London Wins Race To Host 2012 Olympics
POSTED: 6:35 am EDT July 6, 2005
UPDATED: 4:37 pm EDT July 6, 2005
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SINGAPORE -- The Summer Olympics are heading to London. The city beat out European rival Paris in the final round of voting in Singapore.
The announcement Wednesday morning drew a loud cheer in Trafalgar Square, where a large crowd had gathered to watch the announcement. London last hosted the games in 1948. Both cities were considered the favorites heading into Wednesday's balloting by members of the International Olympic Committee, with Paris considered the top choice. New York was also vying to host the games, but was knocked out of the running in the second round of voting. Madrid came in third in the balloting. And, Moscow was the first city eliminated by IOC members.Just hours before the final vote, the five cities bidding for the 2012 Olympics made their final pitches with messages of support from presidents, prime ministers and sports celebrities. The Big Apple had Muhammad Ali, the greatest, in its corner. Paris, New York, Moscow, London and Madrid gave 45-minute presentations to the IOC. Paris went in as the perceived favorite with London a strong challenger. New York and Madrid would have been surprise winners, while Moscow was a long shot.
In Depth: Host City ContendersSlideshow: London Wins 2012 Olympic Bid The announcement Wednesday morning drew a loud cheer in Trafalgar Square, where a large crowd had gathered to watch the announcement. London last hosted the games in 1948. Both cities were considered the favorites heading into Wednesday's balloting by members of the International Olympic Committee, with Paris considered the top choice. New York was also vying to host the games, but was knocked out of the running in the second round of voting. Madrid came in third in the balloting. And, Moscow was the first city eliminated by IOC members.Just hours before the final vote, the five cities bidding for the 2012 Olympics made their final pitches with messages of support from presidents, prime ministers and sports celebrities. The Big Apple had Muhammad Ali, the greatest, in its corner. Paris, New York, Moscow, London and Madrid gave 45-minute presentations to the IOC. Paris went in as the perceived favorite with London a strong challenger. New York and Madrid would have been surprise winners, while Moscow was a long shot.
New York City's Dreams Dashed
A planned celebration in New York's Rockefeller Center fizzled away before it could start. The party was supposed to mark the coming of the 2012 Summer Olympics. Instead New York lost out to London, causing one New Yorker to say "Everybody seems disappointed." But one official took the loss in stride. U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner said, "We don't need to put New York on the map. It's already the center of the universe." Meantime, news of the win sent crowds cheering in London where jets roared over the city trailing red, white and blue smoke -- the colors of the British flag -- to celebrate the win. And Prince William himself chimed in a congratulatory note saying, "I'm looking forward to what I'm sure will be a fantastic Olympic Games."Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
