I was hoping for Paris or Madrid. Oh well, I may still go. http://www.guardian.co.uk/olympics2012/story/0,14174,1522509,00.html London wins 2012 Olympics Mark Oliver Wednesday July 6, 2005 London today won the race to host the 2012 Olympic Games, beating the long-term favourites, Paris, at the finish line to secure one of sport's greatest prizes. Watched by a television audience of billions, the result was announced after the IOC president, Jacques Rogge, opened an envelope containing the name of the winning bid at 1246 BST in the plush ballroom of the Raffles city complex. The UK capital beat Paris in the fourth round of voting in Singapore after a secret electronic ballot of 115 members of the International Olympic Committee. After opening the envelope, with tension high in the hall, Mr Rogge said: "The IOC has the honour of announcing the Games of the 30th Olympiad in 2012 will be in London." The result sparked jubilation in London's Trafalgar Square where supporters of the bid had gathered to greet the result. As expected, the voting went to a fourth round after first Moscow, then New York and Madrid, were eliminated in quick-fire rounds of voting. Lord Coe, the London 2012 bid leader, had earlier presented IOC members with a passionate final presentation in which he said a London games would show "magic happens", and inspire young people around the world. The London games will be based in the east of the city where a large area in the Lower Lea Valley will be regenerated. London's chances grew after no city won more than 50% of the votes in the first round, meaning there was no instant victory. The London 2012 tactic had been to court Madrid's supporters if the Spanish capital was eliminated. The prime minister, Tony Blair, who has led three months of frenetic campaigning and who left Singapore last night to host the G8 summit at Gleneagles after two days of last-gasp courting of IOC members, has promised work will start on preparing the games "within 48 hours" of a winning result. David Beckham and a host of sporting celebrities have been in Singapore pressing for a London games. London last hosted the Olympics in 1948 and will become the first city to host sport's biggest event three times. Today's result is a huge victory for Lord Coe, who has transformed a bid which was originally seen as something of a joke. In an IOC evaluation report last year, London was ranked third in the race behind Paris and Madrid and its transport system was castigated as "obsolete". But the London team improved its bid and assuaged concerns about transport to secure a much better write-up in a subsequent IOC evaluation report published earlier this year. Paris had the advantage of having its main stadium, the Stade de France, already built but London's plans for a new stadium, and its ambitious regeneration ideas, won the day. The winning bid team will host a press conference at 1330 BST.
I'm glad London got it and not Paris. From what I heard on the radio this morning Chirac was being an ass and was talking smack about London before the announcement because he was so sure Paris would get it. Said something about England having the worst food in the world next to Finland. I guess he forgot there were two members from Finland on the IOC committee. Jackass.
Sadly, it shouldnt matter on what the president says, but should rely on the city as a whole. Paris 2012 would have been fantastic. Beach volleyball under the eiffel tower. Maybe in 2016.
Paris will not win the bid in 2016, or for that matter, any Euro city. I don't think the IOC would keep it in the same continent for a consecutive olympiad. I still think Houston got jobbed.
what, traffic? smog? fat people? Athens had plenty of Smog. I don't know about the fat people in Greece, but I know Houston has some huge folks.
Paris will likely not bid again after this, considering this is the 3rd time since 1992 they have lost. Regarding Chirac, I am not convinced that those food comments are even accurate. It was all hearsay from a couple of British journalists a few days ago.
Now they can finally take down all the NYC 2012 crap spread all over the city (and subways). Good riddance. The whole campaign was a disaster from day 1.
