People in Norfolk are being urged to make the most of the opportunity to see the Olympics on home turf as the schedule for London 2012 is revealed.

The times, dates and prices to watch nearly 650 separate sports sessions at next year's London Olympic Games have been revealed so people can plan before applications for tickets open next month.

More than 2.2million people have already pre-registered for ticketing information and a total of 6.6m tickets will be available.

The very first event of the London 2012 Games will actually not take place in the capital but 150 miles away in Cardiff. That will be a women's football match at the Millennium Stadium at 4pm on July 25, two days before the Opening Ceremony.

An hour later, two other women's matches kick off, at Hampden Park, Glasgow, and in Coventry.

Apart from football, the Olympics will kick off with archery where hopefully Norfolk's Tom Barber will be action, providing he gets through the gruelling qualification and selection process this year and next.

Other Norfolk athletes to watch out for will be windsurfer Nick Dempsey whose event will get under way on the south coast in Dorset on July 30 and cyclist Emma Pooley who will be looking to better her silver medal in Beijing on August 1. Pooley, providing she is selected, will also be in action in the road race, which follows a route from the Mall to Surrey and back again, on July 29.

Barber, 19, from Harleston in south Norfolk, said it was an 'exciting' time now the schedule has been released.

'Seeing the Olympics in this country is a once in a lifetime opportunity for many people. People in Norfolk should be taking an interest and looking to be part of it whether that's volunteering or spectating,' he said.

'It's a good opportunity for people to get involved in different sports. It doesn't matter which sport they see - it might spark an interest in that sport and might make them take it up. In the future, they will be able to say that they took it up after seeing it while at the Olympics in this country.'

The ticket process will start on March 15 which will be 500 days before the opening ceremony on Friday, July 27, 2012.

Tickets will not be sold on a first-come, first-served basis but instead will be allocated at the end of a six week application period.

If sessions are oversubscribed, there will be an automated ballot. People will be notified whether their ticket application was successful at the end of June.

Meanwhile, interviews for volunteers have already got under way and Norfolk is still seeking teams to use its facilities as training venues.

• For the full Olympic Games schedule click the link at the top-right.