Organisers of the 2012 Olympics have announced the timetable for building the venues needed to host the Games.
Plans include an £80m 80,000-seater stadium to be built by June 2011 and a £650m Olympic village, which must be completed by December 2011.
This coincided with the launch of a search to find a team to design and build the stadium in east London.
David Higgins, of the Olympic Delivery Authority, was confident the targets would be met on time and on budget.
Many of the venues are to be completed a year ahead of the Games to allow for testing and “fine-tuning”.
Changed completion dates
Mr Higgins said: "I am confident provided we plan, and we are planning properly, we will finish on time.
"The key to a great Games is training and inducting and making sure volunteers and security staff have plenty of time to get used to the venues.
“This one year completion to allow test events is absolutely crucial to make it happen.”
He also explained that some completion dates had been moved back to avoid venues being completed and standing idle in the years before the Games.
In April tunnelling work began on the Olympic site in Stratford to route power cables needed before the venues are built on the 500-acre site.
Showcasing athletes
Sebastian Coe, chairman, London Organising Committee, said: "The Olympic Stadium will be the centrepiece of the Olympic Park.
“It must showcase the world’s best athletes for the best Games ever, but also be capable of being used for decades to come by the local community as a living legacy from the 2012 Games.”
But he said lessons had been learnt from the beleaguered £757m Wembley project, currently running a year over deadline.
He has said that planning, funding and land acquisition are “in place”.
Culture, Media and Sport Minister Tessa Jowell has pointed out that the International Olympic Committee has said London is further ahead in planning than any Olympic city has ever been.