An evening of entertainment could give Londoners their first glimpse of the Olympic Stadium.

Around 40,000 tickets will go on sale on Thursday, March 15, for the event, which will feature celebrities and sports stars on May 5.

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has announced tickets will go on sale from 10am priced at £20 and £10 (concessions) available from www.ticketmaster.co.uk/londonpreparesseries The event, called ‘2012 Hours to Go: An Evening of Athletics and Entertainment’, will follow on from the British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) Visa Outdoor Athletics Championships taking place in the Stadium on the same day.

As members of the public arrive at the Stadium at 7pm, they will watch the final hour of the BUCS Visa Outdoor Athletics Championships’ evening session where competitors will join the ranks of previous BUCS champions including Perri Shakes-Drayton, Dai Greene and Hannah England.

The evening session will also include a series of UK Athletics Invitational events featuring some of Britain's best athletes who will be aiming for a place in Team GB this summer.

After the athletics has finished, a celebrity host will be joined by famous faces including Olympians and Paralympians for a series of stunts, games, challenges and prizes.

The 40,000 strong-crowd will be narrowed down to one lucky winner, who will be brought into the middle of the stadium to officially open the venue.

Seb Coe, chairman of LOCOG, said: "This is a great opportunity for people to experience the venue that will take centre stage this summer.

"As well as a great evening of entertainment, this will be an invaluable test and another warm-up event for the Olympic Stadium."

Information on the host, celebrities, schedule and prizes for the evening will be released in the coming weeks.