2012 Summer Olympics facts for kids

A London 2012 Olympics banner at The Monument in London.

The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXX Olympiad, were held in London, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012, followed by the 2012 Paralympic Games from 29 August to 9 September.

London became the first city to host the modern Olympic Games three times; London also hosted the 1908 Summer Olympics and the 1948 Summer Olympics.

The bidding process

By the bid submission deadline of 15 July 2003, nine cities had submitted bids to host the 2012 Olympics. These cities were Havana, Istanbul, Leipzig, London, Madrid, Moscow, New York, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro.

On 18 May 2004 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) reduced the number of cities to five: London, Madrid, Moscow, New York, and Paris.

The IOC inspection team visited the five candidate cities during February and March 2005.

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 seen as the most positive, followed closely by London.

During the process, many thought Paris was most likely to win the nomination, largely because this was its third bid in recent years. In late August 2004, reports came out predicting a London and Paris tie in the 2012 bid.

On 6 July 2005, London was announced as the winner of the bid at the Raffles City Convention Centre in Singapore.

The Games

Athletes from 204 National Olympic Countries took part. In addition, four individual athletes competed under the Olympic flag—one from South Sudan and three from the region of the former Netherlands Antilles

Participating nations

Listed below are NOCs who have qualified at least one athlete. As of 7 June 2011, 101 nations have qualified at least one athlete.

Medal table

Sports

The 2012 Summer Olympics event has 26 sports. The International Olympic Committee executive board met on 13 August 2009 and approved the addition of women's boxing. The International Boxing Federation proposed that 40 athletes compete in five different weight classes.

Motto

The official motto for the 2012 Summer Olympics is "Inspire a generation". It was chosen to highlight the organiser's commitment to inspire the world to get involved in sporting events through the olympic games' legacy.

Mascots

The official mascots for the Olympics and Paralympic Games were revealed in May 2010. They were called Wenlock and Mandeville.

Sponsors

The 2012 Olympics had many sponsors. Some of the most popular ones are McDonald's, Acer, Samsung, Coca-Cola, Adidas, and Panasonic.

Olympic Games
Summer Games: 1896, 1900, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1912, (1916), 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, (1940), (1944), 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024, 2028
Winter Games: 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, (1940), (1944), 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022
Athens 2004 — Turin 2006 — Beijing 2008 — Vancouver 2010 — London 2012 — Sochi 2014 — Rio 2016 — Pyeongchang 2018 — Tokyo 2020 Games in italics will be held in the future, and those in (brackets) were cancelled because of war. See also: Ancient Olympic Games

Youth Olympic Games
Summer Games: 2010, 2014, 2018
Winter Games: 2012, 2016, 2020
Singapore 2010 — Innsbruck 2012 — Nanjing 2014

Images for kids

• 

  Lord Coe, chairman of the LOCOG

• 

  The Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy on the Isle of Portland in Dorset hosted the sailing events

• 

  The Olympic Javelin service ran between St Pancras and Ebbsfleet, via Stratford

• 

  The Emirates Air Line crosses the River Thames between Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Docks

• 

  Olympic rings marked on a street, indicating that the lane is reserved for the use of Olympic athletes and staff

• 

  The Countdown Clock in Trafalgar Square

• 

  Medals of the London 2012 Olympics

• 

  The torch relay in Newport, Isle of Wight

• 

  Tower Bridge was illuminated with the Olympic Rings in the week leading up to the opening ceremony.

• 

  Fireworks at the opening ceremony

• 

  The Holland Heineken House, the Dutch home in Alexandra Palace.

• 

  Mo Farah (left) with Usain Bolt (right), demonstrating one another's famous gestures (the "Lightning Bolt" and "Mobot")

• 

  The International Broadcast Centre in June 2011

• 

  The Olympic Mascots, Mandeville (left) and Wenlock (right)

See also

In Spanish: Juegos Olímpicos de Londres 2012 para niños