BB FANS

London


I am so happy!!! Well done!

I'm shocked! I had Paris down as certainties for it!

Now we have 7 years to sort out a decent transport system!

It will be a big job - and will cause many headaches... but having recently been to London (and made a pilgrimage to Stratford station), I would have felt it such a waste if the bid wasn't successful.

I hope I'm one of the first people to post on the 'Net after the result was announced - (obvious place to post, a BBfans forum!).

I had the title 'Olympics 2012!' typed, and had two lines prepared:

Paris

London

and was expecting to have to delete the second line. It did seem to me that Paris was in a position of superiority - but London's bid had more 'soul'.

whoooo I think it's fabulous

well done england hope we are all still talking about this in 7 years time dave beckham will be 37 years ago hard to think that

Ahem..Well done Great Britain

CC: British and proud of it

where is the next Olympics being held the one in 2008 i dont know can some please tell me please thanks

Amazing news!!!

Isnt the next one in Beijing?

I was quite pleasantly shocked by this!Woo-hoo!

Thursday, July 07, 2005
TelegraphIndia

Paris: France reacted with stunned disbelief on Wednesday when Paris was beaten by London in the race to host the 2012 Olympic Games.

The French had been confident of success and silence fell over a nervous crowd watching a large screen outside Paris City Hall when International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge announced the surprise decision.

The questions began immediately — was it another sign that France is doomed to fail or the result of more aggressive British lobbying and behind-the-scenes deals?

How had a bid that had been the favourite for so long ended up being pipped by four votes by a British campaign that seemed to gain momentum in the final days?

There were no easy answers to be found. Thierry Rey, another former Olympic judo champion, summed up the sense of incredulity surround the French camp.

Officials were at a loss to explain Paris’ third failed bid in the last 20 years.” I just don’t understand,” Franco-American NBA basketball player Tony Parker said.

Henri Serandour, president of French Olympic Committee, said Paris appeared to have lost because the countries that backed third-placed Madrid did not swing in large enough numbers to the French capital in the final round.

French media had also widely reported suggestions that Britain was using underhand tactics in last-minute lobbying to win the Games, notably by openly sniping at the French plan.

In Paris’ Gare du Nord railway station, the terminus for the Eurostar train service with London, reaction was split down national lines.“I’m disappointed. We hoped Paris was going to win,” said one employee. He wore a T-shirt with ‘I’m supporting Paris’ on the front and ‘I’m supporting London’ on the back — but said his preference had always been for Paris.

In New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg remained in a positive mood despite witnessing his city fail in its bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics. (Reuters)

MADRID, (AFP)

Spain's King Juan Carlos led the commiserations on Wednesday after Madrid's bid to stage the 2012 Olympic Games faltered at the last, with the accolade going to London.
Juan Carlos telephoned the Spanish delegation to salute their "excellent work" after the International Olympic Committee announced the decision in Singapore, royal household sources said.

The king "congratulated the delegation for the way they backed the Madrid candidature and encouraged them to defend Madrid's colours again in the future," a spokesman told AFP.

The monarch watched the drama unfold on television and spoke by telephone to his wife, Queen Sofia, who was with the delegation in Singapore.

He also spoke to Madrid mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who had also flown out for the ceremony to tell them of the "indefatigable support of the crown" for a future bid.

Spain last staged the Games in 1992 when Barcelona proved a hugely successful host.

Spanish sports stars who had gone to Singapore to back the bid also spoke of their disappointment.

"It's a big letdown. The bid did everything. It was a great project which enjoyed overwhelming support," Real Madrid striker Raul told reporters.

Raul's teammate David Beckham was among those backing the successful London bid.

Vice president of Spain's National Olympic Committee Inaki Urdangarin said that "a feeling of sadness has washed over us."

But he added that in going so close "we have shown we were right at the highest level."

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SINGAPORE (AP) -- For a city used to success, defeat was stinging. So dismayed were New York officials by the loss of their 2012 Olympic bid that they pointedly declined to commit themselves to another try for the Summer Games four years later.

''I'm terribly disappointed,'' said Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who had proudly touted the bid campaign as a climatic phase of New York's rebound from the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Despite its long tradition of welcoming the world -- and its cocky self-description as ''Capital of the World'' -- New York had never even bid for an Olympics before, let alone hosted one. It failed to make history today, getting knocked out of the International Olympic Committee vote on the second round with only longshot Moscow exiting sooner.

The New York delegates said they were unsure why their bid floundered -- whether it was a mix of factors or some specific concern such as disputes over an Olympic stadium or a perception of lukewarm local support.

''It's very difficult to analyze,'' said Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, one of the speakers during the presentation to the IOC. ''I'm not going to be looking into the minds of anyone who cast a vote.''

Bloomberg said it was too soon to say whether the city would try again for 2016, when the Games could well return to the United States. By then, it will have been 20 years since the last North American Olympics, at Atlanta in 1996, and the games will have been held since then in Australia, Greece, China and Britain.

''We had everything going for us,'' Bloomberg said. ''It was a unique opportunity for New York. ... I don't know what's going to happen down the road.''

Addressing the IOC before the vote, Bloomberg said New York ''needs these Games in 2012'' and noted that crucial deals for public funding and land -- including the proposed Olympic Village site in Queens -- were valid only for this bid.

''We had a unique set of circumstances. I think this was our moment,'' said Dan Doctoroff, New York's deputy mayor and founder of the bid campaign back in 1994.

Peter Ueberroth, president of the U.S. Olympic Committee, said New York -- despite its energetic campaign -- would not gain any special status if it entered the race to be the U.S. candidate for 2016.

Hampden Park in Glasgow is set to host football events when London hosts the 2012 Olympics.

And the ex-chairman of sportscotland said London's successful Olympics bid will provide huge economic and sporting benefits for Scotland as a whole.

Alastair Dempster said: "Scotland will benefit through a range of commercial contract and tourism opportunities."


icScotland

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