host to some outstanding British cycling performances, as well as leaving a first rate sporting legacy after the Games.”

We think it looks great, what do you think?

They’re cute, shiny, full of personality, and about to become very, very famous.

Meet Wenlock and Mandeville, the London 2012 Olympic Mascots.

The two characters were unveiled earlier today on the BBC and in a fantastic animated film on the 2012 website. (Listen out for Simon Russell Beale doing the voiceover!)

Fashioned from drops of steel left over from girders in the Olympic Stadium by an elderly steelworker, the two mascots magically come to life in a lovely, modern fairytale.

And they certainly are modern: they already have their own facebook pages and twitter feeds, and their eyes said to be “cameras” watching and recording the goings on in the lead up to 2012.

But for those of you looking for a nod to the traditional, and the historic nature of the Olympics and the city of London itself, you can find these too. On their heads, Mandeville and Wenlock have lights like a London cab; and most interestingly, their names are inspired by key moments in Olympic history.

Wenlock‘s name comes from:

Much Wenlock in Shropshire, a town that is at the heart of Olympic history. In the 19th century, Baron Pierre de Coubertin was invited there to watch the “Much Wenlock Games” inspired by the Olympic Games of ancient Greece. De Coubertin was inspired by the Wenlock Games too, and went on to found the modern Olympic movement.

Mandeville’s name is a nod to:

Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire, the birthplace of the Paralympic Games. On the same day as the Opening Ceremony of the London 1948 Olympic Games, Sir Ludwig Guttmann held his own sport competition in Stoke Mandeville for World War II soldiers with spinal injuries. It was no coincidence – Sir Ludwig dreamed of a “parallel Olympics” for athletes with disabilities. The Stoke Mandeville Games grew and grew until they became the Paralympic Games.

Like any newborn twins, I’m not sure I can tell them apart just yet, but I certainly think once we get to know them better, they’re going to be a hit! I think the ideas behind the pair of them going around to learn about all the Olympic sports is a really nice touch for kids. And I hope they’ll be a big success.

What do you think of the London 2012 Olympic Mascots? Let us know…

I was lucky enough to be at The O2 yesterday when British gymnast Beth Tweddle won Gold in the Women’s Floor event at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships 2009.

Beth pulled out all the stops in front of the home crowd in a dramatic final. Having performed first, we had to wait for a further seven competitors to complete their routines before Beth’s efforts were rewarded. There was also drama when one of the gymnasts, Jessica Ortiz, was stretchered off following a nasty fall, reminding us what a demanding sport it is. Ortiz is recovering in hospital.

The O2 proved to be a great venue for the Championships. Even those of us without a lot of background knowledge of the sport were able to follow and appreciate the performances taking place on the arena floor below. This bodes very well for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games which will also feature gymnastics at The O2. With any luck Beth will be competing then too. Although, at 24, she is already past the age at which the majority of gymnasts retire, she showed yesterday that she is still in top form.

Watch Tweddle’s performance at bbc.co.uk