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After Beijing, see you in London
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-07-07 06:04
SINGAPORE: London was awarded the 2012 Olympics on Wednesday, defeating
European rival Paris in the final round of voting to take the games back to the
British capital for the first time since 1948.
After Moscow, New York and Madrid were eliminated in the first three rounds,
London beat its cross-Channel opponent 54-50 on the fourth ballot of the
International Olympic Committee vote - capping the most glamorous and hotly
contested bid race in Olympic history.
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| Londoners celebrate in the city's Trafalgar Square after London was
awarded the 2012 Olympic Games yesterday. [AFP]
| Paris had been the front-runner throughout the
campaign, but London picked up momentum in the late stages with strong support
from Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Part of London's pitch was that it stepped in to help the Olympic movement by
staging the games as Europe was still recovering from World War II.
The race had been considered too close to call as an unprecedented collection
of world leaders and sports celebrities converged on Singapore to lobby for the
bids.
London's victory handed Paris a third stinging Olympic defeat in 20 years,
following failed bids for the 1992 and 2008 Olympics. Paris hasn't hosted the
games since 1924.
IOC President Jacques Rogge opened a sealed envelope and declared the result
in a live televised ceremony: "The International Olympic Committee has the
honour of announcing that the Games of the 30th Olympiad in 2012 are awarded to
the city of London."
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