London 2012  

The city of London was the host of the Games of the XXX Olympiad. London was elected following four rounds of voting by members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the 117th IOC Session in Singapore, where London beat Paris in the final round.

Nine cities initially submitted applications to host the 2012 Olympic Games: Paris (France), Leipzig (Germany), New York (United States of America), Istanbul (Turkey), Havana (Cuba), Moscow (Russian Federation), London (Great Britain), Madrid (Spain) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). On 18 May 2004, the IOC Executive Board selected the five Candidate Cities. Listed in the official order of drawing of lots, these cities were:

   - Paris (France) 
   - New York (United States of America) 
   - Moscow (Russian Federation) 
   - London (Great Britain) 
   - Madrid (Spain)

The final decision on the host city for the Games of the XXX Olympiad was made by the full IOC membership during the 117th IOC Session in Singapore on 6 July 2005. London eventually triumphed by taking 54 votes from a possible 104. This gave London the majority that it needed to be elected as the host city for the 2012 Games. London had to overcome stiff competition, however, in the form of Paris, New York, Moscow and Madrid in its bid to get the Games.

117th IOC Session, 6 July 2005, Singapore:
Election of the Host City of the Games of the XXX Olympiad 

The London 2012 Games were centred around the Olympic Park in east London, which is the site of a number of new sports venues. Up to 180,000 spectators a day entered the Park to enjoy the Games, making it the principal focus of Olympic activity.  

The main venues – the Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre, Velodrome and BMX Circuit, as well as the hockey, handball and basketball arenas –  were easily accessible through a network of footbridges and walkways within the Park. The Olympic Village was within walking distance of all the venues in the Park, enhancing the experience for athletes and officials. The use of other prestigious venues – such as Wembley Stadium for football, the All-England Club in Wimbledon for tennis, Lord’s Cricket Ground for archery and Horse Guards Parade for beach volleyball – was also a feature of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The London 2012 Games included a four-year Cultural Olympiad. It reached a climax with the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony on 27 July 2012, starting a 60-day festival of sport and culture across the UK, as the Olympic and Paralympic spirit crosses the world once again. 

London 2012 by numbers

The Olympic Games are one of the biggest and most complex events in the world, as highlighted by some of these mind-boggling facts and figures…

• 26 sports, featuring 39 disciplines, will be contested during the Games across 34 venues

• The Olympic Park, which holds nine venues, was 2.5sq km in size – equivalent to 357 football pitches

• 8.8 million tickets were available for the London 2012 Olympic Games

• About 10,500 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees took part in the Games, with 302 medal events being held

• Over 21,000 accredited media communicated the Games to a potential worldwide audience of 4 billion people

• There were also 2,961 technical officials and 5,770 team officials

• A total workforce of around 200,000 people, including more than 6,000 staff, 70,000 volunteers and 100,000 contractors, were involved in the Games

• LOCOG haf sourced over one million pieces of sport equipment for the Games, including 510 adjustable hurdles for athletics, 600 basketballs, 2,700 footballs and 356 pairs of boxing gloves

• During the Games, 20 million spectator journeys were be made in London, including three million on the busiest day of the Games

• Approximately 14 million meals were served at the Games, including 45,000 per day in the Olympic Village

Madrid

Madrid has a stable population of 3.2 million, whilst the Madrid region will experiencing moderate growth from 5.5 to 5.8 million by 2012.

Madrid proposed humanist, sustainable and environmentally friendly Games. The Games concept was based on using venues predominantly located in three main clusters, one of which was in close proximity to the Olympic Village, and venues on the outskirts of Madrid within reasonable travel times of the Village. Madrid’s concept ensured that 58% of athletes would compete within 10 minutes of the Olympic Village. Madrid gave priority to sustainable development, planning to use the Olympic Games to take a significant step forward in improving environmental conditions in the city.

Moscow

Moscow’s population is expected to decrease from 10.4 to 9.9 million by 2012, however, at the same time, the population on the outskirts of Moscow is increasing rapidly.

 Moscow sought to further build on the legacies of the 1980 Olympic Games which have served the needs of the city very well. An “Olympic River” concept embraced the majority of the venues, as well as the Olympic Village, International Broadcast Centre (IBC) and Main Press Centre (MPC), which are located on or near the Moscow River. Moscow proposed a memorable experience for all athletes with minimal travel times to venues. This would have occurred in a country which was establishing itself as the “New Russia”.

New York

The population of New York City is expected to grow from 8.1 to 8.6 million by 2012.

New York proposed a predominantly inner-city Games in the interest of enhancing the athlete experience, with the core of major venues to be constructed in the city centre, including the Olympic stadium, the IBC and the MPC. Through the bid, New York intended to create a legacy for sport and for the city of New York. This was coupled with a genuine desire to host many more international sports events in New York. Some 58% of athletes would have competed in three designated clusters – Olympic Square (9 sports), Olympic Riverfront (4 sports/disciplines) and Olympic Park (6 sports/disciplines).

Paris

The population of the Paris region is expected to grow from 11.1 to 11.5 million by 2012.

Paris based its vision on the longstanding relationship between Olympism and France, and planned athlete-centred Games, with significant athlete involvement in the candidature phase. A commitment was made to continue this athlete involvement through to the organisation of the Games. The Games concept consisted of two major clusters close to the Olympic Village, encompassing 17 competitions.