UK government meets at Olympic venue to mark 200-day milestone

To mark 200 days until the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games, British Prime Minister David Cameron held a meeting with his cabinet on court at the purpose-built handball arena. London will become the first city to host the Games three times when the action begins in July, having previously staged the Olympics in 1908 and 1948.

Cameron (center left) is joined by Olympic secretary Jeremy Hunt (far left), London mayor Boris Johnson (center right) and chairman of the London 2012 organizing committee Sebastian Coe in a stroll round the Aquatics Centre.

British diver and gold medal hopeful Tom Daley gives Johnson a taste of life on the high board.

A large clock in London's iconic Trafalgar Square counts down the days, hours, minutes and seconds until the opening ceremony begins on July 27.

A shot of the Olympic Park site in the Stratford area of east London from April 2006, shortly after construction work began.

The site had been completely transformed by December 2011, with the newly-constructed Olympic Stadium (right) the main attraction. This picture also shows the Aquatics Centre (far left), with the Water Polo Arena in the foreground. Also visible is the 115-meter high steel structure known as The Orbit.

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Holding court

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(CNN) -- The British government helped mark 200 days to the start of the London Olympics by holding a Cabinet meeting at the handball arena on Monday.

The politicians' top-level gathering on court in the 7,200-capacity stadium comes the day before the Olympic Delivery Committee hands over the Games venues to the London Organizing Committee (LOCOG).

"All credit to the people who have been involved in providing these venues, getting them done on time and on budget," Prime Minister David Cameron told reporters during a tour of the Aquatics Centre.

"The whole country can benefit from the legacy of the Games because of the inspiration they will bring to people young and old," Cameron added.

Quiz IOC president Jacques Rogge

The main building work has been completed, and LOCOG will now take over fitting out the nine arenas.

London Olympics 200 days away

On their list are a million pieces of sporting equipment including 510 athletics hurdles, 600 basketballs, 356 pairs of boxing gloves and 12 pairs of handball goalposts, plus scoring and timing devices.

Shopping and sponsors' areas also have to be created, along with 362 toilet blocks, picnic benches, ticket offices and waste bins.

"In just 200 days, 200 countries -- more than the membership of the United Nations -- will be sending 15,000 athletes and 20,000 accredited media to London to create history," LOCOG chief Sebastian Coe said.

"There is huge excitement ahead and we want the whole country to start planning their summer."

But it has not been all smooth progress, with the 2012 event's official ticket resale website still down due to technical problems.

Ticketmaster, the agency running it, has been told to fix issues affecting users since last Friday's launch which have meant tickets are listed on the site as available, but cannot be purchased.