The London 2012 Summer Olympic Games timeline actually goes all the way back to 1997 which is when the British Olympic Committee began planning for the bid. In 2000, the committee showed the bid to government officials and things got underway.

This bid came on the heels of three consecutive failed bids by other British cities, Birmingham in 1992 and Manchester in 1996 and 2000, as it seemed clear to the British Olympic Committee that only a city of London’s stature stood a chance at being picked to host the Olympic Games.

Things got going in 2002 when rumours about a London Olympic bid circulated in the press and In 2003 Culture Minister Tessa Jowell declared that over £2 billion had been set aside by the government for the Olympics in London.

By the summer of 2003, nine cities had submitted their bids to host the 2012 Olympic games; Havana, Leipzig, Madrid, Moscow, Istanbul, New York, Rio de Janeiro, Paris, and of course, London. By May 2004, the field was reduced to five contenders; Madrid, Moscow, Paris, New York, and London. Paris was seen as the front-runner with London the next in line, and former Olympian Sebastian Coe was strategically named the head of the London 2012 organization.

In July 2004 the International Olympic Committee met in Singapore to make the final decision. Just prior to this, France’s President Jacques Chirac was widely quoted in the media as saying that London should not be chosen because British food was so bad; the only worse food in his opinion was Finnish. As it happened, two of the International Olympic Committee representatives were natives of Finland.

Perhaps the most interesting event was that Prime Minister Tony Blair came to Singapore for some last minute meetings with committee members; he was the only head of state to do so.

The 2012 Olympic Games timeline was eventful indeed.

Photo courtesy: tompagenet

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