THE London 2012 Olympics are just one year away and the countdown to the sporting event of the century has begun.

The venues are almost completed, sports fans have snapped up tickets and organisers are getting ready for the deluge of people who will swamp the area between July 27 and August 12 next year.

Stephen Castle, the councillor responsible for Essex’s contribution to the Games, wants to see businesses, residents and schools getting playing their part.

He said: “People are really positive and excited about the Games coming to Essex, with the mountain biking being held in Hadleigh.

“It’s about making sure we make the most of the opportunities on offer.”

There will be thousands of people travelling through Essex after flying into Stansted and Southend airports, hotels, shops and restaurants are preparing for a rush of trade and tourists are likely to flock to the county’s parks and landmarks to experience British culture.

Journalists from across the world are expected to descend on Essex in the build-up to the Games. There will be 20,000 accredited reporters covering sports events and the same amount of unaccredited press hunting out news stories – focusing on the UK as host nation.

Mr Castle said: “Before Beijing there were a lot of television programmes about Chinese culture and history shown over here, and other countries will be doing the same about us.

“Journalists will be desperate for a story and we will be providing stories about Essex for the media.”

He expects the immense amount of media coverage to put Essex on the map and bring tourists in to the area for years to come.

Olympic fever will hit Essex in the run-up to the Games, when the Olympic torch visits the county as part of a nationwide relay.

The flame will stop in Chelmsford for an evening celebration on July 6 next year and pass through other Essex towns on its way, although a detailed route has yet to be confirmed.

Mr Castle added:“We’re discussing the route at the moment. We hope to make an announcement in the autumn about where it will stop. We are committed to getting the torch to as much of Essex as possible.”

A study carried out in 2005 estimated Essex businesses would rake in £140million from sub-contracted work linked to the games.

But Mr Castle said the economic impact on the local economy would be “significantly bigger” due to inflation, Hadleigh hosting an event and the fact the London 2012 budget has risen from a predicted £2billion to nearer £9billion.

He said: “We’ve been meeting people involved in hosting the Sydney 2000 Olympics and Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics and learning lessons about how to make the most out of it.”