The Olympic Games London 2012:

The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad,also known informally as London 2012, is scheduled to 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. Over 10,000 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) are expected to participate.

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 the117th IOC Session in Singapore, defeating bids from Moscow, New York City, Madrid andParis. London will become the first city to officially host the modern Olympic Gamesthree times, having previously done so in 1908 and in 1948.

Construction in preparation for the Games has involved considerable redevelopment, particularly themed towards sustainability The main focus of this is a new 200 hectareOlympic Park, constructed on a former industrial site at Stratford in the east of London. The Games also make use of many venues which were already in place before the bid.