Qualla: London bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics https://qualla.com/london-bid-for-the-2012-summer-olympics en-us © 2026 Bendyline Wed, 08 Jul 2026 02:40:15 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/london-bid-for-the-2012-summer-olympics-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: London bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics https://qualla.com/london-bid-for-the-2012-summer-olympics London bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics: Introduction https://qualla.com/london-bid-for-the-2012-summer-olympics/ Photo credit Another Believer, CC BY-SA 4.0. Singapore, 6 July 2005. The International Olympic Committee chair, Jacques Rogge, stood at a lectern and opened an envelope. There were five candidate cities: Paris, London, Madrid, New York, Moscow. Paris had been the favourite throughout — better infrastructure ratings, broader popular support, the polished feel of a city that had bid before and learned from losing. London had come from behind. The vote went to four rounds. On the final ballot, London beat Paris 54 to 50. Tony Blair, watching from Singapore on his way back from the G8 summit in Scotland, allowed himself a rare uncomplicated smile. Twenty-four hours later, four bombs would explode on London's transport network. The Olympic celebration lasted exactly one day.

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]]> Tue, 19 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/london-bid-for-the-2012-summer-olympics-wp/gcpv-london-bid-for-the-2012-summer-olympics-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full London bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics: The Three That Lost https://qualla.com/london-bid-for-the-2012-summer-olympics/ Photo credit AdamBMorgan, CC0. Britain had been here before, and lost. Birmingham bid for the 1992 Games — defeated. Manchester bid for 1996 — defeated. Manchester bid again for 2000 — defeated. After three consecutive failures, the British Olympic Association concluded what was unpopular but obviously true: o...

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]]> Tue, 19 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/london-bid-for-the-2012-summer-olympics-wp/gcpv-london-bid-for-the-2012-summer-olympics-the-three-that-lost.mp3 0:06 2 full London bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics: Stratford Was Industrial Wasteland https://qualla.com/london-bid-for-the-2012-summer-olympics/ Photo credit Public domain. The site chosen for the Olympic Park was a 500-acre stretch of the Lower Lea Valley in Stratford, east London — derelict industrial land, the kind that had once made things and now made nothing. Approximately 60 percent of the venues already existed at the time of the bid: Wemble...

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]]> Tue, 19 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/london-bid-for-the-2012-summer-olympics-wp/gcpv-london-bid-for-the-2012-summer-olympics-stratford-was-industrial-wasteland.mp3 0:06 3 full London bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics: 7 July https://qualla.com/london-bid-for-the-2012-summer-olympics/ Photo credit Neddyseagoon at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0. The morning after the IOC vote, four bombs were detonated on the London transport network within an hour of each other. Three exploded on Underground trains: at Aldgate, at Edgware Road, and on a Piccadilly line train between King's Cross and Russell Square. The fourth went off o...

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]]> Tue, 19 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/london-bid-for-the-2012-summer-olympics-wp/gcpv-london-bid-for-the-2012-summer-olympics-7-july.mp3 0:06 4 full London bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics: Building It https://qualla.com/london-bid-for-the-2012-summer-olympics/ Photo credit Michael Pead, CC BY-SA 2.0 uk. Once the bid was won, the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) took over. The compulsory purchase of businesses on the Stratford site became one of the early controversies — some owners complained that the compensation was inadequate, tha...

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]]> Tue, 19 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/london-bid-for-the-2012-summer-olympics-wp/gcpv-london-bid-for-the-2012-summer-olympics-building-it.mp3 0:06 5 full London bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics: What the Games Left Behind https://qualla.com/london-bid-for-the-2012-summer-olympics/ Photo credit SuzanneKn at English Wikipedia, Public domain. The 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium was eventually leased to West Ham United and downsized to around 60,000 seats for football, retaining a usable athletics track that hosts the annual London Diamond League meeting. The Aquatics Centre, designed by Zaha Hadid, became a public swimmin...

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]]> Tue, 19 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/p/v/london-bid-for-the-2012-summer-olympics-wp/gcpv-london-bid-for-the-2012-summer-olympics-what-the-games-left-behind.mp3 0:06 6 full