100,000 to be interviewed for Olympic Games

Up TO 100,000 people will be interviewed to become a volunteer for the London 2012 Games, Sebastian Coe has revealed.

Over the next 14 months, a team of 2,500 interviewers will decide who will make up the 70,000-strong Games Maker volunteer team. Nearly 250,000 people have applied. Today's official opening of London 2012's selection centre at the ExCeL in east London will signal the start of the UK's biggest peace-time recruitment drive. Over 300 people a day will attend a selection event in the run-up to 2012 including a 30-minute interview and a chance to see an exhibition on Games volunteering.

Speaking as organisers threw open the centre's doors, the London 2012 chairman Lord Coe said they would be seeking people to "go beyond their personal best". He said: "We want the best of the best - that's what people are expecting of London. Our involvement is not an historic one. It is about added value. The interview process is a huge undertaking but vitally important to find the right people for the success of the London 2012 Games."

Another eight selection centres around the UK will be up and running between March and August 2011.

Organisers will take most of 2011 to contact would-be volunteers for interviews.

There are two types of volunteers required at the Games - around 50,000 volunteers will be needed for the Olympics and 20,000 for the Paralympics.