London’s Olympic pool opening starts countdown with a splash

International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge declared himself “a very happy man” after visiting the newly-completed swimming and diving arena in Stratford yesterday, exactly 12 months before the opening ceremony of Britain’s first Olympic Games in more than 60 years.

Mr Rogge described the £269 million arena as “a masterpiece” and applauded London 2012 organisers for completing the last of the six main permanent Olympic Park venues a full year before the Games are due to begin.

“London has done a great job,” he said. “I am confident London will deliver a great Games.”

All day yesterday the focus of the celebrations was Olympic Park, where 88 per cent of building work is now complete.

Last night teenage diver Tom Daley took the first leap from the high boards at the Aquatics Centre, where he is set to go for gold next summer.

A team of British synchronised swimmers had earlier christened the swimming pool – with a routine set to a soundtrack by Queen – while a group of local children were also given the opportunity to swim several lengths beneath the centre’s striking wave-like roof.

Welsh swimmer David Davies – a silver medallist from the 2008 Beijing Olympics and one of the British team’s principle medal hopes in 2012 – was another to test the water yesterday.

He said: “To actually step into the venue you are going to be competing in is something special. It is an amazing setting.

“I definitely got the buzz when I first walked in, and I can imagine all the Brits calling out for us here next year.

“When you’re hurting on the last length and you’re digging in deep and it’s neck-and-neck, you can definitely hear the crowds.

“There is going to be nothing bigger than this next year.”

Champion gymnast Beth Tweddle and several British athletes later attended an evening party at a packed Trafalgar Square.

Prime Minister David Cameron, who had earlier toured Horse Guards Parade – transformed with a layer of stand for a beach volleyball test event – was among the VIP guests at the celebration, which he described as “a great night for London, a great night for Britain”.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson later took to the stage, promising: “Mr President Rogge, the streets will be ready. The trains will be ready, the taxis will be ready, the theatres will be ready, the buses will be ready, the hotels will be ready, the bicycles will be ready.

“The Olympic venues are already so ready that we might as well call a snap Olympics tomorrow, and catch the rest of the world napping!”

London 2012 is set to be the UK’s biggest peacetime policing operation, and Mr Johnson said the IOC were “pleased and confident” with the security arrangements that were in place.

“People have asked me if there are any repercussions from what’s happened in Norway,” he said, referring to the terror attacks on Friday in which 76 people died.

“Obviously, we’re looking at that as carefully as we can, but we don’t think at the moment that there’s any particular reason to change our plans.”

Mr Rogge added that “everything humanly possible” is being done to make London 2012 safe for the general public.

The designs for the 2012 Olympic medals were also unveiled yesterday – created by acclaimed UK metalwork designer David Watkins.

Jonathan Edwards, Britain’s 2000 Olympic triple-jump champion and world record holder, was on the athletes committee which helped pick the designer from a field of 100 artistic hopefuls.

“We wanted something that would be representative of the effort and time that athletes had put in to produce this amazing performance,” he said.

“We wanted something that was a work of art, essentially, with creativity. I think we have got that.

“With a year to go, the image of these will go around the world and I think it will be a timely reminder of what is at stake.”