Michael Johnson, a former Olympic 200-metre and 400-metre champion from the US, will sprint on a temporary track in the 80,000-capacity main stadium. British cyclist Chris Hoy will take a spin at the velodrome. Former NBA player John Amaechi will shoot a few hoops at the basketball arena.“We’re not just the next games,” organising committee president Sebastian Coe said in an interview with The Associated Press. “We’re the next big global event. The World Cup is out of the way. That’s where the world is coming. There’s nothing else between us and the games.”

Despite a severe economic crisis and government budget cuts, London looks firmly on track to deliver in 2012. The external building work of key arenas is finished, sponsorship revenues are on target, plans are in place to ensure lasting use of facilities, and British politicians, media and the public remain largely on board. Olympic organisers are under scrutiny as the coalition government carries out £40 billion ($61 billion) in public spending cuts to trim the record budget deficit. The government recently ordered relatively modest cuts of £27 million ($41 million) in the budget of the Olympic Delivery Authority, the body responsible for building the venues. The overall construction and infrastructure budget stands at £9.325 billion ($14.3 billion).

Coe’s separate privately financed organising committee budget is £2 billion ($3 billion), raised from sponsorships, television fees, ticket sales and merchandising. The largest cost is going toward the development of the 2.5-square-kilometre (1-square-mile) Olympic Park in the Stratford area of east London. A deprived industrial area of the capital is being transformed into a new complex that will be turned over to the public after the games. Sports and Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson said Olympic funding is not “ring-fenced” or immune from further cuts. Coe said the Olympics have already had an economic spinoff by providing £6.5 billion ($10 billion) of construction work, employment for 10,500 workers at the Olympic Park and 700 million pounds ($1 billion) of various contracts.

Coe said organisers have raised more than £600 million ($925 million) toward their target of 700 million pounds ($1 billion) in domestic sponsorships—a figure that organising committee chief executive Paul Deighton has called “gravity defying.” The work in the Olympic Park is impressive: “the structure and roof covering of the Olympic Stadium is complete and seats are being installed at the rate of 700 a day. Next up will be fitting out the venues to get them ready for spectators and test events.” Coe is urging the public to sign up for the volunteer programme and put their names down for tickets, which will go on sale next year. Using a sporting analogy, Coe —a former two-time Olympic champion and middle-distance great—said organisers have reached the 400-500 metre mark of an 800-metre race and are entering the back straight or “killing zone.”