The Summer Olympics are perhaps the most iconic of the Olympic games. Since the first summer games in Athens, Greece in 1896, the Winter, Paralympic and Youth games have been added, making the Summer Olympics the first and arguably the most popular of the Olympic games.

The 2012 Summer and Paralympics will be held in London beginning July 27th and lasting nearly 60 days. Since 1988, the Paralympics has been held in the same year and location as the Summer Olympics and so the 2012 Paralympics games will be also be held in London. This is the first year however, where both events have been planned and executed simultaneously. In 2012, 26 Summer Olympic sports will take place in 34 venues and 20 Paralympics sports will be seen in 21 venues. More than 9 million tickets will be sold and thousands of athletes that are set to compete.

Click here to access the official webpage of the 2012 Summer and Paralympics Games in London.

Planning for the Summer Olympics can take as long as nine years because of all the planning, scheduling, raising money and organization an event of this magnitude entails. As such, London has been planning and preparing for the games for years, with plenty of work still to do. This means there are a wealth of jobs available for full time, part time, temporary and volunteer workers who want to be involved in the Summer Games.

Summer Olympic and Paralympics Jobs

The Summer Games is put on by two key organizations, The London 2012 Organizing Committee and the Olympic Delivery Authority. Take a closer look at the two best avenues for finding jobs with the Summer Olympics in addition to a number of volunteer opportunities.

LOCOG

The London Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympics Games (LOCOG) is the primary organization responsible for planning the 2012 games. During the games it is estimated that 100,000 people, including 70,000 volunteers, 3,000 permanent staff members and a large number of contractors will be employed through LOCOG.

There are a large number of jobs available right now for work with LOCOG and some of the best work opportunities for the Summer Games can be accessed through their site. Many of these jobs are contract positions while others represent full-time employment. Because of the scale of the Olympics it is impossible to list every kind of job available, but finance, planning, security, event management, recruitment directors, volunteer coordinators, crowd safety managers, sponsor liaisons and IT crew are just a few of the paid positions now available. Most of the jobs with the LOCOG are located in Canary Wharf, London so being available onsite is an important factor to consider when applying for 2012 Summer Olympic employment.

To upload your resume, search for jobs or to access jobs for the 2012 Summer Olympics, check out the LOCOG hiring center. All types of jobs and positions are listed, with descriptions, job qualifications and job information.

Olympic Delivery Authority

Jobs with the Olympic Delivery Authority can be accessed through their official hiring and job information site. The site includes information on benefits and programs such as work placements for temporary hire and experience in events.

The Olympic Delivery Authority is charged primarily with building permanent and expanding on, existing venues. Additionally, the Olympic Delivery Authority is also planning changes made to London's infrastructure in order to make transportation easier for the large influx of people expected when the games take place.

Many of the jobs with the Olympic Delivery Authority are construction, architecture, design and labor jobs. The large increase in work provided by the Olympic Delivery Authority means an influx in job training and careers in construction for the thousands of newly employed workers contributing to the project. Many of these workers are London-area residents. To learn more about the ODA, and to find jobs available with the Olympic Delivery Company, check out their hiring and employment opportunities website for the 2012 Summer and Paralympics Games.

Volunteering

The 2012 Olympic Games are successful not only because of the many employees who work to make it possible but because nearly 70,000 volunteers dedicate their time to the pre-planning and execution of the Olympics. Working as a volunteer is an excellent way to gain event job experience and contribute to one of the most significant sporting events in history.

Volunteer positions are available in a variety of different areas. Language services, technology, press operations, transport, sport and medical are just to name a few. There are even volunteer opportunities for families in the London area to offer up their homes and extra bedrooms to house athletes who will be traveling to the region for the games. A full Volunteer Program, including training for volunteers is already underway for the Summer Olympics in London.

To learn more about how to volunteer for the 2012 Summer Olympics, check out the online Volunteer Program website for instructions and a list of positions that need to be filled.

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