London Paralympics Map

The centre-point of the Paralympic Games - and the beating heart of the whole of London 2012 - is the imperious 80,000-capacity Olympic Stadium, billed as the most sustainable major sports arena ever built, which will host all Paralympic Athletics events as well as the opening (29th August) and closing (9th September) ceremonies. Located in the south of the Olympic Park and made from a quarter of the steel used to build its equivalent for Beijing 2008, the £537m Olympic Stadium also features low-carbon concrete made from industrial waste, while the top ring was built using surplus gas pipes. In short, although perhaps not as visually appealing as the "Bird's Nest" in Beijing, the whole vast structure is testament to London 2012's sustainability and environmental aspirations. During the Games, there will be 25,000 permanent seats in the lower tier, and a temporary lightweight steel and concrete upper tier will boast a further 55,000 seats. Spectators reach the "island" site from five bridges that cross the stadium's surrounding waterways, which at night time will reflect the 14 triangular stanchions of floodlights that shine down upon the interior.

Paralympic Events: Athletics (31 Aug-9 Sept)

Located in the south of the Olympic Park, the iconic wave-shaped Aquatics Centre, which hosts the Paralympic Swimming, will be the first thing most spectators see when they arrive at the Olympic Park via Stratford Station because it stands alongside the vast bridge to the north of the Park which acts as the main entrance. Designed by Iraq-born architect Zaha Hadid, the Centre's most striking feature is its state-of-the-art sweeping 160m long roof, which is made from steel and glass on the outside and 37,000 individual strips of treated hardwood within, and has a longer single span than the roof at Heathrow's Terminal 5. Underneath this staggering edifice are a 50m competition pool, 25m competition diving pool and a 50m warm-up pool. Complications with the elaborate roof design and the complex heating system meant that the initial £73m budget for the Aquatics Centre - the fifth and final permanent venue to be completed - skyrocketed to £268m. Labelled the unofficial "gateway" to the Games due to its position, the Centre has a 2,500-seat permanent faculty, but will be able to house 17,500 spectators during the Games. To do this, however, the eye-catching stingray-style structure has had to be flanked by two unsightly temporary stands that unfortunately diminish the Centre's architectural excellence.

Paralympic Events: Swimming (30 Aug-8 Sept)

One of the largest-ever temporary venues built for any Olympics or Paralympics, the 12,000-capacity Basketball Arena is the third-largest venue in the Olympic Park and will host events every day of both Games. Located in the north of the Olympic Park, it took just three months to erect the 1,000-tonne steel frame in spring 2010, but construction on the site began in October 2009 before being completed within budget in June 2011 at a cost of £40m. The frame is covered with stretched white material which can be used for light projections in the evenings. Although it is a temporary structure, it is one of the most eye-catching venues of London 2012 and shares a 'backstage' area with the Velodrome and BMX Track. For the Paralympics, the Basketball Arena has been transformed to host the Wheelchair Basketball and Wheelchair Rugby events before being taken down, with parts expected to be reused or relocated elsewhere in the UK.

Paralympic Events: Wheelchair Basketball (30 Aug-8 Sept), Wheelchair Rugby (5-9 Sept)

Despite its rather bland and boxy-looking exterior, the 7,000-capacity Handball Arena, located right in the centre of the Olympic Park, is one of the Games' greenest initiatives and will host the Paralympic Goalball event. The four outer walls of the square building are covered in largely recycled copper cladding which will change colour as it ages; 88 natural light pipes in the room will illuminate the interior, lessening the need for artificial light; rainwater pipes will also recycle water. Inside, multi-coloured retractable seating giving the place a vibrant feel, while in the centre of the building, a state-of-the-art sprung wood floor covers the competition area. After the games, the £44m Handball Arena will be transformed into a flexible, multi-use sports centre for community use catering for a range of sports including basketball, handball, badminton, boxing, martial arts, netball, table tennis, wheelchair rugby and volleyball. There will also be a health and fitness club with changing facilities and a cafe.

Paralympic Events: Goalball (30 Aug-7 Sept)

Disused since 2001, the early 20th-century Eton Manor Sports Club, located in the very north of the Olympic Park, has been reinvigorated and given a new lease of life thanks to the Games. Although the only event it will host during London 2012 is the Wheelchair Tennis during the Paralympics, the venue has been equipped with temporary training pools for participants in the Aquatics disciplines. The 5,000 show court will be at the centre of the Wheelchair Tennis events, and there will be a further 5,000 seats around eight other competition courts and four warm-up courts. An on-site war memorial dedicated to Eton Manor Club members who fought and died in the First and Second World Wars  was removed during construction of the Olympic venue, but it will return once the work is complete - plus will stay as a centrepiece after the Games. Redevelopment following London 2012 will see the arrival of two hockey pitches (with seating for up to 15,000 spectators), five-a-side football pitches and a tennis centre with four indoor and six outdoor courts. The faculty will be owned, funded and run by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, who are also taking over the VeloPark which will be constructed alongside the existing BMX Track.

Paralympic Events: Wheelchair Tennis (1-8 Sept)

Both Paralympic football events - 7-a-side and 5-a-side - take place at the Riverbank Arena in the north west of the Olympic Park. The Arena and its two eye-catching blue and pink pitches were used during the Olympic Games as the hockey venue with a capacity of 16,000. After London 2012, the whole Hockey Centre will move to the north of the Olympic Park to Eton Manor. At the new sports hug, the main pitch will have 3,000 permanent seats with an ability to increase up to 15,000 for major events.

Paralympic Events: 7-a-side Football (31 Aug-8 Oct), 5-a-side Football (1-9 Sept)

The most sustainable venue in the whole Olympic Park, the Velodrome boasts a 100% naturally ventilated system to create the perfect track-level temperature and eliminate the need for air conditioning; its track is made of sustainable Siberian pine wood; external cladding is made from lightweight materials to keep transport and manufacture emissions low; the venue uses as much natural light as possible, reducing the need for electric light; the roof even catches rainwater for recycling. But all these environmental benefits have not been created at any aesthetic expense: the slick 6,000-capacity Velodrome, shaped rather like a giant Pringle crisp, is a stunning architectural feat - and got the approval of Sir Chris Hoy (one of Team GB's Beijing 2008 heroes) right from the outset. A concrete lower tier will have 3,500 seats located around the track, while a further 2,500 seats will be suspended in two upper tiers within the two curves of the venue's roof. A ground-level glass wall between both levels will afford 360-degree views of East London across the Olympic Park - and allow people outside the venue to glimpse what's going on inside. After the Games, the Velodrome - which was completed in February 2011 at a cost of £93m and hosts the Paralympic track cycling events - will be the centre-piece of the new VeloPark, which will include the neighbouring redeveloped BMX Track and be owned, funded and run by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority.

Paralympic Events: Track Cycling (30 Aug-2 Sept)

The most used Paralympic venue outside the Olympic Park is the ExCeL Centre, located just to the south, which hosts six sports: Boccia, Table Tennis, Judo, Powerlifting, Sitting Volleyball and Wheelchair Fencing. Part of the River Zone, ExCeL opened its doors in 2000 and is one of Europe's largest and most versatile exhibition spaces. Located between Canary Wharf and London City Airport, ExCeL has its own DLR stop (Custom House) which will whisk spectators to and from the Olympic Park stations at Stratford in a jiffy and act as a link to the centre of London via Bank tube station in zone one. A stunning architectural achievement, ExCeL has gigantic amounts of floor space accompanied by shops, bars and hotels. The total capacity will be anything from 5,000 to 10,000 depending on the schedule. A cable car - the Emirates AirLine - links ExCeL with the North Greenwich Arena (one of the two Wheelchair Basketball venues) across the Thames River.

Paralympic Events: Boccia (2-8 Sept), Table Tennis (30 Aug-8 Sept), Judo (30 Aug-1 Sept), Powerlifting (30 Aug-5 Sept), Sitting Volleyball (30 Aug-8 Sept), Wheelchair Fencing (4-8 Sept)

The North Greenwich Arena - also known as the Millennium Dome and, latterly, The O2 Arena - will co-host the Wheelchair Basketball competition at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. A round-robin phase will be split between the North Greenwich Arena and the Basketball Arena in the Olympic Park, before the entire knock-out phase (4-8 September) will take place at the larger North Greenwich Arena. The 20,000-capacity venue, located just south of the Olympic Park, on the banks of the River Thames, also hosted the Olympic Artistic Gymnastics, Trampoline Gymnastics and the Basketball finals. The North Greenwich Arena, which is now linked to the other side of the Thames by the Emirates AirLine cable car, is best known as a venue for some of the biggest names in the worlds of music and comedy. But it also has a strong sports pedigree, hosting the annual ATP World Tour Finals and, in 2009, the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.

Paralympic Events: Wheelchair Basketball (30 Aug-8 Sept)

Transforming the capital's oldest Royal Park into a temporary Olympic and Paralympic venue has not been the smoothest of rides - but Greenwich Park proved to be one of the most popular London 2012 venues. On paper it is a superb venue for the Paralympic Equestrian events: located on the south bank of the Thames, around five miles south of the Olympic Park, its hillside location offers some truly spectacular views across to Canary Wharf and central London.  For the Games, spectators will pack a temporary raised arena (which has been built on stilts to counteract the sloping ground below without the need for digging) set behind the National Maritime Museum and the elegant colonnades of the Old Royal Naval College. With such a beautiful backdrop, you can see just why former royal hunting ground was chosen as an Olympic venue. As an advert for London, you can hardly do any better.

Paralympic Events: Equestrian (30 Aug-4 Sept)

The London port of Woolwich has a long military history, and so it is highly apt that the Royal Artillery Barracks should host the Olympic and Paralympic shooting events for London 2012. Located on the edge of Woolwich Common and close by to Greenwich Park, the historic Barracks were built in 1776 and boast the country's longest Georgian facade. At the Paralympics, the nearby grounds of the Royal Artillery Barracks will host 12 Shooting events and six days of Archery. There will be two outdoor shooting ranges, one indoor range and an outdoor archery range - each overlooked by spectator stands.

Paralympic Events: Shooting (30 Aug-6 Sept), Archery (30 Aug-4 Sept)

The Mall in Central London will host the start and finish of the men's and women's Paralympic Marathon events on 9th September, the final day of the Paralympics. There are four marathon events in total: three for men - for visually impaired athletes (T12), athletes with upper limb amputations (T46) and the wheelchair competition (T54) - and one for women (wheelchair). The T12 and T46 events are run concurrently at 8am and both wheelchair events take place later in the morning at 11.30am. The Paralympic marathon route starts with a 2.2-mile loop around The Mall, Westminster and St James's Park before three eight-mile loops of a central London circuit that takes the runners along Victoria Embankment, up and around the City as far as Tower Hill and then back via Manson House and the other side of the road along the Embankment. Tickets are not required for vast stretches of the Marathon route, so spectators will be able to watch for free - but The Mall is only accessible to ticket holders. The elegant runway of Buckingham Palace is no stranger to big events, hosting the finale of the annual London Marathon every April, not to mention a steady flow of Royal bonanzas such as last summer's wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. In London 2012, just over a month after the celebrations to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and birthday, The Mall was equipped with temporary seating, scoreboards, video boards, tents, cabins and generators for the Olympic cycling road race events as well as the Olympic marathon, triathlon and race walk events.

Paralympic Events: Marathon (9 Sept)

One of Europe's leading motor racing venues, Brands Hatch will be the venue for the Paralympic Road Cycling events from Wednesday 5 to Saturday 8 September. The former Formula One circuit is located in Kent in South East England, around one hour's travel from the Olympic Park, and will play host to the start and finish of both the Paralympic Road Race and the Time Trial. The course will start at Brands Hatch before passing through the Kent countryside and the district of Sevenoakes, and then heading back to the race track for the finale. Brands Hatch will be ticketed, but spectators can watch along the road race route for free. A free shuttle bus service based at top of Wrotham Hill, just off the A26 and close to junction 2 of the M20, will take spectators close to the race course.

Paralympic Events: Road Cycling

Set in a wonderful 400-acre park near Windsor Castle, Eton Dorney will host the Olympic and Paralympic Rowing competitions. The eight-lane, 2,200m course was already a world-class training and competition facility when it hosted the Rowing World Championships in 2006 to critical acclaim. For London 2012 several enhancements have been made, including warm-up lanes, a new cut-through between the competition lake and the return lake, and a couple of new bridges. Located 25 miles west of London (a short 15 to 45-minute train ride from Paddington or Waterloo stations), the superb venue - which should attract up to 30,000 spectators daily during the Games - is privately owned and financed by Eton College, the swish alma mater of Prime Minister David Cameron and London Mayor Boris Johnson.

Paralympic Events: Rowing

The first London 2012 Games venue to be finished, Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour hosts the Olympic and Paralympic Sailing competitions. Located off the beautiful Dorset coast in the south of England (just over 100 miles from London), the venue was ready for competition by 2008 and has already hosted numerous international sailing events. New lifting and mooring facilities have been added, as well as a new permanent 250m slipway, while there will be a ticketed onshore area for up to 17,400 spectators (please note, there will be no seating available). Weymouth is accessible by rail from London Waterloo in under three hours.

Paralympic Events: Sailing