London 2012 Summer Olympics!

Exciting time has come - summer Olympics is here! And this time the lucky Brits are buzzing, because this year one of the most watched events on Earth is going to be held in their own city of London from 27 July until 12 August 2012, followed by the 2012 Paralympic Games from 29 August to 9 September 2012. This year over 10,000 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) are expected to participate in 300 events at the Olympic Games.



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. London will become the first city to officially host the modern Olympic Games three times, having previously done so in 1908 and in 1948.
( <-- The Countdown Clock on Trafalgar Square)



The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games 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 are going to be reused in their Olympic form, while others will be resized or relocated. 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. Football tournament will be staged at several grounds around the UK.

The 26 Olympic sports at London 2012:     The 20 Paralympic sports at London 2012:
Aquatics                                                                     Boccia
Archery                                                                      Football (5-a-side)
Athletics                                                                     Football (7-a-side)
Badminton                                                                 Goalball
Basketball                                                                  Paralympic Archery
Boxing                                                                        Paralympic Athletics
Canoe and Kayak                                                      Paralympic Cycling
Cycling                                                                        Paralympic Equestrian
Equestrian                                                                  Paralympic Judo
Fencing                                                                       Paralympic Powerlifting
Football                                                                      Paralympic Rowing
Gymnastics                                                                Paralympic Sailing
Handball                                                                    Paralympic Shooting                                       
Hockey                                                                      Paralympic Swimming
Judo                                                                           Paralympic Table Tennis
Modern Pentathlon                                                  Volleyball (sitting)
Rowing                                                                      Wheelchair Basketball
Sailing                                                                        Wheelchair Fencing
Shooting                                                                    Wheelchair Rugby
Table Tennis                                                             Wheelchair Tennis
Taekwondo
Tennis
Triathlon
Volleyball
Weightlifting
Wrestling

The above 26 sports of the London Olympics 2012 will take place in 28 venues and 20 Paralympic sport will be held in 21 venues.

The official mascots for the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games were unveiled on 19 May 2010. 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. The writer Michael Morpurgo wrote the story concept to the mascots, and an animation was produced.


Approximately 4,700 Olympic and Paralympic medals have been produced by the Royal Mint. They were designed by David Watkins and Lin Cheung. The medal weighs 375–400g, has a diameter of 85mm and is 7mm thick, with the sport and discipline engraved on the rim. The obverse 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".

The Opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics will be held on 27 July 2012 and be called "The Isles of Wonder". The games will be officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. A short film starring Daniel Craig as secret agent James Bond will be screened during the television coverage of the ceremony. Sir Paul McCartney has announced he will perform at the end of the 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.

Visit the official web-site for all the updates and news: http://www.london2012.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Summer_Olympics
http://www.londontopic.co.uk/


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Enjoy!!


xo K