oooh, cant wait for the rainy Olympics!
London wins 2012 Olympics
LONDON, England (CNN) – London has defeated European rival Paris to host the 2012 Summer Games, bringing the Olympics back to Britain for the first time in more than half a century.
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge made the announcement after IOC members voted 54-50 to eliminate the French capital in the fourth and final round of secret ballots Wednesday in Singapore.
"The International Olympic Committee has the honor of announcing that the Games of the 30th Olympiad in 2012 are awarded to the city of London," Rogge declared after opening a sealed envelope containing the result.
Thousands of people in London's Trafalgar Square cheered as they watched the announcement on giant TV screens. (Full story)
London has twice played host to the Olympics, in 1908 and 1948. It becomes the first city to host the Olympics three times.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair hailed the victory as "a momentous day for London."
London bid leader Olympic gold medalist Sebastian Coe said, "I'm absolutely ecstatic, we have the opportunity to do what we always dreamed about, getting more young people into sport.
"This is our moment. It's massive. It's huge. This is the biggest prize in sport," The Associated Press quoted Coe as saying.
England soccer captain David Beckham said, "In 2012, I can take my children to an Olympics which we might never had had the chance to do. … This is such a huge lift for our country."
Rogge also expressed joy at London's victory.
"We are very, very pleased with the victory of London," AP quoted the IOC chief as saying. "People we trust, people we know will give us a superb games."
In the French capital, groans of disappointment swept through a crowd of thousands gathered at Paris Town Hall.
It was the third defeat for Paris in 20 years, with bids for the 1992 and 2008 Games also failing.
Moscow, New York and Madrid were eliminated in the first three rounds of voting respectively. (More reaction)
Although it was a favorite, Paris never led throughout the voting, AP reported.
In the first round, London got 22 votes, Paris 21, Madrid 20 and New York 19. In the second round, Madrid had 32 votes, followed by London with 27 and Paris 25, AP said.
In the third round, London led Paris 39-33 after picking up several New York votes. In the last round, Madrid's votes were spread about evenly, giving London enough to win.
London wins 2012 Olympics
LONDON, England (CNN) – London has defeated European rival Paris to host the 2012 Summer Games, bringing the Olympics back to Britain for the first time in more than half a century.
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge made the announcement after IOC members voted 54-50 to eliminate the French capital in the fourth and final round of secret ballots Wednesday in Singapore.
"The International Olympic Committee has the honor of announcing that the Games of the 30th Olympiad in 2012 are awarded to the city of London," Rogge declared after opening a sealed envelope containing the result.
Thousands of people in London's Trafalgar Square cheered as they watched the announcement on giant TV screens. (Full story)
London has twice played host to the Olympics, in 1908 and 1948. It becomes the first city to host the Olympics three times.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair hailed the victory as "a momentous day for London."
London bid leader Olympic gold medalist Sebastian Coe said, "I'm absolutely ecstatic, we have the opportunity to do what we always dreamed about, getting more young people into sport.
"This is our moment. It's massive. It's huge. This is the biggest prize in sport," The Associated Press quoted Coe as saying.
England soccer captain David Beckham said, "In 2012, I can take my children to an Olympics which we might never had had the chance to do. … This is such a huge lift for our country."
Rogge also expressed joy at London's victory.
"We are very, very pleased with the victory of London," AP quoted the IOC chief as saying. "People we trust, people we know will give us a superb games."
In the French capital, groans of disappointment swept through a crowd of thousands gathered at Paris Town Hall.
It was the third defeat for Paris in 20 years, with bids for the 1992 and 2008 Games also failing.
Moscow, New York and Madrid were eliminated in the first three rounds of voting respectively. (More reaction)
Although it was a favorite, Paris never led throughout the voting, AP reported.
In the first round, London got 22 votes, Paris 21, Madrid 20 and New York 19. In the second round, Madrid had 32 votes, followed by London with 27 and Paris 25, AP said.
In the third round, London led Paris 39-33 after picking up several New York votes. In the last round, Madrid's votes were spread about evenly, giving London enough to win.
