Boris Johnson and Lord Coe launch volunteer recruitment programme for 2012 Olympics

Boris Johnson and Lord Coe launch volunteer recruitment programme for 2012 Olympics

Mayor's 8,000 London Ambassadors will be 'the smiling, happy, proud face of London' and show visitors around the city

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, and Lord Sebastian Coe, chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, have launched the volunteer recruitment programme for the 2012 Games.

At an event held at St Pancras station in London this morning, Coe said volunteer candidates for specialist sport, press, anti-doping and medical roles, pre-identified with the help of organisations including sport governing bodies, could apply from today.

Johnson said the Mayor's London Ambassadors scheme, under which 8,000 volunteers will be recruited to help show visitors around the city, was also open.

"We want our volunteers to be the smiling, happy, proud face of London, without being irritating," he said. He said the 8,000 volunteers recruited under his scheme would be in addition to the 70,000 being recruited to work on the main Olympics site during the Games.

He said incentives to volunteer would include free travel on public transport in London, the use of a BlackBerry phone and the chance to be part of "the greatest Games ever".

The applications process for generalist volunteering roles on the main site will open on 15 September.