London ( CNN ) -- The Opening Ceremony for the 2012 Olympics may not be until Friday , but for some athletes , the Games begin Wednesday . British women take to the soccer field against New Zealand in Cardiff , Wales , the first of six women 's soccer games around Britain Wednesday . Women from the United States , France , Japan , Canada , Brazil , Cameroon , South Africa , Sweden , Colombia and North Korea are all in action on what Games organizers are calling `` Day -2 . '' Organizers got good news Wednesday morning , as border staff who had been planning to go on strike Thursday over job cuts called off the plan . London drivers , meanwhile , got bad news , as traffic restrictions went into effect . They 're banned from special `` Olympics Lanes '' reserved for athletes and officials , and face a Â£130 ( $ 200 ) fine for using them . Read more : How to avoid London Olympic rush . The city 's transportation agency , Transport for London , reported moderate traffic problems Wednesday morning as the rules went into effect . While Britain 's wettest June in more than a century may have cast a cloud over the final preparations for the Games , forecasters say the weather is now set to brighten . More than 10,000 athletes from 205 countries are assembling in London for Friday 's Opening Ceremony . Every country will have at least one female athlete after Saudi Arabia included two women in its team for the first time , setting an important precedent for women 's rights in the kingdom . And with medals to be handed out in 26 different sports , there 's always the chance of a shock upset or the emergence of a shining new talent to captivate the crowds . Much of the cost of staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games has been met by British taxpayers , with the government overseeing Â£9.3 billion ( $ 14.5 billion ) of spending from the public purse . Read more : London prepares for an Olympics to remember . According to its figures , the Games are currently under budget by some Â£476 million ( $ 738 million ) . London 's Metropolitan Police Service , known as the Met , is undertaking what it says is its biggest-ever peacetime operation , running for 66 days across 1,000 venues , including sporting and cultural events , and making use of up to 9,500 police officers on the busiest days . The government is deploying 18,200 troops -- many more than planned after private security contractor G4S announced it could not provide the 10,400 guards for which it had been contracted . The Ministry of Defence is guarding the games with two warships , Typhoon jet fighters , Puma helicopters , and , perhaps most controversially , surface-to-air missiles placed on apartment buildings near the stadium , despite objections from residents . Video : Olympic security staffing shortfall . CNN 's Laura Smith-Spark and Erin McLaughlin contributed to this report .
The Opening Ceremony is Wednesday , but the first Games are played Friday . Soccer is the first event , with American , British and other women in action . Forecasters say the weather should improve after a rain-soaked summer so far . Security issues have overshadowed preparations but authorities say safety will not be affected .