Congratulations to London and the U.K. for winning the right to host the 2012 Summer Olympics!
The U.K. deserves it, not having hosted an Olympic games since the 1940s or 50s (I forget which).
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Recent Comments
hadn’t hosted since the 1920s, IIRC…but no matter.
At least with it being in Britain, our ally in the War on Terra, the right-wing talking heads can’t call this a slap in the face to Bush and his Iraq policy.
Congratulations London!
Paris has hosted plenty of Winter Olympic games over the past 50 years, though, most recently in 1992. Why should France keep being chosen over and over for these gatherings?
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Great warm presentation in Singapore today, the last chance to swing votes!
London Games would ‘inspire athletes of tomorrow’
Lord Sebastian Coe
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COE ASKS FOR BOLD DECISION
Sebastian Coe has launched a passionate and inspirational plea to the International Olympic Committee to deliver the 2012 Games to London.
The bid chairman’s closing speech told the IOC members they had the opportunity to be “bold” and vote for London and take the Olympic movement forward – or by implication stand still and vote for a less ambitious Games.
Coe appealed “on behalf of the youth of today” and explained how he had been inspired to become an athlete as a 12-year-old by watching the 1968 Mexico Olympics on a black and white television.
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I love how Americans revise whenever it pleases them. Liberal or conservative one can always count on France bashing. I could be wrong but Paris hasn’t hosted the Games since the late 20’s. Grenoble did host the Winter Games in modern times but that’s like saying Salt Lake City is the same as NYC. As for London getting the Games, good on them. Hosting can often ’cause more problems and I’d rather not see more Paris sprawl.
…the Winter Games three times, most recently in 1992. The bids are put forth by the national Olympic Committees, which choose a single city within the nation as host. In the United States, New York won a competition among several American cities that wanted to be designated as host. So France, Great Britain and the United States were competing for the Games as much as Paris, London and New York City were vying to be host city.
Have you seen this?
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Olympics 2012 – LONDON Blair Victory!
London
Chirac loses!
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1980 – Moscow ◊ 1984 – Los Angeles ◊ 1988 – Seoul ◊ 1992 – Barcelona ◊
1996 – Atlanta ◊ 2000 – Sydney ◊ 2004 – Athens ◊ 2008 – Beijing ◊
2012 – London!
1948 Women Athletics – Fanny Blankers-Koen 3x Gold
Mother and housewife – the Flying Dutch Woman
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London
London – Trafalgar Square Today
London 1948 Last Olympic Games
Women Athletics – Fanny Blankers-Koen 3x Gold
Mother and housewife – the Flying Dutch Woman
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1980 – Moscow ◊ 1984 – Los Angeles ◊ 1988 – Seoul ◊ 1992 – Barcelona ◊
1996 – Atlanta ◊ 2000 – Sydney ◊ 2004 – Athens ◊ 2008 – Beijing ◊
2012 – London!
PS Difference was 4 votes: Madrid votes to London.
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Fanny Won 4x Gold in 1948
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The votes from Madrid in the thrid round were split 17/15 in favor of Paris. Contrary to expectations, London was ahead at that stage with Paris two points ahead of Madrid. The biggest factor was the final presentation which apparently was a real tear-jerker from the London team and included a long passage delivered in French.
Both the previous London games were held at short notice after wars. As the link suggests, the 1948 games were very spartan with the women being lodged with families and the men living in army wooden huts erected in the parks.
Ironically the factor that probably swung the 54/50 vote was the Olympic village proposals. The London bid includes competitior accommodation on the main site as the stadium, velodrome and swimming complex. The Paris bid had a village isolated from the main venues and there was the prospect of the athletes having to spend time stuck on the “Perifique”. Extra rail transport links to the main area are already in the proces of builg built – the new highspeed link to the Channel Tunnel stops at Stratford and the line from central London will be used for special Olympic services to the statdium. The East London Line (part of the tube) and the Docklands light railway are both getting extensions that will serve the area and Crossrail linking east-west is a possible but not necessary addtion. Road traffic in central London is a lot better as a punative congestion charge for most carbon fuel cars is in force (now £8/$14 a day) which is subsidising bus transport.
In terms of geopolitics, the emphasis on Africa initiated by Blair for the G8 probably helped as a big block of votes are from that continent.
In historical terms, England is the home of the modern revival of the ancient Olympics – de Coubertain got the idea from an “Olympics” meeting held for about 40 years before his proposals in a small town – and the birthplace of the Paralympics. The British paralympics team were actually second on the league table in Athens.