2012 Summer Olympics

"2012 Olympics" and "London 2012" redirect here. For the Summer Paralympics, see 2012 Summer Paralympics. For the Winter Youth Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, see 2012 Winter Youth Olympics. For the video game, see London 2012 (video game).

Games of the XXX Olympiad
Four abstract shapes placed in a quadrant formation, spelling out "2012". The word "London" is written in the shape representing the "2", while the Olympic rings are placed in the shape representing the "0".
Emblem of the 2012 Summer Olympics; other colour variants are shown below
LocationLondon, United Kingdom
MottoInspire a Generation
Nations204+2 (including 2 IOA teams)
Athletes10,518 (5,863 men, 4,655 women)
Events302 in 26 sports (39 disciplines)
Opening27 July 2012
Closing12 August 2012
Opened by
Queen Elizabeth II[1]
Cauldron
StadiumOlympic Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
Summer
Winter
2012 Summer Paralympics
Olympic rings
Part of a series on
2012 Summer Olympics

The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad[a] and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the group stage in women's football, began on 25 July at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, followed by the opening ceremony on 27 July.[3][4] There were 10,518 athletes from 206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) who participated in the 2012 Olympics.[5]

Following a bid headed by former Olympic champion Sebastian Coe and the then-London mayor Ken Livingstone, London was selected as the host city at the 117th IOC Session in Singapore on 6 July 2005, defeating bids from Moscow, New York City, Madrid, and Paris.[6] London became the first city to host the modern Olympics three times,[7][b] having previously hosted the Summer Games in 1908 and 1948.[8][9] Construction for the Games involved considerable redevelopment, with an emphasis on sustainability.[10] The main focus was a new 200-hectare (490-acre) Olympic Park, constructed on a former industrial site in Stratford, East London.[11] The Games also used venues that already existed before the bid.[12]

The United States topped the medal table, winning the most gold medals (48) and the highest number of medals overall (104). China finished second with a total of 91 medals (38 gold) and Great Britain came third with 65 medals overall (29 gold). Michael Phelps of the United States became the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time, winning his 22nd medal.[13] Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei entered female athletes for the first time, meaning that every currently eligible country has now sent a female competitor to at least one Olympic Games.[14] Women's boxing was included for the first time, and the 2012 Games became the first at which every sport had female competitors.[15][16][17]

The Games received considerable praise for their organisation, with the volunteers, the British military and public enthusiasm commended particularly highly.[18][19][20] The Games were described as "happy and glorious".[21] The opening ceremony, directed by Academy Award winner Danny Boyle, received widespread acclaim.[22][23] These were the final Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of Belgian Jacques Rogge, who was succeeded by German Thomas Bach the next year.

  1. ^ a b "Factsheet – Opening Ceremony of the Games of the Olympiad" (PDF) (Press release). International Olympic Committee. 9 October 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  2. ^ "Cauldron moved into position in Olympic Stadium". London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee. 30 July 2012. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012.
  3. ^ "London 2012". olympic.org. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 1 August 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
  4. ^ "Olympics Schedule & Results – Wednesday 25 July, Football". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 11 January 2016.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference athletecount was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "London 2012: Election". olympic.org. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 5 October 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2009.
  7. ^ "Coe promises Olympics to remember". BBC Sport. 6 July 2005. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
  8. ^ Barden, Mark (26 April 2008). "London's first Olympics". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 1 May 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
  9. ^ Greenberg, Stan (3 March 2011). "The 1948 London Olympics Gallery". BBC History. Archived from the original on 18 July 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
  10. ^ "Building a sustainable Games". London 2012. Archived from the original on 18 October 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2009.
  11. ^ "Newham London: The Olympic Park". London Borough of Newham. Archived from the original on 24 April 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  12. ^ "Response to the questionnaire for cities applying to become Candidate cities to host the Games of the XXX Olympiad and the Paralympic Games in 2012" (PDF). London 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  13. ^ McCrae, Donald (1 August 2012). "Michael Phelps becomes the greatest Olympian". The Guardian. London. p. 1. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  14. ^ Magnay, Jacquelin (11 August 2012). "London 2012 Olympics diary: three countries have failed to send any female athletes". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 13 August 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  15. ^ "London 2012 international digest – Day Six". BBC Sport. 2 August 2012. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  16. ^ "Saudis to send two women to London, make history". SI.com. Associated Press. 12 July 2012. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  17. ^ "An Olympic moment for women". L.A. Times Archives. 27 July 2012. Archived from the original on 17 September 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  18. ^ "London 2012: IOC chief Jacques Rogge 'very happy' with Games". BBC News. 12 August 2012. Archived from the original on 13 August 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  19. ^ Waldram, Hannah (12 August 2012). "Has the Olympics changed London?". The Guardian (London 2012 Olympics blog). Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  20. ^ Scanlan, Wayne (10 August 2012). "Buoyed by a record medal haul – and surprisingly sunny skies – the British have embraced the Olympics, turning out to live sites in droves to cheer on Team GB". Calgary Herald. London. Archived from the original on 16 August 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference Goldsmith was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Topping, Alexandra (28 July 2012). "Olympics opening ceremony: the view from abroad". The Guardian. London. p. 2. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2012.


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