London 2012 stadium unveiled

By Avril Ormsby

LONDON (Reuters) - The London 2012 main Olympic stadium will be a "simple, but clever bowl", organisers said as they unveiled its design on Wednesday.

The 80,000-seater stadium, which will cost 496 million pounds, is not spectacular, designers said, but will offer a unique and "very tight, very compelling bowl".

The track and field area and lower tier of seating for 25,000 people will be sunk into the ground. The higher section, seating 55,000 people, will be taken down after the Games.

Food outlets and villages will also be on the so-called stadium island, which will be surrounded by water on three sides.

Media reports had suggested a roof would only cover VIP areas, but Rod Sheard, senior principal for the Team Stadium consortium of architects and builders, said two-thirds of spectators will be covered.

He said the design does not scream from the rooftops, and would not have a spectacular arch such as Wembley stadium in north London, but would impress with its complexity, and will help provide a special atmosphere.

"It is a very tight, very compelling bowl," he said.

"The atmosphere in this bowl, we think, will be pretty special."