cielo blog home

In 2012, the Olympic Games (usually referred to as the Summer Olympics to distinguish them from the Winter Games) will be held in London. The event will run from 27^th July 2012 to 12^th August. In keeping with Olympic tradition, the Summer Olympics will give way to the Paralympics at the same venue from 29^th August 2012 to 9^th September.

As expected, the announcement by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2005 that London was going to be the host city of Olympics 2012 was met with wild celebration throughout the United Kingdom. Yet, this is not the first time for the Olympics to be in the UK’s largest city.

London was the host city for the 1908 and 1948 Olympic Games in addition to hosting numerous other global sporting events such as the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games.  In fact, the decision to have the 2012 Games in London has made the city the first in Olympic history to host the event thrice.

Anyone attending the London 2012 will be presented with probably the most diverse field in Olympic history. The 302 events in the Summer Olympics are expected to attract 205 nations and about 10,500 athletes while 147 countries will participate in the Paralympics. This diversity is consistent with the London Games official motto – Live As One.

The Organising Committee of the London Games has taken deliberate steps to ensure the Games provide a rich cultural experience of the UK for the throngs of tourists that will make their way to the Olympics and Paralympics.

In this regard, the venues used will be a mix of new, modern facilities and older, refurbished, historic venues. Some of the facilities and venues will be in key London’s landmarks such as the Horse Guards Parade and Hyde Park.

Among the biggest concerns of the IOC prior to the award of the games to London was the capacity and efficiency of London’s transport infrastructure when inundated by the millions of visitors who are expected in the city for the Olympics.

Because of that, a special team known as TfL (Transport for London) has been charged with overseeing the expansion and improvement of the transport network. Changes expected to be completed before the Games start include the expansion of the over ground rail and the introduction of high speed bullet trains from Hitachi Corporation.

There are also plans to construct a cable car over the River Thames to cut travel times between venues and ease pressure on road and rail transport. The cable car will have the capacity to ferry 2500 persons each hour with each trip lasting just 30 seconds.

The mascots for the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics are Wenlock and Mandeville respectively. Both are named after towns that have a history of involvement with either event. Much Wenlock is a Shrophshire town that hosted a forerunner of the 2012 Summer Olympics. Stoke Mandeville is a Buckinghamshire village that was the site of the first Paralympics.