Weren't they meant to be sold out? Day one of the Games sees banks of emptWeren't they meant to be sold out? Day one of the Gamesy seats at key venues

•Aquatics Centre and gymnastics arena just two of the venues with scores of empty seats•Locog to investigate after 'officials and media' leave seats unfilled•Lord Coe to 'name and shame' major sponsors who do not fill seats•Aquatics Centre sessions are almost completely sold-out•More tickets were released on Saturday night, but site crashed under the demandBy Chris ParsonsOlympic bosses have promised to investigate major sponsors after banks of empty seats were spotted at several sold-out Games venues today.Several high-profile venues, including the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park and the gymnastics arena in North Greenwich, had rows of empty...

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Britain fires up the world: London gets the 2012 Games under way with the Greatest Show On Earth (rounded off by Macca, of course)

By RICK DEWSBURY and IAN GARLANDThe Olympic Cauldron burns, lit by seven young athletes, chosen for their promise by British sporting legendsWe all wondered who would light the torch - and in the end the organisers sprang a surprise as seven teenage athletes lit copper petals - brought in by each of the 204 countries - which converged in spectacular fashion to form the cauldron in the middle of the Olympic Stadium.Outside the fireworks were equally impressive and could be seen for miles.Sir Steve Redgrave, five-time gold medallist was the champion chosen to conclude the torch's 8,000-mile journey round Britain, but there was no doubting the night's...

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Going fur gold: Guinea pigs take inspiration from London 2012 and take part in their own version of the Olympics for new calendar

-Furry rodents put into humorous sporting positions to celebrate Olympics-No animals were hurt in the making of this 2013 calendar-Designers used digital tricks to make the guinea pigs look like athletesBy Richard Hartley-parkinsonAs London makes its final preparations ahead of Friday's Olympic opening ceremony, it appears that it's not just humans getting into the Games spirit.This set of guinea pigs show that they also want a piece of the action as they take to the track, field and pools for a funny calendar to celebrate the event.Maverick Arts Publishing created a calender called the 'Guinea Pig Games - Going for Gold' and shows what our furry...

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