IN 100 days’ time the Olympic Games will begin and Weymouth and Portland is set to play a key role in the epic event.

Weymouth seafront will be the focal point for celebrations, with a free public Live Site where up to 15,000 visitors at a time can watch BBC coverage of the Olympics on two giant 60 square metre screens.

Next to ‘Weymouth and Portland Live’, will be an interactive sports arena where up to 2,000 people can try activities such as sailing, windsurfing, football, rugby, volleyball, cricket, bowling and kayaking.

Local Olympic organisers say it will be like ‘carnival day for a fortnight’ when the borough hosts the London 2012 sailing competition and attracts an estimated 60,000 visitors daily.

The seafront will also be the focal point for ‘Maritime Mix Cultural Olympiad by the Sea’ events.

More than the 80-plus cultural events taking place across the borough, including local people participating in the Coastal Voices mass choir project, borough school children welcoming the Olympic torch with the Moving Tides children’s procession, world-class theatre, earth science and art and musical performances – and 95 per cent will be free.

Other attractions around the Pavilion area will include the Weymouth Tower, Weymouth Bayside Festival and the innovative ICCI 360 arena for film, dance and music events.

Simon Williams, head of the borough’s 2012 Operations Team, said: “Really we’re on the last lap now.

“A lot of the preparations have been done. There’s still work to do but we’re in a good place ready to welcome the world both for the torch relay on July 12 and 13 and the start of the Games on July 27.

“The venue at the academy will clearly be a restricted site for the Olympic family, Weymouth seafront is where all the action is going to be for the Live Site and sports arena.

“There will also be the Weymouth Bayside Festival with a Jurassic coast exhibition, local foods, attractions and musical entertainment along with town centre, harbour and seafront attractions.

“We’re expecting it to be carnival day, every day, for two weeks.”

Mr Williams added: “There will be a lot of visitors spending money here, which will boost the local economy but most importantly it gives us the opportunity to showcase Weymouth, Portland and Dorset to the visitors and the billions watching the Olympics on television.

“In terms of legacy, we’ve already got the Relief Road, highway improvements, significant investment at Osprey Quay including the high-speed broadband which is an excellent legacy for future businesses.

“There’s been investment on the seafront by the local authorities and external bodies. We’ve had Heritage Lottery funding for the Wild About Weymouth project and Chesil Beach Centre on Portland.

“600 people have volunteered to be ambassadors, the smiling faces of Weymouth and Portland during the Olympics.”

A giant sandcastle, measuring four metres by two metres, was built on Weymouth beach to mark 100 days to the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games on July 27.

Gracie Tourgout, five, who was among children posing with the creation, said: “It’s 100 times bigger than me, it’s so great.”

Find out more at dorsetforyou.com/sailing2012

1st tickets

FOR the first time in its 112-year Olympic history, the sailing competition will be ticketed and 64,400 tickets have been bought for the sell-out event at Nothe Gardens.

The London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) has gained permission from the borough council to host the official spectator site on the Nothe peninsula for 4,600 people daily from July 29 and August 11.

The traditionally non-spectator sport will be made more accessible than ever before with live commentary, tracking devices on the boats, more cameras on the water and a medal race course held close to the shore.

Temporary structures and facilities needed to operate the ticketed site, such as toilets, perimeter fencing, marquees and tents for catering, are expected to be installed from mid-July, and some areas of Nothe Gardens may be restricted and fenced off.

LOCOG has committed to improving the existing toilets and footpaths in the gardens to ensure a legacy following the sailing events.