LONDON - Athletes should decide for themselves whether to attend next year's Olympic opening ceremony and the benefits are likely to far outweigh any disadvantages, London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe said on Tuesday.

UK Athletics head coach Charles Van Commenee has said that Britain's track and field team must not take part in the ceremony for their home Games because of the risk to performance in events.

"They would not go shopping for eight hours a few days before they compete, so why would you be on your feet for that length of time?," he said this month.

"Some are tempted because (it is a) once-in-a-lifetime experience, but in the end we are aware that performance is number one."

Coe, who won 1,500 gold in the 1980 and 1984 Moscow and Los Angeles Games without taking part in an opening ceremony at either, said London would be very different. "Most athletes come to the right decision," he told reporters as organisers prepared to celebrate the one year to go mark on Wednesday.

"I can understand someone like Charles Van Commenee wanting to make sure athletes perform at the very highest level. I think it's different in London, on this occasion.

"If you want athletes to be a part of the opening ceremony, you have to provide holding areas, places to sit, you just have to provide an environment that does not remotely eat into performance over the next two or so weeks," he agreed.

"Of course in London we have a big advantage because the village is actually in the park....the athletes are within walking distance."

Coe said taking part in the opening ceremony would be a major part of the Olympic experience for many of the more than 10,000 athletes arriving from around the world next year.

"That is one of the key memories they are going to take from London so we will make sure that the upside of being there (at the ceremony) is so much greater than any downside in hanging around and not being fed and watered properly and spending a long time - which of course won't happen because of the proximity of the village," he said.

"Traditionally the inhibitors have been what time in the evening do you have to get there, what time do you leave and ...get back to the village? We are in much better shape for just geographical reasons this time."