LONDON – The London Olympics this summer is big, big, big by any measure. Here are a few numbers from Olympic organizers that put the July 27-Aug. 12 event into perspective.
THE GAMES THEMSELVES:
— 10,500 athletes from 205 national Olympic committees
— 26 sports; 39 disciplines
— 34 venues around the U.K.
— 302 medal events
— 8.8 million tickets
— 21,000 media and broadcasters
THE TORCH:
— 8,000 torchbearers to carry the flame across Britain and Ireland
— 8,000 miles (12,785 kilometers ) : Length of the torch relay
— 300 meters: Average distance each torchbearer has the flame
— 95 percent: Portion of the U.K. population within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of the flame
THE PUBLIC:
— 1 billion visitors to london2012.com
— 14 million meals to be served at the games
— 70,000 volunteers
— 2,012 official pin badge designs
— 28 "Olympic live sites" across nation with big screen televisions
— 203,000 pieces of luggage leaving Heathrow on Aug. 13, the day after the Olympics end
EQUIPMENT
— 1 million pieces of equipment
— 600 basketballs
— 541 lifejackets (canoeing, marathon swimming, rowing, sailing, and triathlon)
— 510 adjustable hurdles for track events
— 356 pairs of boxing gloves
— 99 training dolls for wrestling and judo
— 53 sets of lane ropes for swimming
ATHETES VILLAGE
— 45,000: number of meals served there per day
— 165,000: number of towels
— 22,000: number of pillows
SECURITY
— 12,000 police officers on duty on the busiest days
— 23,700 security personnel, not including police
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