A timeline detailing the history of the Olympic Stadium:

- July 2009

Then prime minister Tony Blair and his Olympics minister Tessa Jowell are forced to defend claims that the stadium, in Stratford, east London, would not have a strong legacy after a London Assembly committee claims the construction is in danger of becoming a “white elephant” because a long-term tenant to help maintain it has not been found.

- November 2009

Chairman of Wembley Stadium David Bernstein predicts the venue - which is expected to be shrunk from an 80,000-seat to a 25,000-seat stadium after the Games - is unlikely ever to rival Wembley which has long-term contracts with the Football Association and the Rugby Football League.

The Olympic Stadium’s future post-2012 is still unclear, beyond a promise that it will have an athletics track and will be available for community use.

- March 2010

West Ham United and Newham Council announce they are working on a joint bid to take over the stadium after the Games. The partnership would involve staging football and athletics at the venue as well as opening it for cultural and educational use.

Rumours are rife that rugby and Twenty20 cricket could also be interested in using the venue.

Olympic legacy chief Baroness Ford says wrangles over its tenancy after the Games must finish by the end of this year. She tells MPs that a public consultation process will be used to help decide on the successful applicant while insisting that the bid pledge of having a Grand Prix athletics track must be met.

UK Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee says it would be “a joke” if the premises is not left as a world-class track and field venue after 2012.

- September 2010

Len Duvall, chairman of the London Assembly’s economic development, culture, sport and tourism (EDCST) committee, claims London 2012’s key pledge to shrink the stadium into a 25,000-seater athletics arena is “flawed” and has already hampered attempts to try to secure the venue’s long-term use.

- October 2010

Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur make a surprise last-minute joint bid with sport and entertainment giant AEG to be an anchor tenant but its plans will not include an athletics track. Later that month, UK Athletics announces its formal support for West Ham’s bid to move to the stadium.

- November 2010

Tottenham and West Ham are shortlisted by the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) as the two final bidders in line to take over the Olympic Stadium.

- February 2011

West Ham wins its bid to move into the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Games. The unanimous decision was made after a vote by 14 members of the OPLC board at a special meeting where the future of the venue was the only topic.

- March 2011

Lawyers for Tottenham Hotspur send letters to key organisations involved in the decision raising a “number of concerns” over the selection process.

- April 2011

Tottenham Hotspur take the first step in their legal battle to challenge the decision to hand the Olympic Stadium to West Ham United. In a statement, Tottenham said: “The club has today sought permission from the High Court to bring a claim against the London Borough of Newham for judicial review of Newham’s process in providing a loan for the conversion of the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Games.”

League One football club Leyton Orient also launch a High Court challenge against Newham Council for arranging a �40 million loan to finance West Ham’s move to the stadium after the 2012 Games.

- June 2011

The bids by Tottenham and Leyton Orient for a judicial review to block West Ham’s move to the Olympic Stadium are rejected by a High Court judge.

- July 2011

OPLC employee Dionne Knight is suspended from her job after it was discovered she was working as a consultant for West Ham United during the Olympic Stadium bid.

West Ham United take legal action against Tottenham Hotspur and The Sunday Times over allegations surrounding the validity of the Olympic Stadium bidding process.

The OPLC announces two independent investigations into the controversy surrounding Ms Knight’s suspension.

- August 2011

Auditors Moore Stephens complete a report on whether the OPLC’s procedures surrounding the stadium bid could have been compromised. It finds they were not compromised.

- October 2011

The government announces that the Olympic Stadium deal with West Ham and Newham Council has collapsed.