London takes home the gold for 2012 Summer Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) made their announcement on Wednesday, just a couple of hours ago. The competition pitted cities like Moscow, Paris, New York, Madrid and London against one another to prove which city could do the best job of hosting the international spectacle.
The voting was extraordinarily close with London capturing 54 of the 104 votes possible at the 117th meeting of the IOC. Thousands of people in London poured out into the streets and rejoiced as the announcement was broadcast over giant TV screens in Trafalgar Square.
Tony Blair told reporters in Gleneagles, where he is hosting the G8 summit, “We have got a great chance now to develop sport in our country and to have a fantastic Olympic Games and then to leave a legacy for the future.”
Other cities weren’t so enthusiastic. Moscow offered London congratulations but people in New York and Paris were quite disappointed and Madrid, the only major European capital not to host the Olympics, had people crying and booing in the streets.
Different countries pulled out heavy weights to attempt to sway the IOC. French President Jacques Chirac personally made the presentation to the IOC for Paris. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and U.S. Olympic Committee President Peter Ueberroth, who put together the 1984 games in Los Angeles.
Some European political pundits see this as bit of a snub against France. This is the third time in 20 years France has made a bid for the games and each time they’ve been turned down. This will only add more problems for Chirac as he struggles for control with England in the EU and fights his own double-digit unemployment at home.
Madrid seemed particularly unhappy because they hadn’t bid for the games since 1972 when they lost to Munich. Barcelona hosted the games back in 1992, celebrating the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ expedition to North America.
Moscow last hosted the Olympics back in 1980. The event was boycotted by a number of nations including the U.S. over the then Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
John Stith is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.
