More than seven years since London was awarded the 2012 Olympic Games, the wait is nearly over. 
London hopes its Games will be the greenest in history. The main Olympic stadium is built from just a tenth of the amount of steel used to build the Bird's Nest stadium for the Beijing Games in 2008. 
In the velodrome -- also known as "The Pringle" -- cyclists will race round a track made from sustainably-sourced Siberian pine. 
The athletes will be the story once the Games begin, however, and the world will be watching to see if Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt can retain his 100m, 200m and 4 x 100m relay golds, and his claim to being the world's fastest man. 
And as swimmers race beneath the sweeping curves of the Aquatics Center, the pressure will be on American Michael Phelps to replicate his success in the last Olympics, when he took home a record-breaking eight golds. 
The host nation's best hopes of gold medals may lie with Team GB's stars in sailing, rowing and cycling, including Bradley Wiggins, buoyed by his historic victory in the Tour de France last weekend. 
While the weather has threatened to be as much of a part of the story as the Games themselves, months of rain appear to be subsiding just in time for the opening ceremony. 
Armed military personel have been called in to beef up security after the Olympics' private security contractor failed to produce enough staff for the Games. 
And despite the objections of local residents in east London, the British military have installed missiles in fields and on top of apartment buildings to defend against potential terrorist attacks. 
The Olympic village was built from scratch in Stratford, east London, a former wasteland that was the industrial heart of the capital for years. 
And while not everyone in Britain is overjoyed about the Olympics -- some Londoners seeing it as an inconvenience, others as an expensive luxury at a time of austerity -- surely there will be few who won't cross their fingers for no rain on Friday. - The Opening Ceremony is Friday, but the first Games are played Wednesday
- Soccer is the first event, with British, American and other women in action
- Forecasters say the weather should improve after a rain-soaked summer so far
- Security issues have overshadowed preparations but authorities say safety will not be affected
Editor's note: Are you in London for the Games, or watching the event from elsewhere? Share the sights and sounds of the Olympics with CNN iReport.
London (CNN) -- The Opening Ceremony for the 2012 Olympics may not be until Friday, but for some athletes, the Games begin Wednesday.
British women take to the soccer field against New Zealand in Cardiff, Wales, the first of six women's soccer games around Britain Wednesday. Women from the United States, France, Japan, Canada, Brazil, Cameroon, South Africa, Sweden, Colombia and North Korea are all in action on what Games organizers are calling "Day -2."
Organizers got good news Wednesday morning, as border staff who had been planning to go on strike Thursday over job cuts called off the plan.
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One man's Olympic revenge London drivers, meanwhile, got bad news, as traffic restrictions went into effect. They're banned from special "Olympics Lanes" reserved for athletes and officials, and face a £130 ($200) fine for using them.
Read more: How to avoid London Olympic rush
The city's transportation agency, Transport for London, reported moderate traffic problems Wednesday morning as the rules went into effect.
While Britain's wettest June in more than a century may have cast a cloud over the final preparations for the Games, forecasters say the weather is now set to brighten.
More than 10,000 athletes from 205 countries are assembling in London for Friday's Opening Ceremony.
Every country will have at least one female athlete after Saudi Arabia included two women in its team for the first time, setting an important precedent for women's rights in the kingdom.
And with medals to be handed out in 26 different sports, there's always the chance of a shock upset or the emergence of a shining new talent to captivate the crowds.
Much of the cost of staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games has been met by British taxpayers, with the government overseeing £9.3 billion ($14.5 billion) of spending from the public purse.
Read more: London prepares for an Olympics to remember
According to its figures, the Games are currently under budget by some £476 million ($738 million).
London's Metropolitan Police Service, known as the Met, is undertaking what it says is its biggest-ever peacetime operation, running for 66 days across 1,000 venues, including sporting and cultural events, and making use of up to 9,500 police officers on the busiest days.
The government is deploying 18,200 troops -- many more than planned after private security contractor G4S announced it could not provide the 10,400 guards for which it had been contracted.
The Ministry of Defence is guarding the games with two warships, Typhoon jet fighters, Puma helicopters, and, perhaps most controversially, surface-to-air missiles placed on apartment buildings near the stadium, despite objections from residents.
Video: Olympic security staffing shortfall
CNN's Laura Smith-Spark and Erin McLaughlin contributed to this report.
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