London was declared the winner of the contest to stage the 2012 Olympics by International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge on Wednesday.
London defeated Paris in the fourth and final round of voting after Moscow, New York and Madrid had been eliminated in the three previous rounds.
Earlier on Wednesday, Parisians gathered on artificial turf resembling an Olympic running track outside City Hall on Wednesday, cheering ”Pa-ris! Par-is!” as the French capital and rival London emerged as finalists for the 2012 Summer Games.
In London, a buzzing crowd watched a giant TV screen in Trafalgar Square, waiting to learn whether the city had won the right to host the 2012 Olympics.
London’s bid enjoyed a late surge, ending up as one of the final two against Paris.
”It’s really tense and quite nerve-wracking actually — I didn’t think I would feel like this,” British gold medallist Sally Gunnell said before the announcement.
Gunnell, who won the 400m hurdles in 1992, was among a number of Olympians who gathered in the square to hear the announcement.
London’s proposal called for creating an Olympic stadium and village on undeveloped land in Stratford, on the eastern edge of the city.
Other venues will include London landmarks such as Wimbledon, Wembley Stadium and Regent’s Park.
In a report issued on June 6, the IOC evaluation commission praised the ”very high quality” and ”high level of planning” of London’s bid.
The only significant opposition came from about 100 small, private businesses within the planned stadium site who say relocation proposals offered by London 2012 officials aren’t good enough.
London has hosted the Olympics twice — in 1908 and 1948. Britain mounted three recent unsuccessful bids, Birmingham (1992) and Manchester (1996 and 2000), but London was considered the only real potential winner.
London got off to a slow start but made big strides under Sebastian Coe, a two-time Olympic 1 500m gold medallist who replaced American businesswoman Barbara Cassani as head of the bid in May last year. — Sapa-AP, AFP