London wins Olympic bid

Wednesday, 6 July 2005 12:00 AM

London has won the right to host the 2012 Olympics after a tense vote in Singapore.

It was left in a head-to-head battle with Paris after Madrid, Moscow and New York were eliminated in the opening rounds of voting.

After each of the five shortlisted countries made last-ditch attempts to gain support with video presentations, International Olympic Committee (IOC) members made their decision on one of the closest races ever seen.

But despite France's bid being heavily tipped to win ever since the candidate cities were first named, London came from behind to win by 54 votes to 50 in the final round.

Moscow was the first city to be eliminated, after which point all delegates who voted for the Russian capital changed their vote to one of the remaining cities.

New York, which has been beset by problems over a new stadium, was next to go and Madrid's dreams of being an Olympic venue were shattered in the third round.

The final decision was made after a final vote at approximately 11:30 BST this morning, but the world was made to wait for more than an hour for the final decision.

After the Olympic anthem, a sealed envelope was passed to IOC president Jacques Rogge and he made a short speech thanking all cities before making the announcement.

Sebastian Coe, who has led a high-profile bid team that also contained England football captain David Beckham, Olympic gold medallist Denise Lewis and Princess Anne, could barely contain his delight after the decision was made.

"This is just the most fantastic opportunity to do everything we ever dreamed of in British sport," Lord Coe said.

Tony Blair took time out from the G8 summit in Gleneagles to address reporters afterwards, thanking the bid team, who he called "awesome", and saying he has never been involved with such an impressive group of people before.

"It's a momentous day for London," he said. "We now have a great chance to develop sport in our country and build a great legacy."

He added: "The London bid had this idea of a legacy not just for our country but for the whole Olympic movement and that enthusiasm behind the Olympic ideal was very important."

As the time of the vote approached nervous crowds awaited the announcement in Trafalgar Square and Stratford, east London, which is set to undergo major redevelopment in preparation for the Olympics and will boast the main stadium.

They reacted with an immense cheer as London's name was announced, while boos and disbelief emanated from the gathered crowds in Paris.

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