Olympic diving in Trafalgar Square?

A London Olympics featuring a diving competition in Trafalgar Square and swimming in the Millennium Dome might sound a bit far-fetched.

But a delegation from London's 2012 bid have picked up some spectacular ideas while visiting the World Swimming Championships in Barcelona.

The Spanish event is using a temporary 50metre pool housed inside the Palau Sant Jordi 12,000-seat stadium which hosted the gymnastics at the 1992 Games. The steel-panel structure takes 10 days to erect and seven to dismantle at a relatively modest cost of around £300,000.

Adopting similar technology would allow London to use some of the world's most famous landmarks as backdrops for the Games, as Barcelona did when staging its own diving event at the stunning mountain setting of Montjuic.

David Luckes, technical director of London's bid, has been in Barcelona and the innovative ideas have been backed by David Sparkes, chief executive of the Amateur Swimming Association.

He said: 'The technology here enables us to think outside the box. There is an opportunity to create something exciting without creating white elephants.