The unrest in London should not adversely affect preparations for the 2012 Olympic Games, the British Olympic Authority said Tuesday.
Riots have spread to Hackney, an Olympic host borough just a few miles away from the main Olympic site at Stratford. There were no reports of damage to the Olympic site.
However, the troubles could hardly have come at a worse time: sports chiefs from almost 200 countries were descending on the capital Tuesday for the Chef de Missions seminar to discuss next year's preparations.
Olympic organizers were going ahead with a series of events to prepare for the 2012 Games, The Associated Press reported.
A women's beach volleyball tournament began as scheduled at Horse Guards Parade, with players in bikinis competing on a specially made sand court a short distance from Prime Minister David Cameron's 10 Downing Street residence.
Organizers decided to use two courts instead of one for Tuesday's 12 matches so that play could finish 90 minutes early, allowing spectators and staff to leave before dark.
London will not have made a great first impression on the visitors, but the BOA's director of communications Darryl Seibel insists the damage can be limited.
He even thinks that sport could heal some of the wounds caused by the current violence.
"It makes an Olympic Games and a Paralympic Games all the more important," he told Sky Sports. "We need a reason to come together."
Seibel believes that next year's Olympics will be safe and that the police will prevent any trouble sparking up. "We know the level of work and we know the level of planning that has gone into it," he said.
"[The riots are] a reflection of the world we live in today," he added. "This is not a reflection of London."
Other scheduled test events this week include a marathon swimming competition at Hyde Park on Saturday and a cycling road race that will go through the streets of London on Sunday. The world badminton championships are taking place at the Olympic venue of Wembley Arena in north London.
Olympic men's badminton champion Lin Dan of China said he took some precautions amid the unrest.
''I just aimed not to go along the street too much,'' he said through an interpreter. ''It was all right.''
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
