The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) has granted final approval of the all-weather footing that will be used at Greenwich Park during the equestrian events at the 2012 Olympic Games.

"With support from the FEI, the contractors and our own team have done a great job to get the make-up of the surface right, and we now believe this will be a world class surface for the equestrian athletes in a stunning Olympic venue," said Debbie Jevans, London Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) director of sport.

The final assessment took place on the main arena and involved two high-level competition horses working and jumping fences on the surface. The surface mixture of sand and fiber has been further improved by the addition of a binder. Approximately 8,500 tons will be used at Greenwich Park.

Also attending as FEI representatives were Technical Advisor Leopoldo Palacios, Jumping Technical Delegate Frank Rothenberger, and footing experts Oliver Hoberg and Bart Poels. Olympic jumping course designer Bob Ellis was also present. All were unanimous in their view that the footing that has been produced is of a quality that would be expected of an Olympic Games and performs consistently across the full extent of the arena, as well as on the training and warm-up areas