London's year as sporting host

As 2011 draws to a close, 2012 will truly be a year of sport for the UK capital.

But it's not only the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games that will have sports fans jumping for joy. There's a host of other sporting events planned, many of which will be held at official Olympic venues from January all the way through to Games time on 27 July.

Oympic test events and qualifiers will enable the public to experience sports ranging from gymnastics to diving whilst new fixtures for London include a Grand Sumo tournament, taking place at the Royal Albert Hall from 13-17 June.

The British Swimming Championships will take place at the Olympic Park Aquatic Centre from 3-12 March and a National Lottery Olympic Park Run will test the park's capacity for large crowds on 31 March.

High profile international events returning to London during Olympic year include an NFL clash at Wembley in October and the Heineken Cup Final at Twickenham on 19 May.

Tickets for the London Prepares series of Olympic test events can be purchased from Ticketmaster.

To download a full calendar of sporting activity in London during Olympic year, click here.

Sir Michael Caine wins London's Favourite Londoner

The highlights of the 2008 Visit London tourism awards included being in the presence of greatness. Sir Michael Caine was voted London's Favourite Londoner. He was on hand to pick up the award. Check out his acceptance speech below.

The Royal Albert Hall looked amazing and really impressed as an awards ceremony venue. As did hosts Johnny Vaughan and Lisa Snowdon, who formed a great presenter double-act.

From my box at the ceremony, I was able to snap some photos,which today have been published by Conference & Incentive Travel magazine. To see the snaps of the venue, entertainment including Right Said Fred, plus the presenters and party Click Here

For a full-list of the winners, as published on the Visit London Website, Click Here

Visit London Awards: Deadline 20 August

London’s tourism businesses have less than two weeks left to complete their entries, which close on 20 August. The awards, which are free to enter, have 14 categories to showcase innovation in marketing, new product development and excellence in customer care, or action taken to reduce carbon footprint.

The awards span a whole range of industry services including: accommodation providers, restaurants, events organisers and attractions. The deadline for the awards is 5pm on 20 August.

The Visit London Awards, are running in association with the Enjoy England Awards for Excellence and are the highlight of the tourism calendar which recognise and reward excellence in London tourism.

The 2008 awards include categories such as Best Business Venue and Best Business Event of the Year. There are also more tourism-related awards such as Best Budget Accommodation, Best Tourism Experience and the highly coveted Visitor Attraction of the Year award. Businesses can enter as many categories as they feel relevant.

A large panel of London experts have been invited to judge the awards (I was a judge last year - still waiting for the call!) with each entry having up to three awards per category: Gold, Silver or Bronze. A complete list of award categories and entry requirements can be found on Visit London's website.

The winners will be announced at an Awards Ceremony taking place on Thursday 27 November at one of London’s most iconic venues the Royal Albert Hall.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I'm the contributing editor for Visit London's new Event organisers website.