ABSTRACT
In 2012 London will be staging the Olympic Games for the third time, the first city to do so. This chapter examines the London bid to stage the Games and the previous unsuccessful British bids, and traces progress on the road to 2012. On 6 July 2005, on a hot humid night in Singapore, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was about to announce the result of a two-year battle between candidate cities to stage the Olympic Games. It was 8.49 p.m., just after midday in London. The envelope was opened, and IOC President Jacques Rogge announced the winner. In the final round of voting, London had beaten Paris by 54 votes to 50. For much of the race Paris had been the strong favourite. It had been a long contest – and the bookmakers’ odds favoured Paris right to the end – but the IOC had voted, and London was to stage the 2012 Olympic Games.
