London 2012

The right to host the 2012 Olympics have been given to London ahead of Paris, the front-runner throughout the campaign. 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. 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. Paris had the perceived advantage of bidding for a third time, as the IOC tends to reward persistence. The French capital also had a ready-to-go Olympic stadium in the Stade de France and embraced the IOC's blueprint for controlling the size and cost of the games but not even a personal appearance in Singapore by French President Jacques Chirac could secure victory. London centers its bid on the massive urban renewal of a dilapidated area of East London. It's the fourth bid from Britain after failed attempts by Birmingham for the 1992 Olympics and Manchester for 1996 and 2000. I was quite surprised with the results when I was watching it live just now. I was quite sure Paris will be 'rewarded' after being 'snubbed' twice previously but I guess the delegates thought otherwise. The next Olympic games in 2008 will be held in Beijing, China.