Coe vows London will be ready for 2012 Olympics

He said: "I'm very proud and very excited. We've been on a long journey and there's still a little bit of that journey to travel, but this is a good place to be two years out.

"We're in very good shape but we are really only entering the business end of this now. There's a lot of stuff to do. We're standing in a beautiful venue, but there's a lot to do to turn this into an Olympic venue."

One thing Lord Coe is pleased about is overturning scepticism in some quarters about London's ability to stage a successful Games.

He said: "It's obvious public approval is rising. That doesn't surprise me if you look at the work that's been done here, and the regeneration of east London. The organising committee has planned this, so people have good reason to feel confident about this."

The success of Locog's planning will only be known when the Olympic opening ceremony starts on July 27, 2012. Lord Coe admitted even then he still wouldn't be able to relax.

He said: "We'll be very excited and a little bit nervous, I guess."

While Lord Coe's seat is guaranteed, tickets for events at the Olympics and Paralympics could be harder to get for the public.

Locog have yet to announce details of prices, but chief executive Paul Deighton gave assurances affordable tickets will be available.

He said: "There will absolutely be entry level pricing for many of the events. There will be other schemes, for example with schoolchildren, which people should find very attractive.

"In the local area there are many ways to get involved. At our test events we will be looking for audiences to come in and help us test, while there are road events out in London which are free, so there are different offerings to suit all sorts of capabilities to pay."

Mr Deighton urged people to visit the London 2012 webiste to start planning what they want to see, whether it's athletics, weightlifting or Sir Chris Hoy trying to add to his medal collection.

He said: "We're trying to get people to plan their games now.

"People should think about which ones might be fun to go to in 2012, and now's the time to start planning.

There's such a range of sports, you can see something you've never been to before. To watch it at such a level it's really superb, even if you aren't a follower.

"At Beijing I went to weightlifting, which I'd never been to before, and it was absolutely brilliant."

And that issue of avoiding empty seats? Simple - encourage people, including sponsors, to resell tickets they don't need.

He said: "The whole world is trying to get in and there are some empty seats, so managing the seating bowl on the day of the event to make sure you don't get that is a crucial element.

"We'll work very hard with our sponsors to make sure if they don't need seats we have a really good way of recycling them to make sure somebody who wants to can go.

"The public will also be able to resell through our ticket system, so you're not stuck with them. There's a very ready market for us to resell them for you.

"And in the park we're looking at the Wimbledon approach, of zapping tickets when you go out and reselling them in the ticket office."

While Locog's role is set to reach a peak in July 2012, the Olympic Delivery Authority - responsible for building the venues - is working furiously now to complete the infrastructure for the Games.

The ODA is on course to deliver the 2012 venues on time and under budget and for its chairman, John Armitt, that's a source of great satisfaction.

He said: "So far so good and on track. It's very satisfying. This time next year we'll have some completed stadia out there, ready to hand over to Seb and his team.

"We've kept costs down just through constant pressure on every single building. The designers sit down with the contractors saying how can we do this differently, how can we take out cost. We did that quite successfully in the broadcast centre, and we've done it in roads, bridges.

"Everywhere you look you jusy have to requestion and say 'that's okay, but could we do it better, and could we do it more sustainably, which is the other challenge all the time.

"The key thing is to recognise the terrific job our construction industry has done, whether it's the architects, designers, contractors, sub-contractors. everybody has worked really well and it's a great advert for British industry."

The ODA will move back into the Park once the Paralympic Games have finished to transform it into legacy mode.

Mr Armitt, an Arsenal supporter, was keen to see the Stadium used regularly, even if it means a football team moving in.

He said: "I don't mind personally who uses it, as long as it is used and it does not become a white elephant.

"A football club going in there does give you a lot of assurance that it's going to be used regularly, but we gave a commitment in Singapore to the athletes and that's an important commitment to continue to meet.

"We've got other people, like the owners of The O2, showing an interest and clearly they would have other plans. The important thing is we get regular use from it and people enjoy going there."

One person who might get to know the stadium better than most is athlete Tasha Danvers.

She won bronze in the 400m hurdles in Beijing and is aiming to do even better on home turf in 2012.

Surveying the stadium on Tuesday afternoon, Danvers, 32, was already itching to get to the start line.

She said: "It's my first visit inside the stadium and it's absolutely fantastic, it's awesome. I can't wait to get in here and get running.

Despite home advantage Danvers doesn't want to miss out on living in the Olympic Village in 2012, and she was impressed with the compact nature of the Park.

She said: "From what I can tell it all looks good. A lot of villages you have to do a lot of walking around to get anywhere. This looks quite neatly together, so our legs won't get too worn out before we get to our events.

"Christine Ohuruogu could walk from her house to here, but that's one thing you don't want to do. As far as I'm concerned, once the Olympics start nobody else exists.

"I'll have to pretend I'm not home, because it's too easy to get too comfortable and pop down the shops, and go and see so-and-so. You don't want to too relaxed because it will take away from your performance.

"You also want that Village experience. It will be brilliant and I'm looking forward to it."

Another key group in 2012 will be the volunteer - the so-called Games Makers who will be crucial in ensuring the smooth running of the Olympics and Paralympics, from checking tickets to providing medical care.

LOCOG used Tuesday's event to launch their website for volunteers for 2012, but there have been volunteers involved already.

They are the trailblazers such as David Bower from Tonbridge in Kent, who has been a volunteer since January last year.

He said: "It's been exciting and interesting, demanding and fun. The biggest attraction was just to be part of the Olympics, but you learn a lot and meet lots of new people as well."

Despite being a trailblazer Mr Bower, 67, a retired environmental health officer, has no guarantee of being picked to be a volunteer for 2012.

He said: "I hope I get selected for Games time because I've really enjoyed it. This is the most exciting thing to happen to London for years, so it's been great to be involved. I'd recommend it to anyone."

Go to london2012.com.