2012 Summer Olympics

The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad,[1] also known informally as London 2012, take place in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July (when the opening ceremony is held) until 12 August 2012. The first event, the group stages in women's football, began two days earlier on 25 July.[2][3] Over 10,000 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) are expected to participate.[4] Following a bid headed by former Olympic champion Sebastian Coe and the then Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, London was selected as the host city on 6 July 2005 during the 117th IOC Session in Singapore, defeating bids from Moscow, New York City, Madrid and Paris.[5] London will become the first city to officially host the modern Olympic Games three times,[6][7] having previously done so in 1908 and in 1948.[8][9] Construction in preparation for the Games has involved considerable redevelopment, particularly themed towards sustainability.[10] The main focus of this is a new 200 hectare Olympic Park, constructed on a former industrial site at Stratford in the east of London.[11] The Games also make use of many venues which were already in place before the bid. Bidding process

Main article: Bids for the 2012 Summer Olympics

A London 2012 Olympics banner at The Monument in London By 15 July 2003, the deadline for interested cities to submit bids to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), nine cities had submitted bids to host the 2012 Olympics. These cities were Havana, Istanbul, Leipzig, London, Madrid, Moscow, New York City, Paris and Rio de Janeiro.[12] Since the United Kingdom hosted the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, three bids had been made for a British city to host the Summer Olympics – Birmingham for the 1992 Games and Manchester for the 1996 and 2000 Games. Preliminary planning for a possible London bid for the 2012 Olympics began in 1997.[13] The United Kingdom had successfully hosted the UEFA Euro 1996 Championships and the 2002 Commonwealth Games, both of which satisfied the IOC that the United Kingdom as a whole could host large sporting events and generated impetus for the country to have a Golden Decade of sport – which included the 2012 Summer Olympics.[14] The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said his primary motivation for initiating and lobbying for the city's bid was to develop the East End of London, neglected for over thirty years.[15] On 18 May 2004, the IOC, as a result of a scored technical evaluation, reduced the number of cities to five: London, Madrid, Moscow, New York and Paris.[16] All five cities submitted their candidate files by 19 November 2004, and were visited by the IOC inspection team 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 that one of the key members of the Paris bid team would face charges over alleged corrupt party political finances.[17] On 6 June 2005, the IOC 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, followed closely by London, which had narrowed most of the gap observed by the initial evaluation in 2004 regarding Paris. New York and Madrid also received very positive evaluation reports.[18]

Sebastian Coe, the head of the London 2012 bid Throughout the process, 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 as lagging Paris by a considerable margin; however, the situation began to improve with the appointment of Sebastian Coe as new head of London 2012 on 19 May 2004.[19] In late August 2004, reports predicted a London and Paris tie in the 2012 bid.[20] 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".[21] On 6 July 2005, the final selection was announced at the 117th IOC Session in Singapore. 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.[22] The celebrations in London were short-lived, being overshadowed by bombings on London's transport system less than 24 hours after the announcement.[23]

Development and preparation

Main article: 2012 Summer Olympic development The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) was created to oversee the staging of the Games after the success of the bid, and held their first board meeting on 3 October 2005.[24] The committee, chaired by Lord Coe, is in charge of implementing and staging the games, while the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is in charge of the construction of the venues and infrastructure.[24] In April 2006, the Olympic Delivery Authority board was established.[25] 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. 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. The organisation is also responsible for the supervision of the £9.3 billion of public sector funding.[26] In August 2011, security concerns arose surrounding the hosting of the Olympic Games in London[27] due to the 2011 England riots, with a few countries expressing fear over the safety of the Games,[28] in spite of the International Olympic Committee's assurance that the riots will not affect the Games.[29] The IOC's Coordination Commission for the 2012 Games completed their tenth and final visit to London in March 2012. They concluded that "London is ready to host the world this summer".[30] Venues and infrastructure Main article: Venues of the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics

The Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy on the Isle of Portland in Dorset will host the sailing events 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 Park and Horse Guards Parade. Some of the new facilities will be reused in their Olympic form, while others will be resized or relocated.[31] 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 London. The football tournament will be staged at several grounds around the UK.[32] Work began on the Park in December 2006, when a sports hall in Eton Manor was pulled down.[33] The athletes' village in Portland was completed in September 2011.[34] In November 2004 the 500-acre Olympic Park plans were revealed.[35] The plans for the site were approved in September 2004 by Tower Hamlets, Newham, Hackney and Waltham Forest.[36] The redevelopment of the area to build the Olympic Park required compulsory purchase orders of property. The London Development Agency was in dispute with London and Continental Railways about the orders in November 2005. The LCR accused the LDA of killing off development in the area. The LDA planned to buy land alongside the Olympic Park for the Stratford City development project, bringing the 180-acre site of the former Stratford Rail Lands into a mixed-use development, including 4,500 new homes, office space, hotels and shops.[37] This resulted in 2011 with the completion of the largest urban shopping centre in Europe being operated by Westfield.[38] By May 2006, 86% of the land had been bought as businesses fought eviction; this led to an enquiry being set up. 206 companies had to relocate by July 2007.[39] In addition, residents who opposed the eviction tried to find way to stop it by setting up campaigns. However they had to leave as 94% of land was bought and the other 6% bought as a £9 billion regeneration project started.[40]

Aerial view of the Olympic Park in April 2012 However, there were some issues with the original venues not being challenging enough or being financially unviable. For example, the road racing at the Olympic Games was originally scheduled to take place in Regent's Park and on Hampstead Heath. Instead the Olympic road races will start and finish on The Mall in central London, extend into Surrey to the south and include loops around Box Hill.[41] The Olympic mountain bike event will take place at Hadleigh Farm after the event was moved from Weald Country Park,[42] after the UCI labelled the course at the park "too easy" in July 2008.[43] A location in Kent was also considered.[44] The Olympic marathon course, which was set to finish in the Olympic stadium, was moved to The Mall.[45] The idea angered some members of the local community, who said they had been left out of the Olympics as no events would take place in the boroughs. The change was made as closing Tower Bridge would cause gridlock in central London.[46][47][48] North Greenwich Arena 2 was scrapped in a cost-cutting exercise, Wembley Arena being used for badminton and rhythmic gymnastics events instead.[49][50][51][52] Public transport

The Olympic Javelin service runs between St Pancras and Ebbsfleet, via Stratford London's public transport was an element of the bid which was scored poorly in the IOC's initial evaluation; however, they felt that if the improvements were delivered in time for the Games then London would cope.[53] Transport for London (TfL) carried 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,[54] and the introduction of a new "Javelin" high-speed rail service,[55] using the Hitachi Corporation's "bullet" trains.[56] The platforms at Stratford International station (which are at a height designed for Eurostar trains) will be temporarily raised to accommodate the Javelin trains.[57] According to Network Rail, an additional 4,000 train services will run during the Games, and train operators will put on longer trains during the day.[58] During the Games, Stratford International station will not be served by any international services as Eurostar services will pass through the station without stopping. Passengers must change at London St Pancras and travel out to Stratford with the Javelin service to reach the Olympic Park.[59] TfL have also announced that westbound trains will not stop at Hackney Wick railway station.[60] Pudding Mill Lane DLR station, which is located within the boundary of the Olympic Park, will close entirely during the Games.[61]

The Emirates Air Line crosses the River Thames between Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Docks TfL has also built a £25 million cable car across the River Thames, the Emirates Air Line, to link 2012 Olympics venues.[62] It was inaugurated in June 2012 and crosses the Thames between Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Docks, carrying up to 2,500 passengers an hour at a heights above 50 metres (160 ft) 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 system could provide a crossing every 30 seconds.[63] The plan is to have 80% of athletes travel less than 20 minutes to their event[64] and to have 93% of athletes within 30 minutes of their event.[65] The Olympic Park would be served by ten separate railway lines with a combined capacity of 240,000 passengers per hour.[66] In addition, the LOCOG planned for 90% of the venues to be served by three or more types of public transport.[65] Two park-and-ride sites were off the M25 with a combined capacity of 12,000 cars 25 minutes away from the Olympic Park. Another park-and-ride site was planned in Ebbsfleet which would have capacity for 9,000 cars where spectators could board a 10-minute shuttle bus.[65] To get spectators to Eton Dorney, four park-and-ride schemes were set up. Spectators would be dropped off at Windsor Racecourse with a bridge going over the Thames linking the racecourse to the rowing venue.[67] Some lanes on some roads in London will be dedicated to athletes, officials and VIPs.[68][69] Concerns have been expressed at the logistics of spectators travelling to the events outside London. In particular, the sailing events at Portland are in an area without direct motorway connections, and with local roads that are heavily congested by tourist traffic in the summer.[70] However, the Weymouth area did undergo a major upgrade to its road infrastructure. A £77 million relief road connecting Weymouth to Dorchester was built and opened in 2011.[71][72] Some £16 million was put aside for the rest of the improvements.[73] In addition the plans removed five roundabouts to ease congestion and replaced them with traffic lights.[74][75] But some residents were unhappy that the roundabouts were removed.[76] FirstGroup will provide the 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.[77][78] TfL have published information to encourage cycling as a mode of transport during the Games.[79] Cyclists, like motorists, are not permitted to ride in the designated Olympic Lanes on London streets. Some designated cycle paths such as the Lea Valley towpath are closed to the public during the Olympics.[80] 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. The original budget for the games was £2.4 billion, but this was increased almost fourfold to about £9.3 billion ($14.46 billion) in 2007.[81] The revised figures were announced to the House of Commons on 15 March 2007 by Tessa Jowell. Along with East End regeneration costs, the breakdown was: Sector Cost Building the venues and infrastructure for the Games £5.3 billion Elite sport and Paralympic funding £400 million Security and policing £600 million Regeneration of the Lower Lea Valley £1.7 billion Contingency fund £2.7 billion VAT £800 million Sponsors [show]Sponsors of the 2012 Olympic Games To help fund the cost of staging the Games, the London Olympic organisers have agreed partnership deals with major companies. The companies have signed up into four categories; worldwide, tier one, tier two and tier three.[82] The companies have together provided around £1.4bn of funding, allocated approximately 50–50 between the IOC and the London organisers.[83] Volunteers Unpaid volunteers known as Games Makers will perform a variety of tasks before and during the Games.[84] A target of 70,000 volunteers was set as early as 2004.[85] When recruitment took place in 2010, over 240,000 applications were received.[86] Sebastian Coe said in February 2012, "Our Games Makers will contribute a total of around eight million volunteer hours during the Games and the Games simply wouldn't happen without them".[87] Ticketing Organisers estimated that some 8 million tickets would be available for the Olympic Games,[88] and 1.5 million tickets for the Paralympic Games.[88][89] It is estimated that 82% of available Olympic tickets and 63% of Paralympic tickets will be sold. LOCOG aims to raise £375–£400 million in ticket sales. There will also be free events: for example, the marathon, triathlon and road cycling,[90] although, for the first time in Olympic history, the sailing events will be ticketed.[91] Tickets for the London Prepares series, the Olympic test events, started to go on sale in May 2011.[92] To reduce congestion, ticket holders are entitled to free use of London's public transport network on the day of the event.[93] Following IOC rules, people applied for tickets from the NOC of their country of residence. European Union residents were able to apply for tickets in any EU country.[94] In Great Britain, ticket prices range from £20 for many events to £2,012 for the most expensive seats at the opening ceremony. Free tickets were given to military personnel, and children were invited to win tickets.[95] Free tickets were also given to the survivors and families of those who died during 7 July 2005 London bombings.[96] Initially, people were able to apply for tickets via a website from 15 March 2011 until 26 April 2011. There was a huge demand for tickets, with 1.8 million people applying for 20 million tickets – three times the 6.6 million tickets available in the first round lot, with 95% of the applications from Great Britain. More than 50% of the sessions went to a random ballot.[97][98] Over half the people who applied got no tickets, and the process was widely criticised, one consumer group questioning the point of taking money out of people's bank accounts before they knew which tickets they had successfully purchased,[99] and triple Olympic Champion Bradley Wiggins labelling the process a shambles.[100] However, Lord Coe and the LOCOG insisted that the process was fair, and that there was no perfect system.[101] On 11 May 2012 a round of nearly one million "second chance" tickets went on sale.[102][103] There was a second round of ticket sales for events that failed to sell out in the initial allocation.[104] This took place over a 10-day period between 23 June and 3 July 2011, with priority given to those who were unsuccessful in the first allocation process. At this point there were about 1.7 million tickets for football and 600,000 for other sports, including archery, hockey, football, judo, boxing and volleyball, among other sports with 1.5 million tickets priced between £20 and £50. Because so many people were buying tickets and because the Ticketmaster website did not update immediately, 15,000 had their application rejected, but 90% of people did get some tickets; some events sold out in 15 minutes, and by 8 am, ten sports had sold out.[105] People who were successful in the first round of tickets were allowed to buy more during the period 8–17 July 2011. By this point 1.5 million tickets were available for football, 40,000 for volleyball and 8,000 for freestyle wrestling on a first-come-first-served basis. However, by 10 July all the tickets for volleyball had been sold, as 3.5 million tickets had been sold in total. In Russia people bought "Olympic vouchers" which one would have to redeem in London during July and August 2012, with people making their own accommodation and travel arrangements.[106] In Brazil, the ticket website and payment system did not work properly for the first three and a half days.[107] The British government was also asked to explain why it bought 9,000 tickets.[108] Countdown

The Countdown Clock in Trafalgar Square During the closing ceremony of the 2008 Olympics, the Olympic Flag was formally handed over from the Mayor of Beijing to the Mayor of London. This was followed by a section highlighting London,[109] One month later, the Olympic and Paralympic flags were raised outside the London City Hall.[110] A countdown clock in Trafalgar Square was unveiled, 500 days before the games.[111] The clock broke down the following day.[112] The countdown to the start of the Olympics began with a ceremony for the lighting of the Olympic flame in Olympia, Greece.[113] Security Main article: Security for the 2012 Summer Olympics The security operation is led by the police, with 10,000 officers available, supported by 13,500 members of the armed forces. Naval and air assets, including ships situated in the Thames, Eurofighter jets and surface-to-air missiles, will be deployed as part of the security operation. The cost of security has also increased from £282 million to £553 million. This will be the biggest security operation Britain has faced for decades. The figure of 13,500 armed forces personnel is more than Britain currently has deployed in Afghanistan.[114] The Metropolitan Police and the Royal Marines carried out security exercises in preparation for the Olympics on 19 January 2012, with 50 marine police officers in rigid inflatables and fast response boats, joined by up to 100 military personnel and a Lynx Navy helicopter.[115] The Ministry of Defence distributed leaflets to residents of the Lexington building in Bow, announcing that a missile system was to be stationed on top of the water tower.[116][117] This caused concern to some residents.[116][117] The Ministry said it probably would use Starstreak missiles and that site evaluations had taken place, but that no final decision had taken place.[116][117] It emerged in July 2012 that G4S, the firm responsible for supplying security staff for the Olympics, had been unable to recruit enough, so the shortfall would have to be made up by 3,500 UK military servicepeople. There were also media reports that G4S had failed to respond to people applying for jobs as security staff, that recruits were inadequately trained, that some were teenagers, and that some could not speak English well enough. Logo and graphics 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 Thames in East London. The latter, designed by Wolff Olins, was unveiled on 4 June 2007 and cost £400,000.[118] This new logo is a representation of the number 2012, with the Olympic Rings embedded within the zero.[119]

The Paralympics logo (far left) and the different official colour combinations for the Wolff Olins main logo design This will be the first time that the same essential logo is to be used for both the Olympic and Paralympic games.[120]

An example of branding on a sign at Glasgow Central station, showing passengers where to queue for trains to Hampden Park 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.[121] The flexibility of the logo has enabled sponsors to incorporate their corporate colours into a personalised version, such as Lloyds TSB,[122] British Airways[123] and Adidas.[124] 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."[125] 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.[126] Several newspapers have run their own logo competitions, displaying alternative submissions from their readers. The Sun displayed a design by a macaque monkey.[127] It was suggested that the logo resembles the cartoon character Lisa Simpson performing fellatio[128] and others have complained that it looks like a distorted swastika.[129] In February 2011, Iran complained that the logo appeared to spell out the word "Zion" and threatened to boycott the Olympics.[130] 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.[131] Claire Stocks, a blogger for the BBC, commented that "London 2012's new logo has got the country talking [although] not in the manner the organisers would have hoped".[132] 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 claimed to have had seizures after watching the sequence on TV. In response, a short segment was removed from the London 2012 website.[133] Ken Livingstone, then London Mayor, said that the company who designed the film should not be paid for what he called a "catastrophic mistake."[134] Mascots Main article: Wenlock and Mandeville

Mascots Mandeville (left) and Wenlock (right) The official mascots for the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games were unveiled on 19 May 2010;[135] this marks the second time (after Vancouver) that both Olympic and Paralympic mascots were unveiled at the same time. Wenlock and Mandeville are animations depicting two drops of steel from a steelworks in Bolton.[135] 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.[135] The writer Michael Morpurgo wrote the story concept to the mascots, and an animation was produced;[136] it is intended that this will form part of an ongoing series concerning the mascots in the run-up to the Games in 2012.[135] 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.[137] Medals

Front and reverse view of the gold medal Approximately 4,700[138] Olympic and Paralympic medals have been produced by the Royal Mint.[139] They were designed by David Watkins (Olympics) and Lin Cheung (Paralympics).[140] Virtually all the gold, silver and copper was mined in Salt Lake County.[141] Each medal weighs 375–400g, has a diameter of 85mm and is 7mm thick, with the sport and discipline engraved on the rim.[142] The obverse, as is traditional, features Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, stepping from the Panathinaiko Stadium that hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, with Parthenon in the background; the reverse features the Games logo, the River Thames and a series of lines representing "the energy of athletes and a sense of pulling together".[143] The medals were transferred to the Tower of London vaults on 2 July 2012 for storage.[142] Test events Main article: London Prepares series Many test events were held throughout 2011 and 2012, either through an existing championship such as 2012 Wimbledon Championships 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.[144] Torch relay Main article: 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay

The torch relay in Newport, Isle of Wight The Olympics torch relay ran from 19 May to 27 July 2012, before the games. Plans for the relay were developed in 2010–11, with the torch-bearer selection process announced on 18 May 2011.[145] The Olympic flame arrived on flight BA2012 on 18 May 2012 from Greece.[146] The relay will last 70 days, with 66 evening celebrations and six island visits, involving about 8,000 people carrying the torch a distance of about 8,000 miles (12,800 km), starting from Land's End in Cornwall.[147] The torch had one day outside of the United Kingdom when it visited Dublin on 6 June.[148] The relay is focusing on National Heritage Sites, locations and venues with sporting significance, key sporting events, schools registered with the Get Set School Network, green spaces and biodiversity, Live Sites (city locations with large screens), festivals and other events.[149] Opening ceremony Main article: 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony The opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics was held on 27 July 2012 and was called "The Isles of Wonder".[150] Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle was the artistic director for the opening ceremony and the music directors were Rick Smith and Karl Hyde of the electronic music duo Underworld.[151] The games were officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.[152] For each, it was the second Games they have personally opened, Philip having opened the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne and Elizabeth having opened the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. The Games held in Australia and Canada in 1988, 2000 and 2010 were opened by their countries' respective Governors General. A short film starring Daniel Craig as secret agent James Bond was screened during the television coverage of the ceremony.[153] Sir Paul McCartney has announced he will perform at the end of the ceremony.[154] Closing ceremony Main article: 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony The closing ceremony of the London 2012 Summer Olympics will start on 12 August 2012. The ceremony will include a handover by Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, to Eduardo Paes, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, the host city of 2016 Summer Olympics.[155] The Spice Girls are rumoured to be reuniting for the first time since 2008 to perform in the closing ceremony.[156] The Games

Participants

Team sizes

 300+
 100+
 30+
 10+
 5+
 1+

Over 10,000 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) are expected to participate,[4] surpassing the 1948 Summer Olympics in London and the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester as the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the United Kingdom.[157] The Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee, which had planned to continue functioning after the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, had its membership withdrawn by the IOC Executive Committee at the IOC session of June 2011. However, Dutch Antillean athletes who qualify for the 2012 Olympics will be allowed to participate independently under the Olympic flag. As South Sudan has no recognized NOC, South Sudanese track and field athlete Guor Marial will also be participating independently in the Games.[158] There were initial concerns about Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei not sending any female athletes to the games: nevertheless, the Saudi team eventually sent two women.[159][160]

Afghanistan (6)[161]
Albania (11)[162]
Algeria (39)[163]
American Samoa (5)[164]
Andorra (6)[165]
Angola (34)[166]
Antigua and Barbuda (5)[167]
Argentina (137)[168]
Armenia (25)[169]
Aruba (4)[170]
Australia (410)[171]
Austria (70)[172]
Azerbaijan (53)[173]
Bahamas (24)[174]
Bahrain (14)[175]
Bangladesh (5)[176]
Barbados (6)[177]
Belarus (165)[178]
Belgium (115)[179]
Belize (3)[180]
Benin (5)[181]
Bermuda (8)[182]
Bhutan (2)[183]
Bolivia (6)[184]
Bosnia and Herzegovina (6)[185]
Botswana (4)[186]
Brazil (258)[187]
British Virgin Islands (2)[188]
Brunei (3)[189]
Bulgaria (63)[190]
Burkina Faso (5)[191]
Burundi (6)[192]
Cambodia (6)[193]
Cameroon (33)[194]
Canada (277)[195]
Cape Verde (3)[196]
Cayman Islands (5)[197]
Central African Republic (6)[198]
Chad (3)[199]
Chile (35)[200]
China (380)[201]
Colombia (104)[202]
Comoros (3)[203]
Congo (7)[204]
DR Congo (4)[205]
Cook Islands (8)[206]
Costa Rica (11)[207]
Côte d'Ivoire (10)[208]
Croatia (108)[209]
Cuba (110)[210]
Cyprus (13)[211]
Czech Republic (133)[212]
Denmark (113)[213]
Djibouti (6)[214]
Dominica (2)[215]
Dominican Republic (35)[216]
Ecuador (36)[217]
Egypt (113)[218]
El Salvador (10)[219]
Equatorial Guinea (2)[220]
Eritrea (12)[221]
Estonia (33)[222]
Ethiopia (35)[223]
Fiji (9)[224]
Finland (55)[225]
France (330)[226]
Gabon (24)[227]
Gambia (2)[228]
Georgia (35)[229]
Germany (392)[230]
Ghana (9)[231]
Great Britain (541)[232] (host)
Greece (104)[233]
Grenada (10)[234]
Guam (8)[235]
Guatemala (19)[236]
Guinea (4)[237]
Guinea-Bissau (4)[238]
Guyana (6)[239]
Haiti (5)[240]
Honduras (27)[241]
Hong Kong (42)[242]
Hungary (157)[243]
Iceland (27)[244]
Independent Olympic Athletes (4)[245][246]
India (83)[247]
Indonesia (22)[248]
Iran (53)[249]
Iraq (8)[250]
Ireland (66)[251]
Israel (37)[252][253]
Italy (284)[254]
Jamaica (50)[255]
Japan (293)[256]
Jordan (9)[257]
Kazakhstan (114)[258]
Kenya (47)[259]
Kiribati (3)[260]
North Korea (51)[261]
South Korea (245)[262]
Kuwait (11)[263]
Kyrgyzstan (14)[264]
Laos (3)[265]
Latvia (46)[266]
Lebanon (10)[267]
Lesotho (4)[268]
Liberia (4)[269]
Libya (5)[270]
Liechtenstein (3)[271]
Lithuania (62)[272]
Luxembourg (9)[273]
Macedonia (4)[274]
Madagascar (7)[275]
Malawi (3)[276]
Malaysia (30)[277]
Maldives (5)[278]
Mali (6)[279]
Malta (5)[280]
Marshall Islands (4)[281]
Mauritania (2)[282]
Mauritius (11)[283]
Mexico (102)[284]
Micronesia (6)[285]
Moldova (22)[286]
Monaco (6)[287]
Mongolia (29)[288]
Montenegro (33)[289]
Morocco (67)[290]
Mozambique (6)[291]
Myanmar (6)[292]
Namibia (9)[293]
Nauru (2)[294]
Nepal (5)[295]
Netherlands (178)[296]
New Zealand (184)[297]
Nicaragua (6)[298]
Niger (6)[299]
Nigeria (55)[300]
Norway (64)[301]
Oman (4)[302]
Pakistan (21)[303]
Palau (5)[304]
Palestine (5)[305]
Panama (7)[306]
Papua New Guinea (8)[307]
Paraguay (8)[308]
Peru (16)[309]
Philippines (11)[310]
Poland (218)[311]
Portugal (77)[312]
Puerto Rico (24)[313]
Qatar (12)[314]
Romania (103)[315]
Russia (436)[316]
Rwanda (7)[317]
Saint Kitts and Nevis (7)[318]
Saint Lucia (4)[319]
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (3)[320]
Samoa (8)[321]
San Marino (4)[322]
São Tomé and Príncipe (2)[323]
Saudi Arabia (19)[324]
Senegal (31)[325]
Serbia (115)[326]
Seychelles (6)[327]
Sierra Leone (2)[328]
Singapore (23)[329]
Slovakia (46)[330]
Slovenia (65)[331]
Solomon Islands (4)[332]
Somalia (2)[333]
South Africa (125)[334]
Spain (282)[335]
Sri Lanka (7)[336]
Sudan (6)[337]
Suriname (5)[338]
Swaziland (3)[339]
Sweden (134)[340]
Switzerland (102)[341]
Syria (10)[342]
Chinese Taipei (44)[343]
Tajikistan (16)[344]
Tanzania (7)[345]
Thailand (37)[346]
Timor-Leste (2)[347]
Togo (6)[348]
Tonga (3)[349]
Trinidad and Tobago (30)[350]
Tunisia (83)[351]
Turkey (114)[352]
Turkmenistan (10)[353]
Tuvalu (3)[354]
Uganda (16)[355]
Ukraine (237)[356]
United Arab Emirates (26)[357]
United States (530)[358]
Uruguay (29)[359]
Uzbekistan (54)[360]
Vanuatu (5)[361]
Venezuela (70)[362]
Vietnam (18)[363]
Virgin Islands (7)[364]
Yemen (4)[365]
Zambia (7)[366]
Zimbabwe (7)[367]

Sports The 2012 Summer Olympic programme features 26 sports and a total of 39 disciplines: Aquatics Diving (8) Swimming (34) Synchronized swimming (2) Water polo (2) Archery (4) Athletics (47) Badminton (5) Basketball (2) Boxing (13) Canoeing Sprint (12) Slalom (4) Cycling BMX (2) Mountain biking (2) Road (4) Track (10) Equestrian Dressage (2) Eventing (2) Jumping (2) Fencing (10) Field hockey (2) Football (2) Gymnastics Artistic (14) Rhythmic (2) Trampoline (2) Handball (2) Judo (14) Modern pentathlon (2) Rowing (14) Sailing (10) Shooting (15) Table tennis (4) Taekwondo (8) Tennis (5) Triathlon (2) Volleyball Volleyball (2) Beach volleyball (2) Weightlifting (15) Wrestling Freestyle (11) Greco-Roman (7) For the first time, women's boxing is included in the programme, with 36 athletes competing in three different weight classes. There is a special dispensation to allow the various shooting events to go ahead, which would otherwise be illegal under UK gun law.[citation needed] In Tennis, mixed doubles returns to the Olympic programme for the first time since 1924.[368] London's bid featured 28 sports, in line with other recent Summer Olympics, but the IOC voted to drop baseball and softball from the 2012 Games two days after it selected London as the host city. The IOC reinforced its decision to drop both sports during the 2006 Winter Olympics, after they lost votes for reconsideration, and were last scheduled for a Games at the 2008 Olympics.[369] Following the decision to drop the two sports, the IOC held a vote on whether or not to replace them. The sports considered were karate, squash, golf, roller sports and rugby sevens. Karate and squash were the two final nominees, but neither received enough votes to reach the required two-thirds majority.[369] Even though formal demonstration sports were eliminated following the 1992 Summer Olympics,[370] special tournaments for non-Olympic sports can be run during the games, such as the Wushu tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics.[371] There were attempts to run Twenty20 cricket,[371] and Netball[372] tournaments parallel with the 2012 games, but neither campaign was successful. Calendar The final official schedule was released on 15 February 2011.[373] OC Opening ceremony ● Event competitions 1 Event finals CC Closing ceremony July / August 25 Wed 26 Thu 27 Fri 28 Sat 29 Sun 30 Mon 31 Tue 1 Wed 2 Thu 3 Fri 4 Sat 5 Sun 6 Mon 7 Tue 8 Wed 9 Thu 10 Fri 11 Sat 12 Sun Events

Ceremonies			OC																CC	
Archery			●	1	1	●	●	●	1	1										4
Athletics										2	5	7	5	4	4	5	6	8	1	47
Badminton				●	●	●	●	●	●	1	2	2								5
Basketball				●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1	2
Boxing				●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	3	●	5	5	13
Canoeing					●	●	1	1	2				●	●	4	4	●	4		16
Cycling				1	1			2	2	2	1	1	1	3	●	●	2	1	1	18
Diving					1	1	1	1		●	●	1	●	1	●	1	●	1		8
Equestrian				●	●	●	2		●	●	●	●	1	1	2					6
Fencing				1	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	1								10
Field hockey					●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1		2
Football	●	●		●	●		●	●		●	●		●	●		1	●	1		2
Gymnastics				●	●	1	1	1	1	1	1	3	3	4		●	●	1	1	18
Handball				●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1	2
Judo				2	2	2	2	2	2	2										14
Modern pentathlon																		1	1	2
Rowing				●	●	●	●	3	3	4	4									14
Sailing					●	●	●	●	●	●	●	2	2	2	1	1	1	1		10
Shooting				2	2	1	1	1	1	2	2	1	2							15
Swimming				4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4					1	1			34
Synchronized swimming												●	●	1		●	1			2
Table tennis				●	●	●	●	1	1	●	●	●	●	1	1					4
Taekwondo															2	2	2	2		8
Tennis				●	●	●	●	●	●	●	2	3								5
Triathlon											1			1						2
Volleyball				●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1	●	1	1	4
Water polo					●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	●		1	2
Weightlifting				1	2	2	2	2		2	1	1	1	1						15
Wrestling												2	3	2	2	2	2	3	2	18

Total events 12 14 12 15 20 18 22 25 23 18 21 17 22 16 32 15 302 Cumulative total 12 26 38 53 73 91 113 138 161 179 200 217 239 255 287 302 July / August 25 Wed 26 Thu 27 Fri 28 Sat 29 Sun 30 Mon 31 Tue 1 Wed 2 Thu 3 Fri 4 Sat 5 Sun 6 Mon 7 Tue 8 Wed 9 Thu 10 Fri 11 Sat 12 Sun Events Records The first world records of the 2012 Summer Olympics have been set by a South Korean archer Im Dong Hyun[374]. Broadcasting

Main article: List of 2012 Summer Olympics broadcasters

The International Broadcast Centre in June 2011 The London 2012 Olympic Games will be the tenth Olympic Games (counting both Summer and Winter Games) where Panasonic's digital technologies will be used as the official recording format, dating since the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games. The official international video will be produced and distributed from the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) in London Olympic Park, in 1080/50i High-Definition (HD) format.[375] Panasonic announced that DVCPRO HD will be the official recording format for capturing the Games. Olympic Broadcasting Services London (OBSL), the Host Broadcaster, will use P2 HD series equipment to support the broadcast of the competition. The cameras that will be used are the AG-HPX250, the company’s first P2 HD handheld camcorder with AVC-Intra recording and two new AVCCAM HD handheld camcorders, the AG-AC160 and AG-AC130, with Full HD imagers and a new, wider 21X HD zoom lens.[376] According to the IOC's claim to providing over-the-air television coverage to as broad a worldwide audience as possible, London 2012 is scheduled to be broadcast by a number of regional broadcasters. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the host broadcaster for the Olympics and Channel 4 the host broadcaster for the Paralympics. The BBC aims to broadcast by various channels all 5,000 hours of the Olympic Games.[377] Much of the actual broadcasting is originated by the Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS). The United States television rights currently owned by NBC account for over half the rights revenue for the IOC.[book 1] Many television broadcasters granted rights to the games have bureaux and studios in London, but since at least the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary, rights-holder operations are hosted in the dedicated International Broadcast Centre (IBC). London's IBC is planned to be inside the security cordon of the Olympic Park. YouTube will live stream the games to countries all over the world as part of an IOC deal, which will also be viewable on YouTube's mobile and Xbox Live applications.[378] Environmental policy

The Olympic Park will incorporate 45 hectares of wildlife habitat, with a total of 525 bird boxes, and 150 bat boxes. Local waterways and riverbanks are to be enhanced as part of the process.[379] Renewable energy will also feature at the Olympics. It was originally planned to provide 20% of the energy for the Olympic Park and Village from renewable technologies; however, this may now be as little as 9%.[380] Proposals to meet the original target included large-scale on-site wind turbines and hydroelectric generators in the River Thames. However, these plans were scrapped for safety reasons.[381] The focus has since moved to installing solar panels on some buildings, and providing the opportunity to recover energy from waste. Food packaging at the Olympics will be made from compostable materials – like starch and cellulose-based bioplastics – where it cannot be re-used or re-cycled. This will include fast food wrappers, sandwich boxes and drink cartons. After they have been used many of these materials will be suitable for anaerobic digestion (AD), allowing them to be made into renewable energy.[382] Tourism and the 2012 Games

The 2012 Games park near Stratford is attracting new tourists to the area.[383] The upgraded Greenway cycle and walking path provides an ideal viewing point for the park while the site remains closed to the public. In 2011, a new initiative to bring tourists and visitors into the area will involve a public waterbus "hop-on hop-off" route, from Limehouse Basin to waterways near the Olympic Park.[384] Cultural Olympiad

Main article: 2012 Cultural Olympiad The Olympic Charter, the set of rules and guidelines for the organization of the Olympic Games and for governing the Olympic Movement, states that "The OCOG shall organise a programme of cultural events which must cover at least the entire period during which the Olympic Village is open."[385] The Cultural Olympiad comprises many programs with over 500 events spread over four years over the whole of the United Kingdom, and culminating in the London 2012 Festival.[386][387] Marketing

The official 2012 Olympics book Merchandise On 21 July 2009 the LOCOG announced that Hornby had won the license to develop and market a range associated with the Games. The license allowed the company to sell products across its Corgi, Hornby, Scalextric and Airfix brands. Airfix will have model kits for all of the main venues,[388] including a 1:500 scale Olympic Stadium.[389] The centre-piece of the Scalextric collection will be a cycling Velodrome set.[388] The collection was launched by British cyclist Lizzie Armitstead in Hamleys toy store in June 2011.[390] In March 2011 the LOCOG commissioned and published a series of training guides.[391] The merchandise was sold online and in five shops known as "The London 2012 Shop" in London Heathrow Airport, London Stansted Airport, St Pancras International Station, Paddington Station and in John Lewis on Oxford Street. In addition Adidas sold its London 2012 range in its flagship store on Oxford Street and selected Next stores sold their 2012 range.[392] Sainsburys as official sponsors of the Paralympics also sold merchandise within their stores.[393] Official song "Survival", a single released by the English band Muse, will be the official song of the Olympics.[394] It will be broadcast when the athletes enter the stadium and in the period before medal ceremonies; international broadcasters will also be playing it while reporting on the Games.[395] Stamps

A portable shop at VISA FIVB Beach Volleyball International (2011) In August 2009 the Royal Mail commissoned artists and illustrators to create 30 stamps which were released in batches of 10 during 2009 to 2011. The choice of 30 stamps for the issue symbolises the fact that the Games take place during the 30th Olympiad. Each stamp featured an Olympic or Paralympic sport and in addition carried the London 2012 logo.[396] The Royal Mail had initially proposed that photographs 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.[397] Stamps with an Olympic theme go back to the very first games in Athens in 1890 when the organisers commissioned the sale of stamps in order to balance the books and construct the last four venues. When London first held the Games in 1908 no stamps were commissioned. That occasion and 1912 are the only times when stamps were not issued. When London last held the Games in 1948, just four stamps were issued.[398] On 22 July 2011 the last of the 30 stamps were released.[399] Coins Two £5 coins have been made to mark London 2012 Olympics. Saiman Miah, a British Bangladeshi architecture student, designed the coins.[400][401] As with other Olympics since 1952, the Royal Mint will strike a set of commemorative one-kilogram gold and silver coins.[402] The striking of such large coins necessitated a new Act of Parliament, the Coinage (Measurement) Act 2011. Chariots of Fire The 1981 Best Picture Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire, which depicts Britain's athletics successes in the 1924 Olympics, is also a recurring theme in promotions for the 2012 London Olympics. The film's theme tune was featured at the opening of the 2012 London New Year's fireworks celebrating the Olympics,[403] and the film's iconic beach-running scene and theme tune are utilized in The Sun's "Let's Make It Great, Britain" Olympic ads.[404] The five thousand runners who first tested the new Olympic Park were also spurred on by the Chariots of Fire theme tune.[405] As an official part of the London 2012 Festival celebrations, a new digitally re-mastered version of Chariots of Fire will screen in over 100 cinemas throughout the UK. The re-release will begin 13 July 2012, two weeks before the Olympic opening ceremony.[406] A 2012 stage adaptation of the same title also coincides with the Olympics, opening 9 May at London's Hampstead Theatre and transferring to the West End on 23 June.[407] Controversies

Main article: Controversies at the 2012 Summer Olympics There have been several controversies during the lead-up to the Games, including disputes regarding sponsorship, the athletes' use of social media, and several political issues. Greek triple jumper Paraskevi Papachristou was expelled from the Games prior to the official commencement because of a Twitter message that was viewed as racist.[408]