The sights and sounds of London 2012 are getting closer and closer. Soon – very soon – the BBC Big Screens already set up in 22 cities around the British Isles will fill with live Olympic and Paralympic action, and the squares and streets and parks around those screens will teem with activity and music.In the last few weeks, some vivid details have begun to emerge as to how the Games will connect with the wider, non ticket-bearing public.For BT London Live, ironically, it is Blur who have given one of their iconic projects a hard edge.

and six sports participation areas which will enable visitors to have a go at athletics, handball, hockey

By David GoldFebruary 26 - Great Britain Hockey has announced that the women's team will be hosting the

chief operating officer Sally Munday said: "The Investec London Cup is a jewel in the crown for hockey

It forms a key part of our Hockey Nation programme, as we look to inspire people on the back of the good

With six of the best teams in the world on show, plus opportunities to pick up a hockey stick and try

We will also see the Investec South African women's hockey team take on Investec sponsored Great Britain

nbsp;Olympians to take centre stage at London CupApril 2011: London Cup set to see world-class hockey

By David GoldFebruary 25 - British hockey star Simon Mantell (pictured) says that the team have a "massive

think about it.One advantage the 27 year-old says Britain have is that they have been training at the Hockey

By David Gold in SochiFebruary 17 - A new rail-air terminal at Sochi international airport, which takes commuters to Sochi and Adler, has been opened as preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics continue.

cluster of alpine ski venues at Rosa Khutor with coastal venues like the Olympic Stadium and the ice hockey

By Tom DegunFebruary 16 - Dagestan's bid to host the 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games has received a significant boost after Valentina Matviyenko (pictured), the chair of the Federation Council of Russia and the country's highest-ranked female politician, backed it.

other important sporting events including the 2013 World Athletics Championships and the 2015 World Ice Hockey

Ennis back from injury to win the World Championships in 2009; Danny Kerry has taken the GB women's hockey

judo gold in Sydney and Athens and is now a member of the Japanese parliament.The former Russian ice hockey

By David Gold in SochiFebruary 13 - Sochi 2014's Year of Music has got underway, with a performance by Yuri Bashmet (pictured) and The Soloists of Moscow being the highlight so far, as construction workers enjoyed a half hour show at the Bolshoi Ice Palace.

Olympiad at the Bolshoi venue set for completion in just over a year's time.The 12,000 capacity ice hockey

cluster on Sochi's beach and will be covered with a dome when complete, comprising an area larger than 12 hockey

and growth, along with being the magnet that attracted millions of American kids into gymnastics, ice hockey

By David GoldFebruary 12 - The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has confirmed that 33 nations

storiesJanuary 2012: Putin calls for players to be released from NHL for Sochi 2014February 2010: Hockey

By Tom DegunFebruary 11 - Today will mark exactly 200 days to go to the Paralympics, when around 4,200 athletes from over 140 countries will compete across 20 sports in what will be the largest Paralympic Games ever.

managed by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority.It will be home to Lee Valley Tennis Centre and Lee Valley Hockey

elite athletes with extensive community use, outreach and sports development programmes.Lee Valley Hockey

By Tom DegunFebruary 11 - Work has been completed on Eton Manor (pictured) at the Olympic Park in Stratford, the venue for wheelchair tennis during the Games, it has been announced.

managed by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority.It will be home to Lee Valley Tennis Centre and Lee Valley Hockey

elite athletes with extensive community use, outreach and sports development programmes.Lee Valley Hockey

By Tom Degun at the Youth Sport Trust National Conference in TelfordFebruary 9 - Tickets for the conclusion of the 2012 School Games finals on May 9, which will see around 1,600 of Britain's top young sports stars compete at the Olympic Park just two months before the start of London 2012, are set to be all snapped up with just 2,499 of a possible 30,580 remaining, it has been claimed.

held in twelve current and future Olympic and Paralympic sports of fencing, rugby sevens, gymnastics, hockey

firefighter; Todd Eldredge (pictured above), a three-time Olympian in figure skating; Angela Ruggiero, a hockey

ballot by the IOC on June 16, 1995 in Budapest.When 52,000 fans saw the 1980 United States Olympic ice hockey

enters a new era of success and restoration and Scherr the new commissioner of the National Collegiate Hockey

By David GoldFebruary 5 - Britain claimed a historic silver medal in Rosario, Argentina at the Champions Trophy but were beaten 1-0 by the hosts in tonight's final.

TrophyJanuary 2012: Britain take 3-1 victory over China in Champion's TrophyJanuary 2012: Women's GB hockey