There are two events on the Olympic program, a men's tournament and a women's tournament.

Each tournament features 12 teams divided equally into two pools.  Teams play round robin within their pool with the top four teams in each pool advancing to a single elimination playoff bracket.

Volleyball will be held at Earls Court in west London, a venue that first opened in 1937.

London 2012 Storylines:
Traditional women's powerhouse Cuba has not great results in recent years.  After winning gold in three straight Games (Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000), they took bronze in Athens 2004 and missed the podium in Beijing 2008.  The team finished 12th at the 2010 World Championships and failed to qualify for the 2010 World Grand Prix.
 
The American men produced one of the most emotional moments of the Beijing 2008 Games in winning gold for coach Hugh McCutcheon, whose father-in-law was stabbed to death while sightseeing in the Olympic city.  The team could not match that success in 2010, finishing 6th at the world championships in 8th in the World League.  McCutcheon now coaches the American women's national team.

Canada's Outlook:
Canada has not won an Olympic volleyball medal since first entering teams at the 1976 Games in Montreal.  The women's team last qualified for the Games in Atlanta 1996 while the Canadian men haven't been back since Barcelona 1992.

Both the men's and women's team face a tough road in trying to qualify for London 2012.  The men's team is coached by Glenn Hoag, a member of the 1984 Olympic team, and finished tied for last (19th) at the 2010 World Championships.  The women's team, led by former German women's national team assistant coach Arnd "Lupo" Ludwig, finished tied for last (21st) at the 2010 World Championships.

Other International Teams to Follow:

MEN

Brazil

• Won the silver medal in Beijing 2008 after taking the gold in Athens 2004
• Won gold at the last three world championships (2010, 2006, 2002) and won the annual World League in seven of eight years (2003-07, 2009-10)

Russia

• Won bronze medals in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 after taking silver in Sydney 2000
• Finished 5th at the 2010 World Championships but won the silver medal in the 2010 World League

Serbia

• Won the bronze medal at both the 2010 World Championships and 2010 World League
• Lost in the quarter-finals in Beijing 2008 but won World League silver in 2008 and 2009

WOMEN

Brazil

Won silver at the last two world championships (2010, 2006) and in the 2010 World Grand Prix
Won gold at the 2008 Olympic Games and in the annual World Grand Prix in five out of six years (2004-06, 2008-09)

United States

Won silver at the 2008 Olympic Games, the country's first women's volleyball Olympic medal since Barcelona 1992
Won gold in the annual World Grand Prix in 2010 and finished 4th at the 2010 World Championships

Russia

• Won back-to-back gold medals at the world championships in 2006 and 2010 but did not qualify for the 2010 World Grand Prix
• Lost in the quarter-finals in Beijing 2008 after winning silver medals in Athens 2004 and Sydney 2000