Who is the oldest competitor? Where do they keep the medals until the Games start? How many countries are actually taking part?

It wouldn't be an Olympic Games if it didn't throw up a myriad of interesting snippets and stats, so here is a selection of the best around London 2012:

- London becomes the first city to officially stage the event for the third time.

- The same logo will be used for the first time at both the Olympics and the Paralympics.

- Nine cities made bids to host the 2012 Games. These were whittled down to five before London pipped Paris in the final voting.

- London also hosted the Olympic Games in 1908 and 1948.

- The 1908 Games were meant to take place in Rome but London offered to step in after the eruption of the volcano Vesuvius in 1906.

- This will be the first time Japan has sent a team to a London Olympics.

- Baseball and softball have been dropped as Olympic sports for 2012.

- 9.6 million Olympic tickets were made available for sale.

- Women’s football will launch the games.

- Women’s boxing will make its Olympic debut at the London Games.

- There are a maximum of 26 sports at the London Games.

- There will be 302 events.

- Athletes from 204 nations will take part.

- There will be 70 000 volunteers involved in the London 2012 Olympics.

- Eighty per cent of athletes at London 2012 will take less than 20 minutes to travel to their event.

- The water temperature of the Olympic pool must be within one degree of 26°C.

- The Uruguayan anthem is about six-and-a-half minutes long. Uganda’s is only nine bars.

- Each national anthem had to be no more than a minute long so some had to be cut.

- Boxing and wrestling are now the only sports whose competitors must still be amateurs.

- In football only three pro players aged over 23 are allowed per team.

- Hiroshi Hoketsu, Japan (equestrian) is the oldest athlete participating in this year's Olympics at the age of 70. Hoketsu first took part in the Olympics in 1964.

- It will be marathon runner Paula Radcliffe’s fifth Olympics.

- The gold medals that athletes at the 2012 London Olympics will receive are made mostly of silver – they contain only 6g of gold.

- The 4 700 medals produced for London 2012 are to be kept safe ahead of the Games in the secure vaults of the Tower of London.

- Writer Michael Morpurgo wrote the story behind two films featuring mascots Wenlock and Mandeville.

- Mascot Mandeville is named after Stoke Mandeville hospital in Buckinghamshire.

- Mascot Wenlock is named after the Shropshire “Olympic” village of Much Wenlock.

- This will be the first Olympics with HD TV freeze-frame coverage.

- London 2012 will be the first live 3D Olympic Games.

- Every competitor will be able to watch their home nation’s TV online.

- Around 20 000 broadcasters, photographers and journalists will be at the Games.

- The Olympics site will have 525 bird boxes and 150 bat boxes.

- 26 400 tennis balls will be used at Wimbledon for the Olympic tennis tournament.

- A total of 2 700 footballs will be used in the men's and women's football matches at the Olympics.

- 900 000 items of sports equipment will be used over the course of the Games.

- Charities will be given the sports equipment used in the Games.

- 25 000 loaves will be eaten by athletes.

- They will also down 232 tons of potatoes and 682 tons of seafood.

- That will be accompanied by 350 tons of vegetables and 100 tons of meat.

- Athletes will drink 75 000 litres of milk.

- More than 100 toads were rescued from the Olympic site.

- Mario And Sonic At The London 2012 Olympics is the only game licensed.