The 2012 British trials are “very unlikely” to be held inside the Olympic Stadium, according to UK Athletics.
The governing body says it would “absolutely love” to hold the trials - which will decide GB’s Olympic team - at the arena ahead of the Olympics.
But logistical issues, including preparations for the Olympic opening ceremony, are likely to bar the way.
“We’re pushing them as hard as we can but there are logistical constraints,” UKA chairman Ed Warner told BBC Sport.
The first test event inside the Olympic Stadium is set to be the 2012 British Universities (BUCS) championships.
The London Olympic organising committee (Locog) confirmed to BBC Sport there is unlikely to be space in the calendar for the British trials to be held at the stadium.
“What you’re likely to see is a non-elite athletics event as the first test event in the spring of 2012 and then a number of opportunities for Britain’s athletes to train in the stadium,” said Warner.
“Maybe we can put on a low-key competition or two, hopefully let the cameras in and show them [athletes] competing there.”
In relation to holding the British trials inside the stadium, he said: "It’s very unlikely that’ll happen, it’s just too close to the championships themselves.
"We would absolutely love to do that - the constraint we have is it’s not our stadium, it’s Locog’s stadium, and they’re trying to piece together a jigsaw which includes a whole lot of pieces.
"Clearly, we always hold our trials as close to a major championships as we can and they need to prepare an opening ceremony - which I’m sure, with [film director, who is overseeing the opening ceremony] Danny Boyle’s help, is going to be pretty lavish and will require quite a bit of preparation.
"We may not be able to get the trials in there but we’ve got to be sure we get our athletes comfortable with the feel of that track under their feet.
“The most important thing for us is home advantage. We will do all we can to ensure they’re comfortable with that stadium - they understand where the call room is, understand the distances from A to B, they’ve been on the warm-up track, they know what it’s going to be like in the cauldron of competition in August 2012.”
Phillips Idowu, Britain’s world and European triple jump champion, told BBC Sport: "It would be good for a lot of the athletes to get in there, try out the runways and track, and get that Olympic feel.
"But for me? I don’t want to go in the stadium until I need to go in and compete at the Olympics.
“If there’s a meet there I’ll do it but if not, it doesn’t make a difference to me. I’ll go in and do a job.”
British 110m hurdler Andy Turner added: "I don’t really want to go in there until I really have to. As it’s in London, you’re going to feel very at home anyway.
“I’d like to walk on a track where I’ve never been, out of my comfort zone. I want to just experience it on the day. I want it to be fresh when I go out there rather than having seen it before.”
But sprinter Joice Maduaka argued that holding the British trials at the stadium “would have been perfect”.
She said: "As an athlete you can’t concern yourself with things like that, we can’t influence the decisions.
“But it’s a shame, it would have been perfect obviously to give us a chance on that track - but the decision has been made.”
BBC experts Colin Jackson and Steve Cram believe athletes are unlikely to miss out if the British trials are not held at the stadium.
“I think it’s a wise decision. They can iron out any issues and make sure when the real event happens they can deliver it well,” said Jackson, who competed in four Olympic Games, winning 110m hurdles silver at the Seoul Games in 1988.
“It’s the magic of the Olympic games - you want to go there really fresh and get that atmosphere for the first time when you have to deliver that performance.”
Cram, a 1500m silver medallist at Los Angeles 1984 and a veteran of three Olympic Games, said: "All you’re really doing [at a test event] is showing the stadium can get spectators in, it’s not really about the athletics.
"When you go to the Olympic Games, if it’s too familiar a stadium it takes a little bit away from it being the Olympic Games.
“I’m sure the British athletes will have the chance to familiarise themselves with the Olympic stadium - you don’t have to have run in it, though.”