Princess Diana's death caused an unprecedented outpouring of grief in England. A woman who did not always find life easy, mother of a future king, Diana had worked her way in to the nation's heart and soul.

The Paralympic Games owe a huge debt to their founding father, Dr Ludwig Guttmann. Dr Guttmann had an unwavering belief that sport could change both patients’ perceptions of themselves and shift medical and public thinking about the potential of disabled people.

Weightlifting first appeared as an Olympic sport in Athens in 1896. Launceston Elliott won a Gold Medal for the Heayweight One Hand Lift event and Silver for the Heavyweight Two Hand Lift at that first modern Olympic Games.

The Olympics has three disciplines in this sport - Beach Volleyball, Sitting Volleyball and Volleyball all of which demand agaility, speed and strength from competitors. The fast pace of Volleyball - played in teams of six, with teams of two for Beach Volleyball - makes it a great spectator sport.

A few weeks after Wimbledon 2012 the courts open up again for the London Olympics tennis events. The grass courts will see men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles and mixed doubles, likely to be played by many of the stars who graced Wimbledon's courts a few weeks earlier.

Sailing, originally called Yachting, first appeared as an Olympic sport in 1900. London 2012 Olympic sailing takes place at Weymouth and Portland and incorporates six men's and four women's events.

Rowing has been an Olympic sport for over a century, debuting at the Paris Olympic Games in 1900. Olympic 2012 Rowing events take place on lake at Eton Dorney near Windsor – the site has a huge lake amidst hundreds of acres of parkland.

Hockey's first Olympic appearance was at the 1908 Games in London. Great Britain saw this as a wonderful opportunity to pursue a sport embedded in national consciousness, and put up a team for each of the four constituent nations – England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Olympic Handball is played on an indoor court measuring 40 metres long by 20 metres wide, with goals which look similar to football goals at either end. Handball originated as an outside sport and this was how it first entered the Games, named Field Handball, in 1936.

Gymnastics has three disciplines – Artistic Gymnastics, Rhythmic Gymnastics (a women only Olympic event) and Trampolining. Women in particular often reach their peak in this sport whilst young, as gymnastics requires incredible flexibility and strength.