This work was commissioned by the Health and Safety Executive to provide an understanding of the potential hazards and risks associated with hosting the Olympic Games in Great Britain in 2012, as well as potential control measures that could be applied to these. The literature search yielded 384 papers, of which 80 met the inclusion criteria. These papers were then reviewed by the research team and summarised by emergent topics. The topics included: construction, public health and safety risks, road accidents, injuries, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), crowd safety, emergency planning and response, volunteers, workplace violence, fire safety, electrical hazards and carbon monoxide/gas safety.

Each of the topics is summarised by the risks identified from previous Olympic events and major sporting events, followed by controls that were applied or identified as potentially useful. The controls often provided practical ways to reduce risks, or to mitigate negative outcomes.