The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today elected London as the host city of the Games of the XXX Olympiad in 2012 during the 117th IOC Session in Singapore. London beat Paris in the final round of voting by 54 votes to 50. This marks the first time that a city will host the Olympic Games for the third time. London hosted the Games in 1908 and 1948.
At the signing of the Host City Contract, which sets out the legal, commercial and financial rights and obligations of the IOC, the Host City and the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of the Host Country in relation to the Olympic Games, the IOC President, Jacques Rogge, congratulated the London team for winning the vote and praised the high quality of their file and final presentation.
“London is an Olympic winner” said Rogge when opening the press conference that followed the announcement ceremony. “I am very happy about this result because of the high quality of the bid. I have every confidence that London will host excellent Games”, he continued.
The President also thanked the other Candidate Cities: Paris, New York, Moscow and Madrid, for their excellent efforts and the quality of their candidatures. He also hoped that their disappointment at not being elected for the Games of 2012 would not discourage them from submitting future bids to host the Olympic Games.
The President said: “I am delighted to see that many of the London representatives have had a long journey in the Olympic Games. I remember when I met Sebastian Coe in the Olympic Village in Moscow in 1980, just after he had won his gold medal. Who would have thought that we would be where we are today. I congratulate London for their inspiring project and look forward to collaborating with them over the next seven years”.
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