2012 Summer Olympic bids

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2012 Summer Olympic bids
Overview · London (winner) Madrid · Moscow · New York City · Paris
2012 Summer Olympics
Details;
Election venue	Raffles City Convention Centre, Singapore
Committee	International Olympic Committee
Important dates
First bid	15 July 2003
Second bid	15 January 2004
Shortlist	18 May 2004
Decision	6 July 2005
Decision
Winning bid	London 2012
Runner-up	Paris 2012

Five cities made the shortlist to host the 2012 Summer Olympics (formally known as the Games of the XXX Olympiad), which were awarded to London (United Kingdom) on July 6, 2005. The other four shortlisted cities were Madrid (Spain), Moscow (Russia), New York City (USA), and Paris (France). The bids for the 2012 Olympics were considered to be one of the most hotly contested in the history of the IOC. London will become the first city to host the Games three times.

[edit] Bidding process

[edit] Evaluation of applicant cities

The deadline to submit an application for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games was 15 July 2003. All nine cities that submitted bids before that date also met the 15 January 2004 deadline for the 50-page questionnaire. The committee gave a weighted average score to each city based on scores in eleven categories, such as finance, security, accommodation, past experience and transport. On 18 May 2004, the International Olympic Committee gave evalutions of the potential hosts:

Paris, France – scored 8.5 (bid details)
Madrid, Spain – scored 8.3 (bid details)
London, UK – scored 7.6 (bid details)
New York City, United States – scored 7.5 (bid details)
Moscow, Russia – scored 6.5 (bid details)
Leipzig, Germany – scored 6.0
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – scored 5.1
Istanbul, Turkey – scored 4.8
Havana, Cuba – scored 3.6

The five highest-rated candidates were allowed to progress onto the next stage and were granted the right to use the Olympic flame and Olympic rings imagery in their campaign literature.

[edit] Evaluation of candidate cities

By 19 November 2004 all five candidate cities had submitted their candidate file to the International Olympic Committee. The IOC inspection team visited the five candidate cities during February and March of 2005. The Paris bid suffered two set-backs during the IOC inspection visit: a number of strikes and demonstrations coinciding with the visits and a report coming out that Guy Drutt, one of the key members of the Paris bid team and IOC member, would face charges over alleged corrupt political party finances.^[1]

On 6 June 2005 the International Olympic Committee released its evaluation reports for the five candidate cities. Although these reports did not contain any scores or rankings, the evaluation report for Paris was considered the most positive, now followed closely by London which had narrowed down most of the gap observed at the time of the evaluation of the applicant cities in 2004. Also New York and Madrid obtained very positive evaluation reports..^[2] Moscow was considered the weakest bid and New York suffered a major set-back following the evaluation when local state authorities rejected the funding for the New York 2012 Olympic stadium on 6 June 2005.^[3] It took just a week for New York to come up with a plan B but that was considered too close to the final vote to restore its chances.

Throughout the process and up to the vote at the 117th IOC Session, Paris was widely seen as the favourite to win the nomination, particularly as this was its third bid in recent history. Originally London was seen lagging Paris by considerable margin, however this started to improve with the appointment of Sebastian Coe as new head of London 2012 on 19 May 2004. In late August 2004 some reports started emerging predicting a London and Paris tie in the 2012 bid.^[4] In the final run-up to the 117th IOC Session, London and Paris appeared to be increasingly in a neck-to-neck race. On 1 July 2005 Jacques Rogge, when asked who the winner would be, told the assembled press: "I cannot predict it since I don’t know how the IOC members will vote. But my gut feeling tells me that it will be very close. Perhaps it will come down to a difference of say ten votes, or maybe less".

[edit] Final selection process

The election occurred on 6 July 2005 at the Raffles City Convention Centre in Singapore during the 117th IOC Session held in the same city. The opening ceremony was held at the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay and the guest of honour was the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong and the latter officially opened the session. After that, it held a cultural performance of dance and songs - the theme was "One Voice, One Rhythm, One World".

At around 10:30, preliminary voting of the IOC eliminated Moscow, then New York, and finally Madrid as candidates. This left the contest between London and Paris. The IOC announced that they would release the final result at exactly 11:46. At 11:49 UTC on Wednesday, July 6, 2005, the London bid was formally announced as the winner by IOC president Jacques Rogge. London and especially Paris were the pre-announcement favourites.

The results of the final voting rounds were:

2012 Summer Olympics bidding results
City	NOC Name	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4
London	Great Britain	22	27	39	54
Paris	France	21	25	33	50
Madrid	Spain	20	32	31	-
New York City	United States	19	16	-	-
Moscow	Russia	15	-	-	-

[edit] French recriminations following vote

The Paris 2012 delegation, lead by Bertrand Delanoë, argued that Tony Blair and the London 2012 delegation would have broken the rules established by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Bertrand Delanoë stated on 10 July 2005: "They have not respected the rules established by the International Olympic Committee. I do not say that they were flirting with the yellow line, I say that they crossed the yellow line".^[5] Similar allegations were repeated by several members of the Paris 2012 delegation. Probably the most controversial move by London 2012 was its initiative to offer sweetener packages for participating athletes (includeding free flights, economical accommodations, food and vouchers for long distance calling) and immediately after announcing it, London 2012 withdrew it. This U-turn was probably a result of Jacques Rogge, President of the IOC, raising concerns because it could have started a "bidding war" if not withdrawn. Paris 2012 also claimed that the lobbying by Tony Blair would have broken IOC rules. This was strongly denied by Downing Street. Neverthless, allegations about underhand tactics continued to be made by certain members of the Paris 2012 delegation until on 4 August 2005 Jacques Rogge eliminated any further controversies by a clearly worded statement: "I made it very clear that, in my opinion, the competition was fair. It was conducted according to the rules that we have set out".^[6] The comments by Bertrand Delanoë were also criticized by some other Parisian political leaders, e.g. Claude Goasguen, Paris President of the UMP Party stated: "One cannot make such type of accusations without delivering any proof".

[edit] Mistaken voting controversy

In December 2005, some months after the bid process was over, Alex Gilady, an IOC member, suggested that Madrid should have tied for second with Paris in the third round of voting, but didn't do so due to Lambis Nikolaou of Greece pressing the wrong button. He further postulated that if this had happened, Madrid would have beaten Paris in resulting run off ballot for second place, and gone on to beat London in the final round. However, Craig Reedie, another IOC member, dismissed the claims, commenting that a claim that an unnamed member 'might' have done something which 'might' have brought about something else which 'might' have brought about a different result is 'the kind of tittle-tattle that happens after many an IOC vote'.^[7]^[8]

At the end of December 2005, Lambis Nikolaou denied the claim: "All speculations regarding my role in the third round of candidate cities for 2012 are completely unfounded. I declare that I did not vote during the third round as I had announced during the election in question." The latter is indeed confirmed by the IOC voting numbers. It also means that even if Nikolaou had voted for Madrid, it would have failed to beat Paris in the third voting round. Gilady also apologised to Nikolaou.^[9]

[edit] Candidate city overview

[edit] London

Main article: London 2012 Olympic bid

A London Underground train decorated to promote London's olympic bid.

After Birmingham and Manchester failed to deliver winning bids for the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games, it was decided that only London, with unparalleled international recognition and a population of 7.3 million, could possibly be given the chance to host a Summer Olympic Games. The jewel of the London bid was the Lower Lea Valley, the location slated to be transformed from a less desirable location into a world-class Olympic Park and Olympic Village. It will be connected via high-speed shuttle service dubbed the Olympic Javelin and existing transportation links, capable of transferring 240,000 people an hour. After the Games, the East London region will host one of Europe's largest urban parks created in decades and will be home to the Olympic Institute, a centre for sports medical centre and a place to study the Olympic ideals. The bid called for substantial improvement of the London Underground system which will handle the Olympic crowds and more investment into new Olympic sites throughout London. Also, the bid committee proposed the London Paralympic Games, which would be as important as the Olympic Games. London was considered by many to be second favourite for the bid after Paris, but last-minute intense lobbying by the bid team in Singapore probably swung the votes in their favour.

Following the success of the bid there were further developments and announcements, including reactions to the security fears highlighted by the 7 July 2005 London bombings.

[edit] Paris

Main article: Paris 2012 Olympic bid

The logo of the Paris 2012 bid on the front of the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) in Paris.

Paris, France was considered by many to be the favourite to become the host city of the 2012 Olympics, after losing out to Barcelona and Beijing for the 1992 and 2008 Olympics respectively. Paris's plan was very compact, with the placement of several sports in the Northern and Western Clusters and the Olympic Village between the two clusters. The plan had gained high technical merit due to the city's well-maintained transport system, ability to handle peak number of tourists with plentiful accommodation, and very high support among Parisians and the nation. Paris also planned to build temporary venues for some sports that can be moved and re-used elsewhere after the Games (dubbed "pre-cycling"). Much of their infrastructure, like the Stade de France, was already in place and the city had had much experience in hosting successful international sporting events, including the 1998 World Cup and the 2003 World Championships in Athletics. Its rich cultural and Olympic heritage were also emphasised. These placed Paris in a very strong position.

[edit] Madrid

Main article: Madrid 2012 Olympic bid

Madrid 2012's "Ready for you" campaign

Madrid, the capital city of Spain beat its southern counterpart Seville to represent Spain on the international stage. Madrid presented an above average bid, with almost all sports contested in three clusters all within very close proximity of each other. Several existing facilities ensured the low financing necessary to host the Olympics; new permanent sporting venues would have provided a lasting legacy to the city. The transport infrastructure would have been able to accommodate the hundreds of thousands gathering in the capital, and this positive was coupled with the use of renewable energy and hydrogen vehicles. Madrid had also organised several high-quality European and world championships. The bid gained resounding support among the city and national population and was helped with the support of former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch, who was lobbying votes for the Madrid team. Following the Evaluation Committee, which gave the concept generally high marks, Madrid emerged as a primary contender against London and Paris.

[edit] New York

Main article: New York City 2012 Olympic bid

A countdown clock on Union Square showing time until selection. It was part of the Metronome monument and has since been reverted.

New York City was selected over San Francisco as the sentimental favorite during the United States competition in 2002. The Olympic X Plan was the main concept proposed by the NYC2012 Bid team; two primary transportation lines would have strung the several individual clusters in Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn together. By combining existing world-class facilities such as Madison Square Garden, Yankee Stadium, Central Park, and the National Tennis Center with new venues like the Brooklyn Arena, Greenbelt Olympic Equestrian Park, and Olympic Regatta Center, the city hoped to show that it was worthy of holding an event of such magnitude. The city has plentiful accommodation and one of the strongest aspects of the bid was the city's ability to market itself throughout the world. At the heart of the X was to be the 4,400 room Olympic Village which would have provided spacious rooms well above the IOC benchmark. The bid was dealt a setback when New York State refused to approve the construction of the West Side Stadium which was to be a main venue for the Olympics, and hampered the bid in the short-run. However, the New York bid was revived with the utilization of a new stadium, Citi Field, as the primary venue for athletics and the ceremonies. New York was not seen as a front runner, and their chances in getting the games were hurt after Vancouver got the 2010 Winter Olympics.

[edit] Moscow

Main article: Moscow 2012 Olympic bid

Manezhnaya Square in Moscow with the logo of the bid

Moscow represented Russia in the bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The capital city's Olympic plans were built on top of the legacy created after the 1980 Summer Olympics. Moscow's River Plan called for every single competition to be staged within city limits, making this one of the most compact proposals ever. All existing venues would have been extensively renovated and more venues were to be constructed in time for the Olympics. A new, modern athletes village was to be constructed on the Moscow River, which was the centerpiece and core of the city's Olympic bid. Despite the high support from the entire nation and invaluable experience, Moscow's bid suffered from a lack of accommodation and an older transport system which may not have been able to cope with the expected traffic from the Olympics.

[edit] Other cities that submitted bids

There were several other cities that made bids to their government but were not put forward to the IOC.

[edit] Africa

[edit] Americas

São Paulo, Brazil made a bid to the Brazilian Olympic Committee (won by Rio de Janeiro)
Toronto, Ontario, in Canada, which did not bid after Vancouver, British Columbia, also in Canada, won the bidding process for the 2010 Winter Olympics. It is considered extremely unlikely that any one country would be granted the privilege of hosting two consecutive games.
United States (won by New York City)
- Included in final cut
  - San Francisco, California
- Shortlist
  - Houston, Texas
  - Washington, D.C. (in cooperation with nearby Baltimore, Maryland)
- Other bids received by United States Olympic Committee
  - Cincinnati, Ohio
  - Dallas, Texas
  - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  - Los Angeles, California
  - Tampa, Florida (in cooperation with nearby Orlando)
- Bids of unknown status
  - Detroit, Michigan in the United States and Windsor, Ontario in Canada, which are neighbouring cities, briefly considered a joint bid. This may appear to contravene IOC rules, which stipulate that Games are awarded to a single city.