As well as the thrilling Paralympic action, there was plenty going on around the Olympic Park when I visited for the first time yesterday. I was impressed by the architecture and landscaping, pop-up performances and art installations.

Do you have any great pictures of the Park? If so, make sure you add them to the Visit London Flickr pool.

The Olympic Torch, the London 2012 Velodrome and a piece of lace from the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding dress all feature in the longlist for Designs of the Year at the Design Museum.

A wind-propelled landmine detonator, virtual Tesco store and pop-up cinema (Folly for a Flyover in Hackney, East London) were also selected for the longlist.

The nominated products will be on show at the Design Museum from next month. The winners will be selected by a jury and announced on 24 April.

• Designs of the Year is at the Design Museum from 8 February to 15 July 2012

The Olympic velodrome was officially opened today, making it the first Olympic Park venue to be completed.

The 6,000 seat velodrome will be the venue for indoor cycling and BMX events at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Olympic gold medallist Sir Chris Hoy rode on the completed track, along with Beijing medal winners Victoria Pendleton and Jason Kenny.

The velodrome has been praised for its architecture and is known as “The Pringle” due to the roof’s distinctive curved shape.

After the Games, the velodrome will be used by both athletes and the local community. Facilities will include a café, bike hire and a cycle workshop.

Andy Wilkes photo of sunrise over the velodrome in the Olympic Park is absolutely gorgeous.

Don’t forget to add your photos of London looking stunning to the Visit London Flickr pool.

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

Following the completion of the VeloPark roof and ongoing work on the Olympic Village, the Olympic Stadium is now looking mightily impressive with the latest developments.

The 45,000 square-metres of fabric, put in place by dedicated abseilers, will cover two-thirds of the 80,000 capacity stadium.

The stadium will become the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games as well as many Olympic sporting events.

John Armitt, the chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), told Inside The Games: “The Olympic Stadium is the most visible symbol of the huge progress that has been made on the construction of the Olympic Park and the infrastructure which is transforming East London.”

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?

The London 2012 Olympic Park is really starting to take shape, and with just over two years to go until the Games we’re getting really excited! These photos taken in May show the latest progress at the Olympic Park.

The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games are set to transform this part of East London with sporting venues, new transport networks and the construction of the UK’s largest urban park for more than a century.

As you can see the Olympic Stadium is progressing well. It has now reached its full height of 60m, with the roof and 14 lighting towers resting on 2,500 tonnes of steel tubing recycled from old gas pipelines.

The distinctive wave-shaped roof of the Aquatics centre weighs 2,800 tonnes, spans 160m and has a length of 120m. The roof structure is now in place and the centre is due to be completed midway through next year.

The Pringle-shaped VeloPark needed 2,500 sections of steelwork for its structure with a difference of 12m in height between the lowest and highest points. It looks so good that once you see it you’ll want to go back for more!

The structure of the IBC (International Broadcast Centre) /MPC (Main Press Centre) was completed in September after just ten weeks of construction. The 4,500 tonne structure features a 12,000 sq m catering village that will dish up 50,000 meals during the Games.

What do you think of these latest photos?

British cycling champ Ed Clancy was on site recently to witness an important building stage in the London 2012 Olympic Velodrome.

Clancy, who became the new World Champion in the Omnium event at the Track Cycling World Championships last month, watched as the huge roof of the Velodrome was lifted into place. The Velodrome’s distinctive double-curved roof rises in height by 12 metres from the shallowest point to the highest part of the structure, helping form its shape, which has been designed to reflect the geometry of the cycling track.

The 6,000 seat venue, located in Olympic Park in the Lee Valley, will host the Olympic and Paralympic track cycling events in 2012. After the Games, the Velodrome will be used by top athletes as well as the local community. The building will include a café, bike hire and cycle workshop facilities.

Clancy also won Gold at the 2008 Beijing Games as part of the record-breaking team pursuit team. He commented: “Becoming World Champion was an amazing experience and a reminder of the excitement of racing at a major championship so it was great to see the Olympic Park Velodrome where I hope to compete on home soil in 2012. The Velodrome is already shaping up to be a fantastic venue and I can’t wait to come back here to help Team GB continue our Gold rush in 2012.”

With the Velodrome roof in place, work will begin shortly to cover the roof and install the outer timber cladding of the venue. The Velodrome structure is due to be watertight by the summer, allowing work to install the timber cycling track to begin in the Autumn. The venue is due to be completed in early 2011. Read more about London 2012 venues here.