Coventry City Council

The London 2012 in Coventry smartphone app has proved to be a global hit after passing the 20,012 downloads mark across more than 170 countries.

The free application has been developed by Coventry City Council to ensure residents and visitors to the city can make the most of their 2012 Games experience in Coventry.

Since its launch it has proved to be popular internationally with downloads in 177 of the 196 countries in the world. The highest number of downloads outside of the UK have come from India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the USA respectively.

The smallest country to have downloaded the application is Andorra on the French-Spanish border, which has a population of just 70,000. Other unlikely sources of downloads have been Swaziland, St Vincent and the Grenadine, Suriname and Djibouti.

John Mutton, Leader, Coventry City Council, said: “We are delighted at how popular the Coventry 2012 smartphone application has proved both locally and across the globe.

“We have always said the eyes of the world will be on Coventry as we prepare for our role as a London 2012 co-Host city and these download figures underline that fact.

“Interest in Coventry is only going to increase between now and July 25, when we become the first English city to host an Olympic event.

“This app is a fantastic platform for keeping residents informed of the London 2012 activity taking place in the region and attracting visitors to our city.”

The app, which is constantly and automatically updated, features all the London 2012 Olympic Football Tournament information, results and fixtures for men and women – including the 12 matches which will be played at the City of Coventry Stadium.

In addition, users can access details of a wide range of London 2012-related content including information on the Olympic Torch Relay route, details of Cultural Olympiad programmes, information on key events, tourist attractions and transport plus interactive maps showing key destinations in the city and a route planning function for most platforms.

The free app is available on most major smartphone platforms and also serves as an interactive guide to London 2012 in Coventry, listing all the events happening in the city during Games-time, such as sport on the Live Site Big Screen, the Olympic Torch Relay celebration event and includes links to buy London 2012 tickets.

Coventry City Council is the only local authority to have launched a London 2012 application for mobile devices and it is a test bed for understanding the potential of such systems for communications and real time engagement with citizens. It will also help determine how business opportunities might be further promoted and secured.

The app has been created for the council by local micro business Gemixin Ltd. It is simple to use and has a range of developmental possibilities that will help the council engage with citizens.

The mobile app is free and available to download for iOS, Blackberry, Android, Symbian, Windows 7, Bada and HP WebOS at www.coventry.gov.uk/smartapp

It is also expected to be made available for download from Apple’s App Store before July.