London's bid for the 2012 Olympic Games comes under scrutiny next week. The new Wembley Stadium forms part of the bid and Sports Editor Nick Loughlin visited the site which is due to open early next year.

AS Great Britain's Olympians prepare to meet and greet the IOC next week, another of the nation's sporting icons is standing proud in a corner of north London.

Wembley Stadium is growing by the day and on track to open in time for the FA Cup Final in 2006.

Whether that is on a Saturday or Wednesday next May remains to be seen, but the grand old lady will be reformed, reshaped and ready to reopen as one of the world's most striking sporting arenas.

Double gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes is one of a number of high profile athletes recruited by Lord Coe and his London 2012 team to woo the International Olympic Committee when they land in the capital on a four day inspection from next Wednesday.

After touring Madrid - car bombs and all - this week, the group who will decide where the 2012 Games will be held are heading for the capital city.

Dame Kelly and other sporting legends will be strategically positioned at various sites around the London.

Sir Steven Redgrave and Matthew Pinsent will guide the decision makers around the rowing facilities at Eton, while the likes of Daley Thompson, Chris Boardman and Pippa Funnell will be present. Dame Ellen MacArthur is the latest to show her support and that may prove a timely boost in the world of the five rings.

All five candidate cities will be visited - Paris, New York and Moscow are also in the frame - before publishing their final reports and the vital vote is in Singapore on July 6.

Wembley Stadium will stage both the finals in both the men and women's football tournaments if London's bid is successful.

Newcastle's St James' Park is in line to host part of the tournament.

The IOC team will inspect Wembley next week, a swift stop in between Eton and Lord's. The practice run has already taken place to make sure everything and everyone runs smoothly.

In politically correct Olympic circles, simply saying or doing the wrong thing could prove decisive.

But they have already indicated that they won't be willing to don the safety hats and wellington boots for a visit of the all-action building site.

If they don't, it's their loss.

Wembley has a rich history and it now has a rich future. The old arena, loved by some, reviled by many, had run its course.

Rightly or wrongly, the decision was made to rebuild on the same site and now it's taking shape.

The Twin Towers are no more, another point of controversy, but now we have the Wembley Arch.

Towering over the site and forged by Cleveland Bridge in Darlington, it is 133 metres tall, in excess of four times the height of the original Twin Towers and big enough for the London Eye to be rolled underneath.

According to Wembley officials, the record sighting of the supporting arch is from 34 miles away.

That's like being able to see the Angel of the North in Darlington.

Michael Cunnah, Chief Executive of Wembley National Stadium Limited, said: "When the stadium opens it will be a real show-stopper and we imagine demand for tours to see the inside of the state-of-the-art venue will be huge.

"The stadium is already looking fantastic and construction hasn't even been completed - I think the public will be totally bowled over when they see the new stadium - which is on a totally different level in terms of size and quality to what we had before.

"The public deserve a world-class national stadium and in Wembley they won't be disappointed."

Cunnah, a Sunderland fan, will know all about the transport problems encountered by anyone heading for Wembley from the North-East.

In 16 visits since his side's FA Cup win of 1973, no professional North-East side has triumphed there.

The Twin Towers couldn't be ripped down quick enough from a North-East point of view.

Getting away from Wembley was bad enough, after a defeat even worse. When the new site is open, the idea, according to Head of Commercial Operations and PR Jim Frayling, is to let the train take the strain.

"We know what it was like for fans after games, so we have worked closely with key agencies to co-ordinate the development for improved transport,'' he said.

"Roads, rail, bus and pedestrian routes are being upgraded. We are improving the three main stations - Wembley Park tube station, Wembley central station and Wembley Stadium station - to accommodate more passengers.

"What we would say to people coming from the North-East is to leave their cars at Birmingham or Milton Keynes and use the public transport from there. It will be quick and direct to the stadium.''

The site is planned to be finished and fully furnished by the turn of the year.

Presently there are a only handful of seats in place, enough for a gentle public relations exercise with the IOC and nothing more.

But the view from the upper echelons of the south stand and sheer scale of the project is frightening. Just like some tickets at Old Trafford carry a vertigo warning, those ill at ease with heights need not apply.

Each seat in the stadium has more legroom than the space afforded to guests of honour and those in the Royal Box in the pre-2000 Wembley.

The bowl design of the arena means everyone of the 90,000 spectators will enjoy an unobstructed view.

And, to try and encapsulate all that is grand about Wembley, the old presentation route is being recreated.

If not quite 39 steps - they've yet to count how many will be needed - the days of on-pitch stages needed for a trophy lift will be consigned to the continent.

Whether the Olympic Games take place on Europe mainland remains to be seen.

Paris are believed to be favourites, but London's bid is fast gaining momentum and belief.

The French capital was rated as untouchable, but now the favourites tag sits uneasy and London 2012 is looked upon more favourably - especially with Paris stuggling with the swimming facilities.

London was initially given a rough ride by sections of the English media, but bid chairman Lord Coe insisted: "Over the past few months, as I have travelled on behalf of the bid both in this country and abroad, I have been struck by the growing confidence and interest in our proposals.

"London's plans to combine the best of existing sporting venues, such as Wimbledon, Lord's and our great football stadiums, with a new state-of-the-art Olympic Park, are being seen as a great basis for hosting the Games in 2012.

"I work with a dedicated, talented and experienced team of men and women who, like me, know we can win.

"Our case is a strong one and as we continue our intensive preparations for the visit of the International Olympic Committee's Evaluation Commission this month our focus is clear and determined."