A summer of sport in Newcastle

So the Olympics is now well underway. We have to say, we all loved the Opening Ceremony - it was simply spectacular! Although no one can quite understand why the Queen looked so glum after being given the opportunity to jump out of a helicopter with James Bond, something that I'm sure most of us would pay good money to do! It was nice to see Becks get his moment after the Team GB snub as well, and what a moment it was for the 37-year-old, who cemented his place as a national icon transporting the Olympic flame along the Thames by speedboat, with fireworks shooting off overhead. He looked pretty dapper to. The next Bond perhaps? Maybe we're getting ahead of ourselves…

Anyway, let us not forget that the Olympics are primarily about the sport and so, with that in mind, here is a look at some of the best summer sporting events scheduled in our very own Newcastle over the coming weeks and months. There's still even a chance to watch some of the Olympic action taking place in the city, so stop what you're doing, get your tickets and book into Newcastle hostels now! Then come back and read the rest of this guide.

Lastly, a mention to all the athletes who have performed already and those who are yet to do so. And congratulations to Rebecca Addlington for her Women's 400m freestyle swimming bronze, Lizzie Armitstead for her silver in the Women's cycling road race and all involvd for the bronze in the men's team gymnastics and silver in the equestrian event. Before we crack on though, we just wanted to take a moment to highlight some of the Olympic athletes representing this great nation who hail from Newcastle and the surrounding area. #TeamGB.

The north-east's sporting success
Some 542 athletes have been selected to represent Team GB with several hailing from the north-east and areas in and around Newcastle. These include Sarah Clark (judo) from South Shields, Freya Murray (marathon runner) based in Newcastle, Ross Murray (1,500m runner) from Gateshead and Angie Winstanley-Smith (water polo) from South Shields, among dozens of others from the north-east. On the Paralympics team is Stephen Miller (club and discus) from Cramlington, who won gold at Atlanta 1996, gold and bronze at Sydney 2000, gold at Athens 2004 and silver at Beijing 2008.

Olympics football
Newcastle is one of nine venues outside of London hosting Olympic events, with several football matches taking place over the next two weeks at the iconic stadium St James' Park. Tickets are still available for some of the football games, so it's not too late to see if you can get involved in the action.

After today, the remaining games taking place in the city include a Men's Group C match between Brazil and New Zealand, with kick off at 2.30pm on August 1st. Then on August 3rd at 2.30pm, you can watch one of the Women's Quarter Finals at St James' Park, with the winners of Group G taking on the third place team from either Group E or F.

Then, finally, on August 4th, the venue will host a Men's Quarter Final at 5pm between the winners of Group C and runners-up of Group D. Group C consists of Brazil, Egypt, Belarus and New Zealand, while Group D comprises Spain, Japan, Honduras and Morocco. So this is looking like a good opportunity to see a certain Neymar in action!

Return of the Premier League
Of course Olympic football is all well and good, but everyone knows that the Premier League is when things get serious. After a sterling season last term, Newcastle FC will be looking to emulate and possibly even outdo their fifth-place finish (just outside the Champion's League spots!) with all home games scheduled to take place at St James' Park. Fans will no doubt be excited to see if any new signings line up for the season opener at home to Tottenham Hotspur on August 18th at 5.30pm, especially after the success of new boys Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse last year.

The Toon's next few home games are as follows: Aston Villa on September 2nd at 4pm; Norwich City on September 22nd at 3pm; and Man United on October 7th at 4pm. On top of all the league action, Newcastle will be embarking on a European campaign once more, having booked their place in the Europa League. There'll also be FA Cup and League Cup action to look forward to!

The Urban Games 2012
From August 17th to 19th, the Urban Games and Hip Hop programme will be taking place at Newcastle's Discovery Museum, Times Square and Grey's Monument, as part of the Cultural Olympiad. Competitions and performances will unfold across a variety of urban sport events, with dance and music competitions also taking place. Events include BMXing, Parkour, skateboarding, break dancing, rap and beatboxing, with medals up for grabs. There'll also be a Pro-Riders Trials Cycle competition so make sure to head along and watch the action.

Great North Run
Rounding out a spectacular summer of sport in Newcastle is the Bupa Great North Run, arguably the most iconic half marathon in the world. The event takes place over September 15th and 16th at NewcastleGateshead. Although entry to the 13.1 mile run is now closed, there is still an opportunity to get involved in the 5K run. Alternatively, head along to watch the participants as they make their way from Spital Tongues over the Tyne Bridge to Gateshead, then through South Tyneside and into South Shields, where the race ends.

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