1908, 1948, 2012
London 2012 – The World Cannot Wait
At the London Games, around 10,5000 athletes will compete across 26 sports with the epicentre of competition being Olympic Park. Located in Stratford, East London, Olympic Park has seen 2.5 square kilometres of industrial wasteland transformed into a green space that will provide the community state of the art sports venues as well as one of the largest urban parks created in Europe in over 150 years.
London won the bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games against four other bidding cities: Paris, Moscow, New York and Madrid. In the final round of voting, London beat favourites Paris with 54 votes to 50.
Legacy was an important element in London's winning bid. As well as the sports venues and parkland, the Olympic Village will be converted into homes with further housing built in the Park after the Games. A range of transport improvements have been constructed to service the Park including the high-speed rail service called the Javelin which will connect Stratford to central London.
Also key to London winning the Games was environmental sustainability. A number of the new venues for the Games have been built for sustainability. The Velodrome has been built from wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and has a 100% naturally ventilated system which creates a perfect track-level temperature, eliminating the need for air conditioning. The design of the venue makes optimal use of natural light, reducing the need for electric lighting and as a low cable net roof system which reduces the amount of space to heat and ventilate.
There will be up to 70,000 volunteers, the 'London 2012 Games Makers'. The Games Makers will be the face of the Games and will undertake a wide range of roles, everything from uniform distribution to ticket collection and directing pedestrian traffic.
Watching the Games has never been so popular as it is for London 2012. A total of 8.8 millions tickets are available for the Games, and since they went on sale in early 2011, they have sold at record demand and speed. The men's 100m sprint was the most popular event in the ticket request phase, with over 1 million people applying for the 40,000 available seats.
When London hosts the XXX Olympic Games in 2012, they will make history as the first city to host the Games three times. Let’s recap 1908 and 1948.
London 1908
London first hosted the Games in 1908. Rome had originally been awarded the Games however a volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1906 meant that cash-strapped Italy had to abandon its plans to stage the Games. Great Britain stepped in and London was named as the new Host City.
The 1908 Games were well managed, running from April to October although many competition days were disrupted by the fickle English weather. There were 22 sports on the program, 22 competing nations and 2,008 athletes (1,971 men and 37 women).
Australian athletes competed and marched as a team for the first time under the banner of Australasia. New Zealand's Henry St Aubyn Murray carried the flag at the opening ceremony.
Australia's rugby union team, nicknamed the Wallabies by the English Press, won Australia's only gold medal at the Games. Another impressive performance came from Reginald "Snowy" Baker who competed in swimming, diving and boxing - winning silver in the middleweight division. At 17, swimmer Frank Beaurepaire started his Olympic career, winning silver in the 400m freestyle and bronze in the 1500m freestyle.
London 1948
After a 12-year hiatus from World War II, the Olympic Games returned, with London the host in 1948. London was in a massive rebuilding phase after the war but it provided the distraction the world needed.
The Games were held from 29 July to 14 August with 59 nations competing. There were 17 sports on the program and 4,104 competitors (3,714 men and 390 women).
Australia sent a record team of 77 athletes (68 men, 9 women) - more than double the size of any previous team. Competing in nine sports, Australia brought home 13 medals (2 gold, 6 silver, 5 bronze).
The two gold medallists were John Winter in men's high jump and Merv Wood in men's single scull rowing. Medals were won across swimming, athletics, rowing and wrestling. There were also a number of athletes that made their Olympic debuts in London that would go on to great prominence at later Games such as Shirley Strickland, Jimmy Carruthers and Russell Mockridge.