2012 Summer Paralympics
Encyclopedia
The 2012 Summer Paralympic Games will be the fourteenth Paralympics and will take place between 29 August and 9 September 2012. The Games will be held in London, United Kingdom after the city was successful with its bid
for the Paralympics and Summer Olympic Games
.
Even though 2012 will be London's third Olympic Games, it will be the first Paralympic Games
to be staged there, as the event was created after the last time the city hosted in 1948. It is however the second time that the United Kingdom hosts a Paralympic Games. The 1984 Summer Paralympics
were hosted in both Stoke Mandeville
, United Kingdom
and Long Island, New York, United States
. Also, the first organized athletic event for athletes with a disability that coincided with the Olympic Games took place on the day of the opening of the 1948 Summer Olympics
in London
, United Kingdom. Dr. Ludwig Guttmann
of Stoke Mandeville Hospital
hosted a sports competition for British World War II
veteran patients with spinal cord injuries. The first games were called the 1948 International Wheelchair Games, and were intended to coincide with the 1948 Olympics
. Dr. Guttman's aim was to create an elite sports competition for people with disabilities that would be equivalent to the Olympic Games. The games were held again at the same location in 1952, and Dutch veterans took part alongside the British, making it the first international competition of its kind. These early competitions, also known as the Stoke Mandeville Games, have been described as the precursors of the Paralympic Games.
, Istanbul
, Leipzig
, London, Madrid
, Moscow, New York, Paris and Rio de Janeiro
.
On 18 May 2004, the International Olympic Committee
(IOC), as a result of a scored technical evaluation, reduced the number of cities to five: London, Madrid, Moscow, New York, and Paris.
By 19 November 2004, all five candidate cities had submitted their candidate file to the International Olympic Committee
. The IOC inspection team visited the five candidate cities during February and March 2005. The Paris bid suffered two setbacks during the IOC inspection visit: a number of strikes and demonstrations coinciding with the visits and a report coming out that Guy Drut
, one of the key members of the Paris bid team and IOC member, would face charges over alleged corrupt party political finances.
On 6 June 2005, the International Olympic Committee
released its evaluation reports for the five candidate cities. Although these reports did not contain any scores or rankings, the evaluation report for Paris was considered the most positive, now followed closely by London which had narrowed down most of the gap observed by the initial evaluation in 2004 regarding Paris. Also New York and Madrid obtained very positive evaluation reports. In their evaluation report, the International Olympic Committee
(IOC) stated that "With its rich history, the capacities of UK Paralympic Sport are among the best in the world."
Throughout the process and up to the vote at the 117th IOC Session
, Paris was widely seen as the favourite to win the nomination, particularly as this was its third bid in recent history. Originally London was seen lagging Paris by considerable margin; however, this started to improve with the appointment of Sebastian Coe as new head of London 2012 on 19 May 2004. In late August 2004, some reports started emerging predicting a London and Paris tie in the 2012 bid. In the final run-up to the 117th IOC Session, London and Paris appeared to be increasingly in a neck-and-neck race. On 1 July 2005, Jacques Rogge
, when asked who the winner would be, told the assembled press: "I cannot predict it since I don't know how the IOC members will vote. But my gut feeling tells me that it will be very close. Perhaps it will come down to a difference of say ten votes, or maybe less".
On 6 July 2005, the final selection was announced at the Raffles City Convention Centre
in Singapore
, where the 117th IOC Session was held. Here Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Tony Blair
was the only leader of the five candidate cities' countries to make a personal lobby (he had also been the only one to attend the 2004 Olympics). Moscow was the first city to be eliminated, followed by New York and Madrid. The final two cities left in contention were London and Paris. At the end of the fourth round of voting, London won the right to host the 2012 Games with 54 votes, defeating Paris's 50. Various French publications blamed the Paris loss on French President Jacques Chirac
's statements before the vote that "We can't trust people [the British] who have such bad food. After Finland, it's the country with the worst food." Two current members of the International Olympic Committee are from Finland. Several other news sources cited Bertrand Delanoë's complaint regarding Tony Blair's secret late night meetings with numerous (African) IOC representatives as having a more significant impact on final vote. When reporting London's win, British media covered the expectant crowds in both France and Britain (and in the other bid cities), and contrasted the jubilant reaction in London to the reaction of the crowd in Paris, where many had gathered in hope of a French win. However, the celebrations in London were overshadowed when London's transport system was attacked
by terrorists less than 24 hours after the announcement.
In December 2005, it was alleged by Alex Gilady, a senior IOC official, that London had won the right to host the Olympics only because of a voting error. A London 2012 spokesman dismissed this, saying "At the end of the day, it was a secret ballot. This is the opinion of one individual. The result is what matters and we are not going to be drawn into speculation."
(ODA) is in charge of the construction of the venues and infrastructure.
The Government Olympic Executive
(GOE), a unit within the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
(DCMS), is the lead Government body for coordinating the London 2012 Olympics. The GOE reports through the DCMS Permanent Secretary to the Minister for Sports and the Olympics, Hugh Robertson. It focuses on oversight of the Games, cross-programme programme management and the London 2012 Olympic Legacy before and after the Games that will benefit London and the UK.
In August 2011, some security concerns arose surrounding the hosting of the Olympic Games in London, due to the 2011 England riots
, with a few countries expressing fear over the safety of the Games, in spite of the International Olympic Committee
's assurance that the riots will not affect the Games.
and Horse Guards Parade
. In the wake of the problems that plagued the Millennium Dome
, the organisers' intention is that there will be no white elephant
s after the Games and instead that a "2012 legacy
" will be delivered. Some of the new facilities will be reused in their Olympic form, while others, including the 80,000 seater main stadium, will be reduced in size or relocated elsewhere in the UK. The plans are part of the regeneration of Stratford
in east London which will be the site of the Olympic Park
, and of the neighbouring Lower Lea Valley
.
This has required the compulsory purchase
of some business properties, which are being demolished to make way for Olympic venues and infrastructure improvements. This has caused some controversy, with some of the affected proprietors claiming that the compensation offered is inadequate. In addition, concerns about the development's potential impact on the future of the century-old Manor Garden Allotments
have inspired a community campaign, and the demolition of the Clays Lane housing estate
was opposed by tenants, as is that of Carpenters Estate
.
The majority of venues have been divided into three zones within Greater London
: the Olympic Zone, the River Zone and the Central Zone. In addition to these are those venues that, by necessity, are outside the boundaries of Greater London, such as the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy
on the Isle of Portland
in Dorset
which will host the sailing events, some 125 miles (200 km) southwest of the Olympic Park. The football tournament will be staged at several grounds around the UK.
(TfL) are carrying out numerous improvements in preparation for 2012, including the expansion of the London Overground
's East London Line
, upgrades to the Docklands Light Railway
and the North London Line
, and the introduction of a new "Javelin" high-speed rail service, using the Hitachi Corporation
's "bullet" trains.
TfL also propose the construction of a £25 million cable car
across the River Thames
, the "Thames Gateway Cable Car", to link 2012 Olympics venues. It will cross the Thames river between Greenwich Peninsula
and the Royal Docks
, carrying up to 2,500 passengers an hour 50 metres in the air. It is designed to cut journey times between the O2 arena
and the ExCel exhibition centre – both of which are Olympic locations. The privately-funded
system could provide a crossing every 30 seconds.
They also plan to have 80% of athletes travel less than 20 minutes to their event. This Park would be served by ten separate railway lines with a combined capacity of 240,000 passengers per hour. Park-and-ride plans are also among the many plans aimed at reducing road traffic levels during the games.
Concerns have been expressed at the logistics of spectators traveling to the events scheduled for outside of London. In particular, the sailing event
s at Portland are in an area with no direct motorway connection, and with local roads that are heavily congested by existing tourist traffic in the summer. There is also only limited scope for extra services on the South Western Main Line
beyond Southampton, without new infrastructure. The Olympic Games' organisers say that having analyzed past Olympic sailing events, they would expect fewer spectators than have attended recent events such as the Carnival and Tall Ships Race, this despite the United Kingdom being at the top of the sailing medal table at the previous three Olympic Games.
In January 2010 the South East England
regional transport board criticised plans published by the Olympics Development Authority for not providing plans of a credible long term coach network saying "The ODA has been working on an extensive network of coach services... [but] the lack of reference to this work [in the plan] is both intriguing and at the same time concerning." On 15 February 2010, the ODA announced that FirstGroup was the preferred bidder for the provision of bus and coach services for the games. This will involve the provision of venue shuttle and park and ride services, services connecting peripheral park and ride sites on the M25
with the Olympic Park
and Ebbsfleet
, and a nationwide network of express coaches to the Olympic Park, and the Weymouth and Portland sailing venue
. The services will require around 900 vehicles in total, although some will be sub-contracted.
On 15 March 2007 Tessa Jowell
announced to the House of Commons a budget of £5.3 billion to cover building the venues and infrastructure for the Games, at the same time announcing the wider regeneration budget for the Lower Lea Valley budget at £1.7 billion.
On top of this, she announced various other costs including an overall additional contingency fund of £2.7 billion, security and policing costs of £600 million, VAT of £800 million and elite sport and Paralympic funding of nearly £400 million. According to these figures, the total for the Games and the regeneration of the East London area, is £9.345 billion. Then Mayor Ken Livingstone
pledged the Games Organising Committee would make a profit.
The costs for staging the Games (£2 billion) are funded from the private sector by a combination of sponsorship, merchandising, ticketing and broadcast rights. This budget is raised and managed by the London 2012 Organising Committee. According to Games organisers, the funding for this budget broadly breaks down as:
On 18 August 2007 The Belfast Telegraph
reported that jubilation over winning the right to stage the Olympic Games was becoming more muted as realisation dawns on the public of the enormous costs involved in creating facilities for the athletes. Grassroot sport cuts will fund the Olympics, government figures suggested on 19 August 2007.
In November 2007, Edward Leigh
MP, criticised the organisers for significantly under-estimating the cost of staging the games, suggesting they had either "acted in bad faith or were incompetent".
On 10 December 2007 Tessa Jowell announced confirmation of the budget announced earlier in 2007. In June 2007, the Ministerial Funders’ Group (established to manage the allocation of contingency to the ODA within the overall budget) met and agreed a first allocation of contingency to the ODA, being £360 million out of the £500 million of initial contingency announced in March, to enable the ODA to manage early cost pressures.
Following its second meeting on 26 November 2007, the Funders’ Group has now agreed a baseline budget and scope proposed by the ODA. The total budgeted base cost to be met by the public sector funding package remains at £6.090 billion including tax and excluding general programme contingency as announced in March. This includes the allocation to the ODA of the remaining £140 million from the initial £500 million contingency announced in March.
There have, however, been concerns over how the Olympics are to be funded. In February 2008, a London Assembly culture and sport committee report expressed concerns over the funding of the games taking away money from London's sports and arts groups. There have also been complaints that funding towards the Olympics has been to the detriment of funding other areas of the UK. In Wales
, there has been criticism from Plaid Cymru
about the games depriving Wales of money, by using UK-wide funding rather than English funding. The Wales on Sunday newspaper claimed former UK Prime Minister
Tony Blair
broke his promise to not use National Lottery
funding for the Olympic games.
As at December 2009, the Delivery Authority had allocated £702 million of Programme and Funders’ contingency, largely to cover the decisions to publicly fund the Village and Media Centre after it became clear private funding could not be secured on acceptable terms during the 2008 to 2010 economic crisis. According to the Government Olympic Executive
and Olympic Delivery Authority
risk assessments the remaining £1,270 million contingency is sufficient to manage risks to the Delivery Authority’s programme.
Also from May 2010, the Olympic budget will be cut by £27 million as part of the £6.2 billion cuts by the new Conservative-Liberal coalition government.
On 19 July 2011, Hugh Robertson, Sports & Olympic Minister,revealed that he expected the project to be delivered on time and under budget. "With one year to go to London 2012, the Games construction is 88 per cent complete and ahead of time and under budget. That is an extraordinary thing for a Government Minister to be able to say a year out from the Games."
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, commenced a countdown to the opening ceremony on 14 March 2011. However, less than 24 hours after it was switched on, it suffered a technical failure, and stopped—displaying "500 (days) 7 (hours) 06 (minutes) 56 (seconds)." It was quickly repaired.
in East London. The latter, designed by Wolff Olins
, was unveiled on 4 June 2007 and cost £400,000. This new logo is a representation of the number 2012, with the Olympic Rings
embedded within the zero.
This will be the first time that the same essential logo is to be used for both the Olympic and Paralympic games.
The standard colours are green, magenta, orange and blue; however the logo has incorporated a variety of colours, including the Union Flag
to promote the handover ceremony. The flexibility of the logo has also enabled sponsors to incorporate their corporate colours into a personalised version, such as Lloyds TSB
, British Airways
, and Adidas
.
London 2012 has stated that the new logo is aimed at reaching young people. Sebastian Coe stated that it builds upon everything that the organising committee has said "about reaching out and engaging young people, which is where our challenge is over the next five years." One observer, a managing director of an advertising agency, noted that the logo bore a strong resemblance to the logo for the 1974–1982 children's television programme Tiswas
, commenting that appealing to young people is difficult, and that they will see right through attempts to patronise them.
Early public reaction to the logo, as measured by a poll on the BBC
website, was largely negative: more than 80% of votes gave the logo the lowest possible rating. Several newspapers have run their own logo competitions, displaying alternative submissions from their readers. The Sun
displayed a design by a macaque monkey
. It was suggested that the logo resembles the cartoon character Lisa Simpson
performing fellatio
and others have complained that it looks like a distorted Swastika
. In February 2011, Iran
complained that the logo appeared to spell out the word "Zion
" and threatened to boycott the Olympics. Iran submitted its complaint to the International Olympic Committee
, describing the logo as "racist", asking that it be withdrawn and the designers be "confronted". The IOC "quietly" rejected the demands, and Iran announced it would not boycott the Games.
A segment of animated footage released at the same time as the logo was reported to trigger seizures in a small number of people with photosensitive epilepsy
. The charity Epilepsy Action
received telephone calls from people who had had seizure
s after watching the sequence on TV. In response, a short segment was removed from the London 2012 website. Ken Livingstone
, then London Mayor, said that the company who designed the film should not be paid for what he called a "catastrophic mistake."
A blogger at the BBC said that "London 2012's new logo has got the country talking [although] not in the manner the organisers would have hoped." One employee at a design firm described it as "well thought out" and anticipated it would "become a source of pride for London and the Games."
In October 2008, it was reported that clothing branded with the logo accounted for 20% of sales at Adidas' flagship Oxford Street store, despite occupying just 5% of floor space.
are animations depicting two drops of steel from a steelworks in Bolton
. They are named Wenlock, after the Shropshire town of Much Wenlock
, which held a forerunner of the current Olympic Games
, and Mandeville, after Stoke Mandeville
, a village in Buckinghamshire where a forerunner to the Paralympic Games
were first held. The writer Michael Morpurgo
wrote the story concept to the mascots, and an animation was produced; it is intended that this will form part of an ongoing series concerning the mascots in the run-up to the Games in 2012. Two stories have been created about the mascots: Out Of A Rainbow, the story of how Wenlock and Mandeville came to be, and Adventures On A Rainbow, which features the children from Out Of A Rainbow meeting the mascots and trying out many different Olympic and Paralympic sports.
handed over the Paralympic Flag to the new host city of London.Mayor of London
Boris Johnson
received the flag from Mayor of Beijing Guo Jinlong
, on behalf of London. The handover ceremony was like the one used for the Olympic Games. featured the urban dance group ZooNation, the Royal Ballet and Candoco, a disabled dance group, all dressed as typical London commuters waiting for a bus by a zebra crossing. A double-decker bus drove around the stadium, being guided by Ade Adepitan, to music composed by Philip Sheppard
which was already folded down showing a privet hedge featuring famous London landmarks such as Tower Bridge
, The Gherkin
and the London Eye
. Cherisse Osei, drummer for pop start Mika
and Sam Hegedus (who has played with numerous of Artisits including Pink) then performed before the bus folded back into its original form, sporting a multi coloured Paralympic livery.
, Ade Adepitan and Iwan Thomas
hosted an event in Trafalgar Square
. The event celebrated the Paralympic Games, by showcasing the 20 sports which feature in the festival. A number of the sessions were made inclusive to people with hearing disabilities. The event featured athletes such as Oscar Pistorius
, Ellie Simmonds and Sascha Kindred
. A bronze statue of Pistorius created by Ben Dearnley was unvailed in the near 12 hour showcase. At 7pm the official invite of athletes to attend the 2012 games took place.
On September 10, 2011 Sainburys hosted a family concert in Clapham Common
entitled Super Saturday to celebrate the one year to go mark. The event featured live music from acts such as Nicola Roberts
and The Saturdays
. In addition people attending the event could try out Paralympic sports, meet athletes and more.
s are scheduled to send delegations to compete.
in Sydney in which athletes with intellectual disabilities
(ID) will be authorised to compete following a decision by the International Paralympic Committee
in 2008. Athletics
, swimming and table tennis
will include events with an ID classification.
Twenty sports are on the programme:
will broadcast the Games, with over 150 hours of television coverage.
formally mark London becoming host city for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Beijing Gold medalist Christine Ohuruogu
raised the Olympic flag, whilst Paralympic Champions, Helene Raynsford
and Chris Holmes
raised the Paralympic flag.
commissoned artists and illustrators to create 30 stamps which were released in batches of 10 during 2009 to 2011. The 30 stamps symbolise at the Games take place during the 30th Olympiad. Each stamp featured an Olympic or Paralympic sport and inadditon had the London 2012 logo on each stamp. The Royal Mail had initionally approched photographers to be included as well but this was abandoned as the photos would have to be of dead people as the only living person allowed to feature on stamps in the United Kingdom is the Queen. On July 22, 2011 the last of the 30 stamps were released.
London 2012 Olympic bid
London 2012 was the successful bid for the 2012 Summer Games, to be held in London with most events taking place in Stratford, Newham. The British Olympic Association had been working on the bid since 1997...
for the Paralympics and Summer Olympic Games
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
.
Even though 2012 will be London's third Olympic Games, it will be the first Paralympic Games
Paralympic Games
The Paralympic Games are a major international multi-sport event where athletes with a physical disability compete; this includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and Cerebral Palsy. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which are held immediately following their...
to be staged there, as the event was created after the last time the city hosted in 1948. It is however the second time that the United Kingdom hosts a Paralympic Games. The 1984 Summer Paralympics
1984 Summer Paralympics
The 1984 Summer Paralympics were the seventh Paralympic Games to be held. They were held in two separate locations, Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom and in the Mitchel Athletic Complex and Hofstra University in Long Island, New York, United States of America The 1984 Summer Paralympics were the...
were hosted in both Stoke Mandeville
Stoke Mandeville
Stoke Mandeville is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district to the south-east of Aylesbury in the county of Buckinghamshire, England. Although a separate civil parish, the village falls within the Aylesbury Urban Area...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Long Island, New York, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Also, the first organized athletic event for athletes with a disability that coincided with the Olympic Games took place on the day of the opening of the 1948 Summer Olympics
1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in London, England, United Kingdom. After a 12-year hiatus because of World War II, these were the first Summer Olympics since the 1936 Games in Berlin...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, United Kingdom. Dr. Ludwig Guttmann
Ludwig Guttmann
Sir Ludwig "Poppa" Guttmann CBE, FRS was a German neurologist who founded the Paralympic Games while living in England, and is considered one of the founding fathers of organized physical activities for people with a disability....
of Stoke Mandeville Hospital
Stoke Mandeville Hospital
Stoke Mandeville Hospital is a large National Health Service hospital within Aylesbury Urban Area to the south of the town of Aylesbury, near the village of Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire...
hosted a sports competition for British World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
veteran patients with spinal cord injuries. The first games were called the 1948 International Wheelchair Games, and were intended to coincide with the 1948 Olympics
1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in London, England, United Kingdom. After a 12-year hiatus because of World War II, these were the first Summer Olympics since the 1936 Games in Berlin...
. Dr. Guttman's aim was to create an elite sports competition for people with disabilities that would be equivalent to the Olympic Games. The games were held again at the same location in 1952, and Dutch veterans took part alongside the British, making it the first international competition of its kind. These early competitions, also known as the Stoke Mandeville Games, have been described as the precursors of the Paralympic Games.
Bidding process
By the bid submission deadline of 15 July 2003, nine cities had submitted bids to host the 2012 Olympics. These cities were HavanaHavana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, London, Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Moscow, New York, Paris and Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
.
On 18 May 2004, the International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
(IOC), as a result of a scored technical evaluation, reduced the number of cities to five: London, Madrid, Moscow, New York, and Paris.
By 19 November 2004, all five candidate cities had submitted their candidate file to the International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
. The IOC inspection team visited the five candidate cities during February and March 2005. The Paris bid suffered two setbacks during the IOC inspection visit: a number of strikes and demonstrations coinciding with the visits and a report coming out that Guy Drut
Guy Drut
Guy Drut is an Olympic champion and politician who won gold at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal in the 110m hurdles....
, one of the key members of the Paris bid team and IOC member, would face charges over alleged corrupt party political finances.
On 6 June 2005, the International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
released its evaluation reports for the five candidate cities. Although these reports did not contain any scores or rankings, the evaluation report for Paris was considered the most positive, now followed closely by London which had narrowed down most of the gap observed by the initial evaluation in 2004 regarding Paris. Also New York and Madrid obtained very positive evaluation reports. In their evaluation report, the International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
(IOC) stated that "With its rich history, the capacities of UK Paralympic Sport are among the best in the world."
Throughout the process and up to the vote at the 117th IOC Session
117th IOC Session
The 117th International Olympic Committee Session was held for the first time in Singapore from 2 July to 9 July 2005. The meeting was particularly significant as two important decisions were made through voting during the session - namely the selection of the hosting city for the 2012 Summer...
, Paris was widely seen as the favourite to win the nomination, particularly as this was its third bid in recent history. Originally London was seen lagging Paris by considerable margin; however, this started to improve with the appointment of Sebastian Coe as new head of London 2012 on 19 May 2004. In late August 2004, some reports started emerging predicting a London and Paris tie in the 2012 bid. In the final run-up to the 117th IOC Session, London and Paris appeared to be increasingly in a neck-and-neck race. On 1 July 2005, Jacques Rogge
Jacques Rogge
Jacques Rogge, Count Rogge , is a Belgian sports bureaucrat. He is the eighth and current President of the International Olympic Committee .-Life and career:...
, when asked who the winner would be, told the assembled press: "I cannot predict it since I don't know how the IOC members will vote. But my gut feeling tells me that it will be very close. Perhaps it will come down to a difference of say ten votes, or maybe less".
On 6 July 2005, the final selection was announced at the Raffles City Convention Centre
Raffles City
Raffles City is a large complex located in the Civic District within the Downtown Core of the city-state of Singapore. Occupying an entire city block bounded by Stamford Road, Beach Road, Bras Basah Road and North Bridge Road, it houses two hotels and an office tower over a podium which contains a...
in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, where the 117th IOC Session was held. Here Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
was the only leader of the five candidate cities' countries to make a personal lobby (he had also been the only one to attend the 2004 Olympics). Moscow was the first city to be eliminated, followed by New York and Madrid. The final two cities left in contention were London and Paris. At the end of the fourth round of voting, London won the right to host the 2012 Games with 54 votes, defeating Paris's 50. Various French publications blamed the Paris loss on French President Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
's statements before the vote that "We can't trust people [the British] who have such bad food. After Finland, it's the country with the worst food." Two current members of the International Olympic Committee are from Finland. Several other news sources cited Bertrand Delanoë's complaint regarding Tony Blair's secret late night meetings with numerous (African) IOC representatives as having a more significant impact on final vote. When reporting London's win, British media covered the expectant crowds in both France and Britain (and in the other bid cities), and contrasted the jubilant reaction in London to the reaction of the crowd in Paris, where many had gathered in hope of a French win. However, the celebrations in London were overshadowed when London's transport system was attacked
7 July 2005 London bombings
The 7 July 2005 London bombings were a series of co-ordinated suicide attacks in the United Kingdom, targeting civilians using London's public transport system during the morning rush hour....
by terrorists less than 24 hours after the announcement.
In December 2005, it was alleged by Alex Gilady, a senior IOC official, that London had won the right to host the Olympics only because of a voting error. A London 2012 spokesman dismissed this, saying "At the end of the day, it was a secret ballot. This is the opinion of one individual. The result is what matters and we are not going to be drawn into speculation."
| 2012 Summer Olympics bidding results | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | NOC | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | |
| London London 2012 Olympic bid London 2012 was the successful bid for the 2012 Summer Games, to be held in London with most events taking place in Stratford, Newham. The British Olympic Association had been working on the bid since 1997... |
22 | 27 | 39 | 54 | ||
| Paris Paris 2012 Olympic bid Paris 2012 was an unsuccessful bid for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games to be held in Paris. The bidding race was eventually won by the London 2012 bid after a 54-50 vote of the International Olympic Committee on 6 July 2005... |
21 | 25 | 33 | 50 | ||
| Madrid Madrid 2012 Olympic bid Madrid 2012 was one of the five short-listed bids for the 2012 Summer Games. Madrid and New York City were the only two cities that opted to hold the 2012 Olympics that had never held a Summer Olympics before... |
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| New York City New York City 2012 Olympic bid The New York City 2012 Olympic bid was one of the five short-listed bids for the 2012 Summer Olympics, ultimately won by London 2012.New York City's Olympic Bid, run by the private non-profit organization NYC2012, was founded by Daniel L. Doctoroff, who was managing director of a successful private... |
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| Moscow Moscow 2012 Olympic bid Moscow 2012 was one of the five short-listed bids for the 2012 Summer Games, and was to be held in Moscow, Russia. The capital city's Olympic plans were to build on top of the legacy created after the 1980 Summer Olympics. Moscow's River Plan called for every single competition to be staged within... |
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Since the 2005 bid
The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games was created to oversee the staging of the Games after the success of the bid, and held their first board meeting on 7 October 2005. The committee, chaired by Lord Coe, is in charge of implementing and staging the games, while the Olympic Delivery AuthorityOlympic Delivery Authority
The Olympic Delivery Authority is the statutory corporation responsible for ensuring delivery of venues, infrastructure and legacy for the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in London...
(ODA) is in charge of the construction of the venues and infrastructure.
The Government Olympic Executive
Government Olympic Executive
The Government Olympic Executive , a unit within the United Kingdom Department for Culture, Media and Sport, is the lead government body for coordinating the London 2012 Olympics. The GOE reports through the DCMS Permanent Secretary to the Minister for Sports and the Olympics, Hugh Robertson...
(GOE), a unit within the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is a department of the United Kingdom government, with responsibility for culture and sport in England, and some aspects of the media throughout the whole UK, such as broadcasting and internet....
(DCMS), is the lead Government body for coordinating the London 2012 Olympics. The GOE reports through the DCMS Permanent Secretary to the Minister for Sports and the Olympics, Hugh Robertson. It focuses on oversight of the Games, cross-programme programme management and the London 2012 Olympic Legacy before and after the Games that will benefit London and the UK.
In August 2011, some security concerns arose surrounding the hosting of the Olympic Games in London, due to the 2011 England riots
2011 England riots
Between 6 and 10 August 2011, several London boroughs and districts of cities and towns across England suffered widespread rioting, looting and arson....
, with a few countries expressing fear over the safety of the Games, in spite of the International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
's assurance that the riots will not affect the Games.
Venues and infrastructure
The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will use a mixture of new venues, existing and historic facilities, and temporary facilities, some of them in well-known locations such as Hyde ParkHyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
and Horse Guards Parade
Horse Guards Parade
Horse Guards Parade is a large parade ground off Whitehall in central London, at grid reference . It is the site of the annual ceremonies of Trooping the Colour, which commemorates the monarch's official birthday, and Beating Retreat.-History:...
. In the wake of the problems that plagued the Millennium Dome
Millennium Dome
The Millennium Dome, colloquially referred to simply as The Dome or even The O2 Arena, is the original name of a large dome-shaped building, originally used to house the Millennium Experience, a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millennium...
, the organisers' intention is that there will be no white elephant
White elephant
A white elephant is an idiom for a valuable but burdensome possession of which its owner cannot dispose and whose cost is out of proportion to its usefulness or worth...
s after the Games and instead that a "2012 legacy
2012 legacy
The London 2012 Olympic bid included bid chairman Lord Coe placing a pledge to use the events to inspire two million people to take up sport and physical activity at the heart of the bid...
" will be delivered. Some of the new facilities will be reused in their Olympic form, while others, including the 80,000 seater main stadium, will be reduced in size or relocated elsewhere in the UK. The plans are part of the regeneration of Stratford
Stratford, London
Stratford is a place in the London Borough of Newham, England. It is located east northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically an agrarian settlement in the ancient parish of West Ham, which transformed into an industrial suburb...
in east London which will be the site of the Olympic Park
Olympic Park, London
The Olympic Park in London is a new sporting complex currently under construction, adjacent to the Stratford City development in Stratford, Bow, Leyton & Homerton in East London for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics....
, and of the neighbouring Lower Lea Valley
Lower Lea Valley
The Lower Lea Valley is the southern end of the Lea Valley, surrounding the River Lea , which runs along the boundary of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets on its western bank and the London Boroughs of Waltham Forest and Newham on its eastern bank, into the River Thames. The river forms the...
.
This has required the compulsory purchase
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
of some business properties, which are being demolished to make way for Olympic venues and infrastructure improvements. This has caused some controversy, with some of the affected proprietors claiming that the compensation offered is inadequate. In addition, concerns about the development's potential impact on the future of the century-old Manor Garden Allotments
Manor Garden Allotments
Manor Garden Allotments were allotment gardens occupying between the River Lea and the Channelsea River in Hackney Wick, London, England. They are also sometimes referred to as Eastway Allotments, particularly in the 2012 Summer Olympics planning application documents...
have inspired a community campaign, and the demolition of the Clays Lane housing estate
Clays Lane Estate
The Clays Lane Estate was a housing estate in Stratford, East London, and the UK’s largest purpose built housing cooperative. It was an experiment in building close-knit communities as a way of helping vulnerable single people...
was opposed by tenants, as is that of Carpenters Estate
Carpenters Estate (London)
Carpenters Estate is a council housing estate which is being demolished to make way for the 2012 Olympics.Carpenters Estate is located in the northeast corner of the London Borough of Newham...
.
The majority of venues have been divided into three zones within Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
: the Olympic Zone, the River Zone and the Central Zone. In addition to these are those venues that, by necessity, are outside the boundaries of Greater London, such as the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy
Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy
Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy is a centre for the sport of sailing on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, on the south coast of England, United Kingdom. The academy building is located in Osprey Quay on the northern tip of the island, and the waters of Portland Harbour and Weymouth Bay,...
on the Isle of Portland
Isle of Portland
The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. Portland is south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and...
in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
which will host the sailing events, some 125 miles (200 km) southwest of the Olympic Park. The football tournament will be staged at several grounds around the UK.
Public transport
London's public transport was an element of the bid which was scored poorly in the IOC's initial evaluation. Transport for LondonTransport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
(TfL) are carrying out numerous improvements in preparation for 2012, including the expansion of the London Overground
London Overground
London Overground is a suburban rail network in London and Hertfordshire. It has been operated by London Overground Rail Operations since 2007 as part of the National Rail network, under the franchise control and branding of Transport for London...
's East London Line
East London Line
The East London Line is a London Overground line which runs north to south through the East End, Docklands and South areas of London.Built in 1869 by the East London Railway Company, which reused the Thames Tunnel, originally intended for horse-drawn carriages, the line became part of the London...
, upgrades to the Docklands Light Railway
Docklands Light Railway
The Docklands Light Railway is an automated light metro or light rail system opened on 31 August 1987 to serve the redeveloped Docklands area of London...
and the North London Line
North London Line
The North London Line is a railway line which passes through the inner suburbs of north London, England. Its route is a rough semicircle from the south west to the north east, avoiding central London. The line is owned and maintained by Network Rail...
, and the introduction of a new "Javelin" high-speed rail service, using the Hitachi Corporation
Hitachi
Hitachi is a multinational corporation specializing in high-technology.Hitachi may also refer to:*Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan*Hitachi province, former province of Japan*Prince Hitachi and Princess Hitachi, members of the Japanese imperial family...
's "bullet" trains.
TfL also propose the construction of a £25 million cable car
Cable car
A cable car is any of a variety of transportation systems relying on cables to pull vehicles along or lower them at a steady rate, or a vehicle on these systems.-Aerial lift:Aerial lifts where the vehicle is suspended in the air from a cable:...
across the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
, the "Thames Gateway Cable Car", to link 2012 Olympics venues. It will cross the Thames river between Greenwich Peninsula
Greenwich Peninsula
Greenwich Peninsula is an area of South London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.The peninsula is bounded on three sides by a loop of the Thames, between the Isle of Dogs and Silvertown. To the south is the rest of Greenwich, to the south-east is Charlton.The peninsula lies...
and the Royal Docks
Royal Docks
The Royal Docks comprise three docks in east London - the Royal Albert Dock, the Royal Victoria Dock and the King George V Dock. They are more correctly called the Royal Group of Docks to distinguish them from the Royal Dockyards, Royal being due to their naming after royal personages rather than...
, carrying up to 2,500 passengers an hour 50 metres in the air. It is designed to cut journey times between the O2 arena
The O2 (London)
The O2, visually typeset in branding as The O2, is a large entertainment district on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, England, including an indoor arena, a music club, a Cineworld cinema, an exhibition space, piazzas, bars and restaurants...
and the ExCel exhibition centre – both of which are Olympic locations. The privately-funded
Private Finance Initiative
The private finance initiative is a way of creating "public–private partnerships" by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital...
system could provide a crossing every 30 seconds.
They also plan to have 80% of athletes travel less than 20 minutes to their event. This Park would be served by ten separate railway lines with a combined capacity of 240,000 passengers per hour. Park-and-ride plans are also among the many plans aimed at reducing road traffic levels during the games.
Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy
Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy is a centre for the sport of sailing on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, on the south coast of England, United Kingdom. The academy building is located in Osprey Quay on the northern tip of the island, and the waters of Portland Harbour and Weymouth Bay,...
s at Portland are in an area with no direct motorway connection, and with local roads that are heavily congested by existing tourist traffic in the summer. There is also only limited scope for extra services on the South Western Main Line
South Western Main Line
The South Western Main Line is a railway line between London Waterloo and Weymouth on the Dorset coast, in the south of England. It is a major railway which serves many important commuter areas, as well as the major settlements of Southampton and Bournemouth...
beyond Southampton, without new infrastructure. The Olympic Games' organisers say that having analyzed past Olympic sailing events, they would expect fewer spectators than have attended recent events such as the Carnival and Tall Ships Race, this despite the United Kingdom being at the top of the sailing medal table at the previous three Olympic Games.
In January 2010 the South East England
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
regional transport board criticised plans published by the Olympics Development Authority for not providing plans of a credible long term coach network saying "The ODA has been working on an extensive network of coach services... [but] the lack of reference to this work [in the plan] is both intriguing and at the same time concerning." On 15 February 2010, the ODA announced that FirstGroup was the preferred bidder for the provision of bus and coach services for the games. This will involve the provision of venue shuttle and park and ride services, services connecting peripheral park and ride sites on the M25
M25 motorway
The M25 motorway, or London Orbital, is a orbital motorway that almost encircles Greater London, England, in the United Kingdom. The motorway was first mooted early in the 20th century. A few sections, based on the now abandoned London Ringways plan, were constructed in the early 1970s and it ...
with the Olympic Park
Olympic Park, London
The Olympic Park in London is a new sporting complex currently under construction, adjacent to the Stratford City development in Stratford, Bow, Leyton & Homerton in East London for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics....
and Ebbsfleet
Ebbsfleet Valley
Ebbsfleet Valley is a new town and redevelopment area in Kent, South East England; and part of the Thames Gateway. It is located south west of Gravesend.It is named after the valley of the Ebbsfleet River, which it straddles...
, and a nationwide network of express coaches to the Olympic Park, and the Weymouth and Portland sailing venue
Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy
Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy is a centre for the sport of sailing on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, on the south coast of England, United Kingdom. The academy building is located in Osprey Quay on the northern tip of the island, and the waters of Portland Harbour and Weymouth Bay,...
. The services will require around 900 vehicles in total, although some will be sub-contracted.
Financing
The costs of mounting the Games are separate from those for building the venues and infrastructure, and redeveloping the land for the Olympic Park. While the Games are privately funded, the venues and Park costs are met largely by public money.On 15 March 2007 Tessa Jowell
Tessa Jowell
Tessa Jowell is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Dulwich and West Norwood since 1992. Formerly a member of both the Blair and Brown Cabinets, she is currently the Shadow Minister for the Olympics and Shadow Minister for London.-Early life:Tessa Jane...
announced to the House of Commons a budget of £5.3 billion to cover building the venues and infrastructure for the Games, at the same time announcing the wider regeneration budget for the Lower Lea Valley budget at £1.7 billion.
On top of this, she announced various other costs including an overall additional contingency fund of £2.7 billion, security and policing costs of £600 million, VAT of £800 million and elite sport and Paralympic funding of nearly £400 million. According to these figures, the total for the Games and the regeneration of the East London area, is £9.345 billion. Then Mayor Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
pledged the Games Organising Committee would make a profit.
The costs for staging the Games (£2 billion) are funded from the private sector by a combination of sponsorship, merchandising, ticketing and broadcast rights. This budget is raised and managed by the London 2012 Organising Committee. According to Games organisers, the funding for this budget broadly breaks down as:
- 64% from Central Government;
- 23% from National LotteryNational Lottery (United Kingdom)The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
- 13% from the Mayor of LondonMayor of LondonThe Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
and the London Development AgencyLondon Development AgencyThe London Development Agency is the Regional Development Agency for Greater London, England. It is a functional body of the Greater London Authority...
On 18 August 2007 The Belfast Telegraph
The Belfast Telegraph
The Belfast Telegraph is a daily evening newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland by Independent News & Media.It was first published as the Belfast Evening Telegraph on 1 September 1870 by brothers William and George Baird...
reported that jubilation over winning the right to stage the Olympic Games was becoming more muted as realisation dawns on the public of the enormous costs involved in creating facilities for the athletes. Grassroot sport cuts will fund the Olympics, government figures suggested on 19 August 2007.
In November 2007, Edward Leigh
Edward Leigh
Edward Julian Egerton Leigh is a British Conservative politician. He has sat in the House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for Gainsborough in Lincolnshire since 1997, and for its predecessor constituency of Gainsborough and Horncastle between 1983 and 1997...
MP, criticised the organisers for significantly under-estimating the cost of staging the games, suggesting they had either "acted in bad faith or were incompetent".
On 10 December 2007 Tessa Jowell announced confirmation of the budget announced earlier in 2007. In June 2007, the Ministerial Funders’ Group (established to manage the allocation of contingency to the ODA within the overall budget) met and agreed a first allocation of contingency to the ODA, being £360 million out of the £500 million of initial contingency announced in March, to enable the ODA to manage early cost pressures.
Following its second meeting on 26 November 2007, the Funders’ Group has now agreed a baseline budget and scope proposed by the ODA. The total budgeted base cost to be met by the public sector funding package remains at £6.090 billion including tax and excluding general programme contingency as announced in March. This includes the allocation to the ODA of the remaining £140 million from the initial £500 million contingency announced in March.
There have, however, been concerns over how the Olympics are to be funded. In February 2008, a London Assembly culture and sport committee report expressed concerns over the funding of the games taking away money from London's sports and arts groups. There have also been complaints that funding towards the Olympics has been to the detriment of funding other areas of the UK. In Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, there has been criticism from Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru
' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
about the games depriving Wales of money, by using UK-wide funding rather than English funding. The Wales on Sunday newspaper claimed former UK Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
broke his promise to not use National Lottery
National Lottery (United Kingdom)
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
funding for the Olympic games.
As at December 2009, the Delivery Authority had allocated £702 million of Programme and Funders’ contingency, largely to cover the decisions to publicly fund the Village and Media Centre after it became clear private funding could not be secured on acceptable terms during the 2008 to 2010 economic crisis. According to the Government Olympic Executive
Government Olympic Executive
The Government Olympic Executive , a unit within the United Kingdom Department for Culture, Media and Sport, is the lead government body for coordinating the London 2012 Olympics. The GOE reports through the DCMS Permanent Secretary to the Minister for Sports and the Olympics, Hugh Robertson...
and Olympic Delivery Authority
Olympic Delivery Authority
The Olympic Delivery Authority is the statutory corporation responsible for ensuring delivery of venues, infrastructure and legacy for the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in London...
risk assessments the remaining £1,270 million contingency is sufficient to manage risks to the Delivery Authority’s programme.
Also from May 2010, the Olympic budget will be cut by £27 million as part of the £6.2 billion cuts by the new Conservative-Liberal coalition government.
On 19 July 2011, Hugh Robertson, Sports & Olympic Minister,revealed that he expected the project to be delivered on time and under budget. "With one year to go to London 2012, the Games construction is 88 per cent complete and ahead of time and under budget. That is an extraordinary thing for a Government Minister to be able to say a year out from the Games."
Partners
To help fund the cost of the games the London 2012 Organising Committee have agreed partnership deals with major companies. The companies have signed up into four categories, worldwide, tier one, tier two and tier three.Worldwide partners:
- AtosATOSATOS is a high density railway transport management system of an unprecedented scale. The system has been continuously built up in stages after the online operation of its first station commenced in 1994 and successfully operating since then...
- SamsungSamsungThe Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
- VISAVisaVisa or VISA may refer to:* Visa , a document issued by a country's government allowing the holder to enter or to leave that country...
Domestic Tier One Partners:
- AdidasAdidasAdidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
- BMWBMWBayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
- BPBPBP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
- British AirwaysBritish AirwaysBritish Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
- British Telecom
- Coca Cola
- EDF EnergyEDF EnergyEDF Energy is an integrated energy company in the United Kingdom, with operations spanning electricity generation and the sale of gas and electricity to homes and businesses throughout the United Kingdom...
- General ElectricGeneral ElectricGeneral Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
- Lloyds TSBLloyds TSBLloyds TSB Bank Plc is a retail bank in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1995 by the merger of Lloyds Bank, established in Birmingham, England in 1765 and traditionally considered one of the Big Four clearing banks, with the TSB Group which traces its origins to 1810...
- Omega SA
- Procter & GambleProcter & GambleProcter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
- J Sainsbury
Domestic Tier Two Supporters:
- AdeccoAdeccoAdecco S.A. is a human resources company, based in Glattbrugg near Zurich, Switzerland. Adecco employs 700,000 temporary workers and contractors who are supplied to business clients, and has over 32,000 employees and 5,500 offices in 60 countries and territories around the world...
- ArcelorMittal
- Cadbury
- CiscoCiscoCisco may refer to:Companies:*Cisco Systems, a computer networking company* Certis CISCO, corporatised entity of the former Commercial and Industrial Security Corporation in Singapore...
- Deloitte
- Thomas Cook GroupThomas Cook GroupThomas Cook Group plc is a travel company created on 19 June, 2007 by the merger of Thomas Cook AG and MyTravel Group plc. At flotation on the London Stock Exchange 52% of the shares in the new company were held by the German mail order and department store corporation Arcandor and 48% owned by...
- United Parcel ServiceUnited Parcel ServiceUnited Parcel Service, Inc. , typically referred to by the acronym UPS, is a package delivery company. Headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States, UPS delivers more than 15 million packages a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 220 countries and territories around the...
Domestic tier three providers and suppliers:
- AggrekoAggrekoAggreko plc is the world's largest temporary power generation company, and a major supplier of temperature control equipment. It is headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom....
- Airwave Solutions
- Atkins
- Boston Consulting GroupBoston Consulting GroupThe Boston Consulting Group is a global management consulting firm with offices in 42 countries. It is recognized as one of the most prestigious management consulting firms in the world. It is one of only three companies to appear in the top 15 of Fortunes "Best Companies to Work For" report for...
- CBS OutdoorCBS OutdoorCBS Outdoor is the outdoor advertising division of media conglomerate CBS Corporation. It is the third largest outdoor media owner in revenue terms...
- Crystal CG
- EurostarEurostarEurostar is a high-speed railway service connecting London with Paris and Brussels. All its trains traverse the Channel Tunnel between England and France, owned and operated separately by Eurotunnel....
- Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
- G4S
- GlaxoSmithKlineGlaxoSmithKlineGlaxoSmithKline plc is a global pharmaceutical, biologics, vaccines and consumer healthcare company headquartered in London, United Kingdom...
- Gymnova
- Heathrow Airport
- Heineken UK
- Holiday InnHoliday InnHoliday Inn is a brand of hotels, formally a economy motel chain, forming part of the British InterContinental Hotels Group . It is one of the world's largest hotel chains with 238,440 bedrooms and 1,301 hotels globally. There are currently 5 hotels in the pipeline...
- John LewisJohn Lewis (department store)-Recent developments:In June 2004, John Lewis announced plans to open its first store in Northern Ireland at the Sprucefield Park development, the province's largest out of town shopping centre, located outside Lisburn and from Belfast. The application was approved in June 2005 and the opening of...
- McCann Worldgroup
- MondoMondoMondo , may also refer to:-Currency:* Mondo , the possible name of a worldwide established currency-Culture and entertainment:Fictional characters* Mondo , a comic book character...
- Nature Valley
- Next
- The Nielsen Company
- Otto BockOtto BockOtto Bock is a German prosthetics company situated in Duderstadt. It was founded in 1919 by its namesake prosthetist, Otto Bock. It was created in response to the large number of injured veterans from World War I....
- PopulousPopulous-External links:*...
- Rapiscan SystemsRapiscan SystemsRapiscan Systems is a global privately held company that specializes in walk-through metal detectors, and x-ray machines for airport luggage and cargo screening...
- Rio TintoRio Tinto GroupThe Rio Tinto Group is a diversified, British-Australian, multinational mining and resources group with headquarters in London and Melbourne. The company was founded in 1873, when a multinational consortium of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto river, in Huelva, Spain from the...
- TechnogymTechnogymTechnogym is a manufacturer of fitness equipment based in Cesena, Italy.It was founded in 1983 by Nerio Alessandri and now it is a world leader in the wellness and fitness fields.-History:...
- Thames WaterThames WaterThames Water Utilities Ltd, known as Thames Water, is the private utility company responsible for the public water supply and waste water treatment in large parts of Greater London, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Kent, and some other areas of in the United Kingdom...
- TicketmasterTicketmasterTicketmaster Entertainment, Inc. is an independent American ticket sales and distribution company based in West Hollywood, California, USA, with operations in many countries around the world. In 2010 it merged with Live Nation to become Live Nation Entertainment...
- Trebor
- Westfield Group
Ticketing
Organisers estimate that some 1.5 million tickets would be available for the Paralympic Games. Ticket sign-up was launched on 22 March 2010 and all tickets will go on sale to the public on 9 September 2011. Ticket prices will be announced in May 2011. It is estimated that 63% of Paralympic tickets will be sold. There will also be free events: for example, the marathon, and road cycling. Tickets will cost between £10 and £45 with the ceremonies costing between £20.12 and £500. Organisers say that half the tickets will cost £10 or less and that 95% of the tickets will be under £50. In addition there will be tickets that children and the elderly can by for £5 and day passes for multi sports, costing just £10.Countdown
A digital clock, located in Trafalgar SquareTrafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...
, commenced a countdown to the opening ceremony on 14 March 2011. However, less than 24 hours after it was switched on, it suffered a technical failure, and stopped—displaying "500 (days) 7 (hours) 06 (minutes) 56 (seconds)." It was quickly repaired.
Hospitality
The only way to buy official on-site hospitality packages will be through the London 2012 Prestige Ticketing programme. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has appointed Prestige Ticketing Limited to exclusively operate the London 2012 Prestige Ticketing programme. Official hospitality packages will only be available to buy from Prestige Ticketing Ltd by UK or EEA companies and residents from spring 2011. The Prestige Ticketing programme provides exclusive access to the official London 2012 on-site hospitality packages including top-category tickets, fine dining and entertainment at the Olympic and Paralympic Games venues.Logo
There have been two London 2012 logos: one for the bidding process created by Kino Design and a second as the brand for the Games themselves. The former is a ribbon with blue, yellow, black, green, and red stripes winding through the text "LONDON 2012," making the shape of the River ThamesRiver Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
in East London. The latter, designed by Wolff Olins
Wolff Olins
Wolff Olins is a brand consultancy, based in London, New York City and Dubai. It employs 150 designers, strategists and account managers, and has been part of the Omnicom Group since 2001.-History:...
, was unveiled on 4 June 2007 and cost £400,000. This new logo is a representation of the number 2012, with the Olympic Rings
Olympic symbols
The Olympic symbols are icons, flags and symbols used by the International Olympic Committee to promote the Olympic Games. Some—such as the flame, fanfare, and theme—are more common during Olympic competition, but others, such as the flag, can be seen throughout the year.-Motto:The Olympic motto is...
embedded within the zero.
This will be the first time that the same essential logo is to be used for both the Olympic and Paralympic games.
The standard colours are green, magenta, orange and blue; however the logo has incorporated a variety of colours, including the Union Flag
Union Flag
The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom. It retains an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth Realms; for example, it is known as the Royal Union Flag in Canada. It is also used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas...
to promote the handover ceremony. The flexibility of the logo has also enabled sponsors to incorporate their corporate colours into a personalised version, such as Lloyds TSB
Lloyds TSB
Lloyds TSB Bank Plc is a retail bank in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1995 by the merger of Lloyds Bank, established in Birmingham, England in 1765 and traditionally considered one of the Big Four clearing banks, with the TSB Group which traces its origins to 1810...
, British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
, and Adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
.
London 2012 has stated that the new logo is aimed at reaching young people. Sebastian Coe stated that it builds upon everything that the organising committee has said "about reaching out and engaging young people, which is where our challenge is over the next five years." One observer, a managing director of an advertising agency, noted that the logo bore a strong resemblance to the logo for the 1974–1982 children's television programme Tiswas
Tiswas
Tiswas was a Saturday morning children's British television series which ran from 5 January 1974 to 3 April 1982 and was produced for the ITV network by ATV Network Limited....
, commenting that appealing to young people is difficult, and that they will see right through attempts to patronise them.
Early public reaction to the logo, as measured by a poll on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
website, was largely negative: more than 80% of votes gave the logo the lowest possible rating. Several newspapers have run their own logo competitions, displaying alternative submissions from their readers. The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
displayed a design by a macaque monkey
Macaque
The macaques constitute a genus of Old World monkeys of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. - Description :Aside from humans , the macaques are the most widespread primate genus, ranging from Japan to Afghanistan and, in the case of the barbary macaque, to North Africa...
. It was suggested that the logo resembles the cartoon character Lisa Simpson
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
performing fellatio
Fellatio
Fellatio is an act of oral stimulation of a male's penis by a sexual partner. It involves the stimulation of the penis by the use of the mouth, tongue, or throat. The person who performs fellatio can be referred to as the giving partner, and the other person is the receiving partner...
and others have complained that it looks like a distorted Swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
. In February 2011, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
complained that the logo appeared to spell out the word "Zion
Zion
Zion is a place name often used as a synonym for Jerusalem. The word is first found in Samuel II, 5:7 dating to c.630-540 BCE...
" and threatened to boycott the Olympics. Iran submitted its complaint to the International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
, describing the logo as "racist", asking that it be withdrawn and the designers be "confronted". The IOC "quietly" rejected the demands, and Iran announced it would not boycott the Games.
A segment of animated footage released at the same time as the logo was reported to trigger seizures in a small number of people with photosensitive epilepsy
Photosensitive epilepsy
Photosensitive epilepsy is a form of epilepsy in which seizures are triggered by visual stimuli that form patterns in time or space, such as flashing lights, bold, regular patterns, or regular moving patterns.-Symptoms:...
. The charity Epilepsy Action
Epilepsy Action
Epilepsy Action is a UK based charity providing information, advice and support for people with epilepsy.The organisation was founded in 1950 as the British Epilepsy Association and adopted Epilepsy Action as its working name in 2002....
received telephone calls from people who had had seizure
Seizure
An epileptic seizure, occasionally referred to as a fit, is defined as a transient symptom of "abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain". The outward effect can be as dramatic as a wild thrashing movement or as mild as a brief loss of awareness...
s after watching the sequence on TV. In response, a short segment was removed from the London 2012 website. Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
, then London Mayor, said that the company who designed the film should not be paid for what he called a "catastrophic mistake."
A blogger at the BBC said that "London 2012's new logo has got the country talking [although] not in the manner the organisers would have hoped." One employee at a design firm described it as "well thought out" and anticipated it would "become a source of pride for London and the Games."
In October 2008, it was reported that clothing branded with the logo accounted for 20% of sales at Adidas' flagship Oxford Street store, despite occupying just 5% of floor space.
Mascots
The official mascots for the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games were unveiled on 19 May 2010; this marks the second time (after Vancouver) that both Olympic and Paralympic mascots were unveiled at the same time. Wenlock and MandevilleWenlock and Mandeville
Wenlock and Mandeville are the official mascots for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics being held in London, United Kingdom.The mascots were unveiled on 19 May 2010; this marks the second time that both Olympic and Paralympic mascots were unveiled at the same time...
are animations depicting two drops of steel from a steelworks in Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
. They are named Wenlock, after the Shropshire town of Much Wenlock
Much Wenlock
Much Wenlock, earlier known as Wenlock, is a small town in central Shropshire, England. It is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the northeast, is the Ironbridge Gorge, and the new town of Telford...
, which held a forerunner of the current Olympic Games
Wenlock Olympian Society Annual Games
The Wenlock Olympian Society Annual Games, dating from 1850, are a forerunner of the modern Olympic Games. They are held each year in Much Wenlock in Shropshire, England.-Overview:...
, and Mandeville, after Stoke Mandeville
Stoke Mandeville
Stoke Mandeville is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district to the south-east of Aylesbury in the county of Buckinghamshire, England. Although a separate civil parish, the village falls within the Aylesbury Urban Area...
, a village in Buckinghamshire where a forerunner to the Paralympic Games
Paralympic Games
The Paralympic Games are a major international multi-sport event where athletes with a physical disability compete; this includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and Cerebral Palsy. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which are held immediately following their...
were first held. The writer Michael Morpurgo
Michael Morpurgo
Michael Morpurgo, OBE FKC AKC is an English author, poet, playwright and librettist, best known for his work in children's literature. He was the third Children's Laureate.-Early life:...
wrote the story concept to the mascots, and an animation was produced; it is intended that this will form part of an ongoing series concerning the mascots in the run-up to the Games in 2012. Two stories have been created about the mascots: Out Of A Rainbow, the story of how Wenlock and Mandeville came to be, and Adventures On A Rainbow, which features the children from Out Of A Rainbow meeting the mascots and trying out many different Olympic and Paralympic sports.
Handover ceremony
The handover ceremony marked the moment when the previous games in Beijing in 20082008 Summer Paralympics
The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games, the thirteenth Paralympics, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to September 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao....
handed over the Paralympic Flag to the new host city of London.Mayor of London
Mayor of London
The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
received the flag from Mayor of Beijing Guo Jinlong
Guo Jinlong
Guo Jinlong is a politician of the People's Republic of China and Mayor of Beijing.- Biography :He graduated from Nanjing University Department of Physics in 1969 and joined the Communist Party of China in 1979, and was sent to work in Sichuan....
, on behalf of London. The handover ceremony was like the one used for the Olympic Games. featured the urban dance group ZooNation, the Royal Ballet and Candoco, a disabled dance group, all dressed as typical London commuters waiting for a bus by a zebra crossing. A double-decker bus drove around the stadium, being guided by Ade Adepitan, to music composed by Philip Sheppard
Philip Sheppard (musician)
-Biography:Philip Sheppard trained in Cello and Composition at the Royal Academy of Music, during which time he specialised in contemporary music. He worked closely with Hans Werner Henze, Sir Michael Tippett and Luciano Berio during this time as a founder member of The Kreutzer String Quartet...
which was already folded down showing a privet hedge featuring famous London landmarks such as Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, England, over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, from which it takes its name...
, The Gherkin
30 St Mary Axe
30 St Mary Axe, the Swiss Re Building , is a skyscraper in London's main financial district, the City of London, completed in December 2003 and opened at the end of May 2004...
and the London Eye
London Eye
The London Eye is a tall giant Ferris wheel situated on the banks of the River Thames, in London, England.It is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, and the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, visited by over 3.5 million people annually...
. Cherisse Osei, drummer for pop start Mika
Mika
Mika may refer to:* Mika , a singer-songwriter based in London* FC MIKA, Armenian football team**Mika Stadium-Male given name :* Mika Aaltonen , Finnish football player...
and Sam Hegedus (who has played with numerous of Artisits including Pink) then performed before the bus folded back into its original form, sporting a multi coloured Paralympic livery.
Paralympic Day
On 8 September 2011, Paralympic Day, Rick EdwardsRick Edwards
Rick Edwards is a British TV presenter who mainly works on Channel 4 and E4. Rick has presented T4 with co-hosts Georgie Okell, Miquita Oliver, Jameela Jamil and Alexa Chung from which he left on 3 July 2011...
, Ade Adepitan and Iwan Thomas
Iwan Thomas
Iwan Gwyn Thomas MBE is a sprinter who represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the Olympic Games in the 400 m, and Wales at the Commonwealth Games. Thomas is the current UK record holder at 400 m with a time of 44.36 seconds and is a former European and Commonwealth games champion...
hosted an event in Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...
. The event celebrated the Paralympic Games, by showcasing the 20 sports which feature in the festival. A number of the sessions were made inclusive to people with hearing disabilities. The event featured athletes such as Oscar Pistorius
Oscar Pistorius
Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius is a South African sprint runner. Known as the "Blade Runner" and "the fastest man on no legs", Pistorius, who has a double amputation, is the world record holder in the 100, 200 and 400 metres events and runs with the aid of Cheetah Flex-Foot carbon fibre transtibial...
, Ellie Simmonds and Sascha Kindred
Sascha Kindred
Sascha Kindred OBE is a British swimmer who competed in the Paralympic Games on four occasions, winning eleven medals.-Early life:...
. A bronze statue of Pistorius created by Ben Dearnley was unvailed in the near 12 hour showcase. At 7pm the official invite of athletes to attend the 2012 games took place.
On September 10, 2011 Sainburys hosted a family concert in Clapham Common
Clapham Common
Clapham Common is an 89 hectare triangular area of grassland situated in south London, England. It was historically common land for the parishes of Battersea and Clapham, but was converted to parkland under the terms of the Metropolitan Commons Act 1878.43 hectares of the common are within the...
entitled Super Saturday to celebrate the one year to go mark. The event featured live music from acts such as Nicola Roberts
Nicola Roberts
Nicola Maria Roberts is a British recording artist and entrepreneur. In 2002 Roberts auditioned for the reality televisions series and competition Popstars The Rivals which saw her finish in the final line-up of a girl group named Girls Aloud...
and The Saturdays
The Saturdays
The Saturdays are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London, United Kingdom. The group consists of five members Una Healy, Mollie King, Frankie Sandford, Vanessa White and Rochelle Wiseman. In 2007 the band were formed through Fascination Records which gave them an instant record deal with...
. In addition people attending the event could try out Paralympic sports, meet athletes and more.
Test events
Many test events were held through out 2011 and 2012, either through an existing championship e.g. such as Wimbledon or as a specially created event held under the banner of London Prepares. Some events were closed to the public, others were ticketed. Basketball and BMX were the first events to be tested within the Olympic Park.Participating Nations
The following National Paralympic CommitteeNational Paralympic Committee
National Paralympic Committees are the national constituents of the worldwide Paralympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Paralympic Committee , they are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Paralympic Games.The Paralympic Games are a major...
s are scheduled to send delegations to compete.
Sports
The London Paralympics will be the first Games since the 2000 Summer Paralympics2000 Summer Paralympics
The 2000 Paralympic Games were held in Sydney, Australia, from 18 October to 29 October. The eleventh Summer Paralympic Games, an estimated 3800 athletes took part in the Sydney programme. They commenced with the opening ceremony on 18 October 2000...
in Sydney in which athletes with intellectual disabilities
Intellectual disability
Intellectual disability is a broad concept encompassing various intellectual deficits, including mental retardation , deficits too mild to properly qualify as MR, various specific conditions , and problems acquired later in life through acquired brain injuries or neurodegenerative diseases like...
(ID) will be authorised to compete following a decision by the International Paralympic Committee
International Paralympic Committee
The International Paralympic Committee is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and functions as the international federation for nine sports...
in 2008. Athletics
Athletics at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
Athletics events at the 2012 Summer Paralympics are scheduled to be held in the Olympic Stadium in London, United Kingdom, from 31 August to 9 September 2012.-Classification:Athletes are given a classification depending on the type and extent of their disability...
, swimming and table tennis
Table tennis at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
Table tennis at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London will take place from Thursday 30 August to Saturday 8 September 2012 at ExCeL Exhibition Centre. 276 athletes, 174 men and 102 women, will compete in 29 events. Table tennis events have been held at the Paralympics since the first Games in Rome...
will include events with an ID classification.
Twenty sports are on the programme:
- Archery (9)
- Athletics (166)
- BocciaBocciaBoccia is a traditional recreational sport, similar to bocce. The name Boccia is derived from the Latin word for boss – bottia. The sport is competed at national and international level, by athletes who require a wheelchair because of physical disability...
(7) - CyclingCyclingCycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
-
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RoadRoad bicycle racingRoad bicycle racing is a bicycle racing sport held on roads, using racing bicycles. The term "road racing" is usually applied to events where competing riders start simultaneously with the winner being the first to the line at the end of the course .Historically, the most...
(30) -
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TrackTrack cyclingTrack cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using track bicycles....
(20)
-
- EquestrianEquestrianismEquestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
(11) 
Football 5-a-side (1)
Football 7-a-side (1) 
GoalballGoalballGoalball is a team sport designed for blind athletes. It was devised by Hanz Lorenzen , and Sepp Reindle , in 1946 in an effort to help in the rehabilitation of visually impaired World War II veterans...
(2)
JudoParalympic JudoParalympic judo is an adaptation of the Japanese martial art of judo for visually impaired competitors. The rules of the sport are only slightly different from regular judo competitions...
(13)
PowerliftingPowerliftingPowerlifting is a strength sport. It resembles the sport of Olympic weightlifting, as both disciplines involve lifting weights in three attempts. Powerlifting evolved from a sport known as 'odd lifts' which followed the same three attempt format but used a wide variety of events akin to Strongman...
(20)
RowingRowing (sport)Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
(4)
SailingSailingSailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
(3)
ShootingParalympic shootingParalympic shooting is an adaptation of shooting sports for competitors with disabilities. Shooting is a test of accuracy and control, in which competitors use pistols or rifles to fire a series of shots at a stationary target. Competitions are open to all athletes with a physical disability....
(12)
SwimmingSwimming (sport)Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
(148)- Table tennisParalympic table tennisParalympic table tennis is a Paralympic sport which follows the rules set by the International Table Tennis Federation with slight modifications for wheelchair athletes. Athletes from all disability groups can take part. Athletes receive classifications between 1-10...
(29) - Volleyball (2)
- Wheelchair basketballWheelchair basketballWheelchair basketball is basketball played by people in wheelchairs and is considered one of the major disabled sports practiced. The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation is the governing body for this sport. It is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee as the sole...
(2) - Wheelchair fencingWheelchair fencingWheelchair fencing is a version of Fencing for athletes with a disability. Wheelchair fencing is governed by the International Wheelchair Fencing that is a federation of the International Paralympic Committee, and is one of the sports in the Summer Paralympic Games.-Classification:*class A *class B...
(12) - Wheelchair rugbyWheelchair rugbyWheelchair rugby, , is a team sport for athletes with a disability. It is currently practiced in over twenty countries around the world and is a Paralympic sport....
(1) - Wheelchair tennisWheelchair TennisWheelchair tennis is one of the forms of tennis adapted for those who have disabilities in their lower bodies. The size of courts, balls, and rackets are same, but there are two major differences from pedestrian tennis; they use specially designed wheelchairs and the ball may bounce up to two times...
(6)
Calendar
On 25 August 2011 official schedule was revealed.Broadcasting
: Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
will broadcast the Games, with over 150 hours of television coverage.
Paralympic flag
On 26 September 2008 the Olympic and Paralympic flags were raised outside City HallCity Hall (London)
City Hall is the headquarters of the Greater London Authority which comprises the Mayor of London and London Assembly. It is located in Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames near Tower Bridge...
formally mark London becoming host city for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Beijing Gold medalist Christine Ohuruogu
Christine Ohuruogu
Christine Ijeoma Ohuruogu MBE is an English athlete, who specialises in the 400 metres; the event for which she is the current Olympic and former World and Commonwealth Champion...
raised the Olympic flag, whilst Paralympic Champions, Helene Raynsford
Helene Raynsford
Helene Raynsford is a British rower who competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics.She trained at the Royal Ballet School before an injury ended her chances of becoming a professional dancer. At university Raynsford studied biochemistry but a head injury at the age of 21 left her needing the use of a...
and Chris Holmes
Chris Holmes (swimmer)
Chris Holmes MBE is a former British swimmer. Prior to the 2008 Summer Paralympics, he was "Britain's most successful Paralympic swimmer", having won a total of nine golds, five silvers, and one bronze medal at the Paralympic Games. Holmes represented Great Britain at four Paralympics, from 1988 to...
raised the Paralympic flag.
Stamps
In August 2009 the Royal MailRoyal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
commissoned artists and illustrators to create 30 stamps which were released in batches of 10 during 2009 to 2011. The 30 stamps symbolise at the Games take place during the 30th Olympiad. Each stamp featured an Olympic or Paralympic sport and inadditon had the London 2012 logo on each stamp. The Royal Mail had initionally approched photographers to be included as well but this was abandoned as the photos would have to be of dead people as the only living person allowed to feature on stamps in the United Kingdom is the Queen. On July 22, 2011 the last of the 30 stamps were released.