Organizers of the London 2012 Olympics unveiled today the plans for their Olympic stadium. While Beijing has designed an ornate bird's nest stadium for their 2008 Olympics, London's design has been described as more "cautious".

The London stadium's chief architect, Rod Sheard, said, "This is not a stadium that's going to be screaming from the rooftops that it's bigger and more spectacular. This is just a cleverer building. This is a cleverer solution."

The 80,000 seat Olympic coliseum-style stadium is being designed to continue to be used once the Olympics have gone. The stadium, which will be built in Stratford, east London, will be designed so that it can continue to be used on a smaller scaler, by scaling the capacity down to 25,000 after the Games. The stadium will then become a multi-purpose venue with athletics as its major use. However, no tenant, such as a football or rugby club has yet been found.

Permanent seating in the stadium will be built on a concrete bowl, which will be sunk into the ground. The architects are hoping that this tight design will help to bring spectators closer to the action, and create an electric atmosphere.

Additionally, the stadium will provide cover for two-thirds of the spectators with a cable-supported roof. A fabric curtain will also wrap around the structure, providing additional protection and shelter for spectators.

The cost of the stadium was estimated to be £280 million (over $589 million) back in 2004. However, the budget has now ballooned to a staggering £496 million, or around 1 billion USD.

David Higgins, the chief executive of the Olypmic Delivery Authority, has blamed the nearly doubled cost of the stadium on inflation and VAT (Value Added Tax).

Actual building on the stadium will start three months ahead of schedule, beginning in April 2008. Completion is estimated for 2011, which will allow for test events before the Olympic Games come into town.