Michelle Obama will be travelling to London to attend the Olympic Games' opening ceremony, the White House announced.

The US First Lady is following in the steps of her predecessors Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush, who headed the American delegations to the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, and the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, respectively.

Mrs Obama will also attend a reception for Heads of State hosted by the Queen at Buckingham Palace and meet Prime Minister David Cameron's wife Samantha during the three-day visit.

She will also cheer on Team USA athletes as they compete at the Games.

Mrs Obama will lead the presidential delegation to the opening ceremony accompanied by Olympic and Paralympic greats.

Mrs Obama is set to host an event for about 1,000 US military children plus US and British students to try to get them interested and excited by the spirit of the Olympics.